Search - Mediaeval Baebes :: Undrentide

Lovely music, though a bit inaccurate.

Katie | MA, USA | 08/30/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have collected all the Mediaeval Baebes CDs thus far, and must say that this is my particular favourite. I'm more partial to the Baebes' songs that are upbeat with drums and chants versus some of the others which have more of a sleepy sound- and I find that this CD most fulfills that partiality. My favourite songs are the title track and "Veni, Coronaberis".Although I adore the Baebes and their music, I have to say that their Middle English-- and it IS Middle English, not Old English (also known as Anglo Saxon)-- is a little inaccurate. They pronounce their vowels as though they are modern instead of Medieval! For instance, they pronounce the word "grene" like "gren" when it SHOULD be "gray-neh". Since English is actually a Germanic language, Middle English had a sort of Dutch or Swedish sounding accent to it that the Baebes just don't posess. I think they should do a bit more research. I can't account for the French and Italian, but I can say that their Medieval Latin pronunciatin is pretty good, as I take it as a language in school.If you're well- educated in Medieval languages, their music might annoy you a bit, but is definetly worth a listen anyway. The melodies are beautiful and Katherine Blake, who does much of the lead singing, has an exquisite voice."

Good but irregular (with very important mistakes)

Ismael Funes Aguilera | Catalunya, Spain | 09/03/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I rather liked this CD, as the rest of works by Mediæval Bæbes. However, the overall quality is unbalanced. They're clearly trying to evolve and find something new. But they haven't got the formula yet.

At first, I was delighted to see they had tried Mediaeval Occitan (Provençal) poetry, but when I listened to both "Quan vey la lauzeta..." and "Lanquan li jorn" I was horrified. They're singing old Provençal songs with French pronunciation!!! I mean, this is like singing a Mediaevel Welsh song with English pronunciation. I understand it's hard to get the Mediaeval Provençal pronunciation, but they could have used the modern one! Occitan isn't a dialect of French! People at the Institut d'Estudis Occitans would have helped them with pleasure (and it's so easy to reach them, just a click away through Google).

I wonder whether I'm asking for too much; but it seems to me that documentation and study is basic in this kind of 'historic' works. I don't request 100% accuracy, but there should be some minimal adequation. It's meant a great disappointment to me, and it's a real pity, because so far, they do very well in Italian, Latin and German."