Anonymous Katherine Blake Cylindra Sapphire - Mistletoe and Wine A Seasonal Collection (15 tracks) +Album Reviews

A "best of", not really a Christmas record

coca-ebola | United Kingdom | 03/26/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Potential purchasers should bear that in mind. As with the Medieval Baebes debut album it contains a small proportion of `holiday season' material, but most of it can be listened to without embarrassment at any time of the year. (In my experience, all of it can - even on a warm spring afternoon I can't bring myself to program out `In Dulci Jubilo', `The Holly...' etc).Another thing potential purchasers should bear in mind - this compilation winds up being a better "best of" than the album of that name.It's more representative - career-spanning and able to demonstrate the increasing ambition and complexity of the arrangements, and of Katharine Blake's compositions. (Of course, some of their experiments with modern instrumentation on the `Undrentide' album didn't work, but they don't appear here).It's also more enjoyable on a basic musical level - there are no over-repetitive pieces, no odd song-fragments...nothing that drags. Or maybe there are a couple of weak spots - "I Am Eve" which goes on a little too long, and Audrey Evans's rendition of "L'amour de moi" which is suprisingly weak, and no substitute for the original featuring the much-missed Dorothy Carter - but these are easily forgiven.Even if you can't understand what's being said, even if you understand it well enough to spot the mispronunciations here and there, it will be hard to resist the ethereal beauty the Baebes' voices, and of songs like `Quan Vey La Lauzeta', `There Is No Rose of Swych Vertu' or `Blow Northern Wind'."

Very Highly Recommended

Frank C. Branchini | Edgewater, MD USA | 11/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Baebes are eight women who sing mediaeval songs in English and a variety of old languages. Some of the music is acapella. Musical accompaniment is usually quite simple, when there is accompaniment. This really is a lovely collection of songs. It is a good introduction to the recorded work of the Baebes: all but two of the songs appear on other recordings by the Baebes, although several have been re-recorded with different arrangements for this disc. Mistletoe and Wine is likely to please fans of traditional folk music, and people who like to collect holiday music. Very highly recommended."

'Tis the season!

Erica Anderson | Minneapolis, MN | 11/19/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not really a big fan of Christmas albums. With the exception of the Xmas album John Denver made witht The Muppets, "Mistletoe & Wine" is the only (other) Xmas album I own. I don't buy Xmas albums because I normally am not in the mood to listen to them for the rest of the year. I made an exception with The Mediaeval Baebes' Christmas album. I am a big fan of the women since I first heard "Undrentide" a few years ago. Last weekend, I found a copy of "Mistletoe & Wine" in the used cd bins. I grabbed it before anyone could get a chance too. The majority of the cd I already have heard (namely from the group's first album "Salvo Nos", a Christmas themed album)but it was worth getting to hear their versions of "The Holly & Ivy" and "The Coventry Carol". Listening to "Mistletoe & Wine" brings out the festive mood in me. I look forward to listening to it during Christmas day especially."

A pleasing tone

Genevieve S. Gibson | Seattle, Wa United States | 12/01/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is probably one of my new favorite Christmas albums. It is an absolute gem. It isn't an over-powering album with new or different things but they have recorded a few lesser known Latin Carols that are not given much attention anymore. Gaudete was one that stood out. The arrangement is rather simple and beautiful and the song itself is melodic in an unusual way. I have found that this CD has appealed to a fairly wide spectrum of people and would make a great album to play in the background during the Holidays. I think this would be the perfect thing to put on in the late afternoon in December while curling up with a good book or wrapping presents."

Great choral versions of ancient songs

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 11/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard the Mediaeval Baebes on a UK double CD (Best carols in the world ever) featuring three of their trackss (Guadete, Coventry carol, Adam lay ibounden), all of which can also be found on their debut album, but my curiosity only became aroused when that UK double CD was updated and repackaged with a different title (Best Christmas carols ever) and all the Mediaeval Baebes tracks were omitted with other choirs replacing them. My research showed that they have become an established group (albeit with line-up changes) and are now very successful in their chosen style, which some may regard as classical but (since they sing with their natural voices rather than operatic voices) seems more like traditional folk music to me.

This is not a Christmas album in the true sense of the word although there are some recognizable Christmas carols here - rather it is a compilation of music taken from their earlier albums together with a couple of re-recordings and two completely new recordings. I would have liked some liner notes giving some detailed information about the songs but very little information is actually provided. Apparently, much more information can found in the booklets provided with the original album releases. Still, it's the music that counts and, when it comes to choral music, this is as good as it gets.

The set opens with The holly and the ivy, set to the tune that everybody is familiar with. I seem to remember reading somewhere that this tune, although old, is not the original tune written for the song. This is where liner notes would be useful - and as this is one of the new recordings, their original albums won't help. Given that the Mediaeval Baebes aim to re-record very old songs, it would have been nice to hear them sing it to its original tune if it really was different from the current one. I suppose it doesn't matter since they sing the song superbly anyway.

Other Christmas carols that you are likely to recognize are Gaudete (revived most famously by folk-rockers Steeleye Span), In dulce jubilo (a new recording for this album, it was recorded in the seventies by Mike Oldfield, who had a UK hit with his instrumental version) and The Coventry carol. The other songs are unfamiliar to me but the group perform them all brilliantly. The other song of theirs on that UK carols compilation (Adam lay ibounded) is not included, but there's plenty else to make up for that omission.

The instruments used to back the group (mostly played by members of the group) are interesting. They include a zither, a hurdygurdy, a citern, a glockenspiel, an astrowheel and three different types of recorder - not the kind of instruments to be heard regularly on pop and rock albums. I was particularly pleased to find the recorders here. Like many Brits of my generation, I was forced to learn to play the recorder at school (I did so very badly) and so the recorder has never had a great reputation, but when played well and in the right setting (as here), it sounds wonderful.

This is a fine compilation in many ways but it may be that one of the original albums (which apparently have detailed liner notes) will provide an even better introduction to the music of the Mediaeval Baebes. Despite my reservations, this is still (easily) a five-star album and I'll certainly listen to more of their music eventually."

Search - Anonymous, Katherine Blake, Cylindra Sapphire :: Mistletoe and Wine: A Seasonal Collection

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