Mediaeval Baebes, Illumination
I've been a fan of the Mediaeval Baebes for quite some time now. I had originally heard them coming from a portable stereo (what we once called a boombox) at a Pennsic probably around 1999. I finally remembered enough of their information courtesy of Tomak talking about Delirium, one of the other gigs of some of the leads, to dig up their name and order some albums from Amazon. It's definitely not music for everyone but it's definitely my sort of music.
(A cross-sampling of the music I listen to regularly would probably boggle about 2/3 of my readers thematically. The remaining 1/3 would simply classify my taste as "SCA/fannish eclectic.")
Illumination is the most recent release from the Baebes. Given that they're in the U.K. it's not surprising that it took Amazon a few weeks from release to make the album available in the U.S. The album follows the trend of some of their more recent albums to be a mix of traditional vocals and instrumental to a few pieces that use more modern instrumentation and voice shifting effects familiar to those who've listened to Delirium before.
Their albums tend to be a blend of slower more ambient music - think the pace of most Enya tunes - and something that's moderate dance or marching pace. One of the reasons I tend to like the Baebes is that both sets of music are appropriate for my different moods: If I'm programming and want quieter background music, their easier listening stuff is perfect. As my day progresses or while I'm driving, the music with the stronger beat tends to complement my mood. But their albums are almost always contain about a third of content that's at best "eh" for me. True to fashion, Illuminations is very much the same. Usually it's from their slower pieces, but this time included something meant to be a bit more of a busy piece. The Blacksmiths is completely different from their traditional material but would remind many people of pieces done by Steeleye Span. The song is very stacatto and beyond the random bits of modern English airy singing thrown in the middle seems like it would have probably been less grating to me if done by male vocalists.
The bits of the album that I've liked have also been notable for music that I'd expect out of a random reanaissance era movie. In other words, they sound a bit like something from a soundtrack. These include "I Sing of a Maiden", "Yonder Lea", and Sunrise.
Sunrise is probably my favorite song out of the album. The news link on their website appears to have the full song as background music as part of a rotation of their work..
(A cross-sampling of the music I listen to regularly would probably boggle about 2/3 of my readers thematically. The remaining 1/3 would simply classify my taste as "SCA/fannish eclectic.")
Illumination is the most recent release from the Baebes. Given that they're in the U.K. it's not surprising that it took Amazon a few weeks from release to make the album available in the U.S. The album follows the trend of some of their more recent albums to be a mix of traditional vocals and instrumental to a few pieces that use more modern instrumentation and voice shifting effects familiar to those who've listened to Delirium before.
Their albums tend to be a blend of slower more ambient music - think the pace of most Enya tunes - and something that's moderate dance or marching pace. One of the reasons I tend to like the Baebes is that both sets of music are appropriate for my different moods: If I'm programming and want quieter background music, their easier listening stuff is perfect. As my day progresses or while I'm driving, the music with the stronger beat tends to complement my mood. But their albums are almost always contain about a third of content that's at best "eh" for me. True to fashion, Illuminations is very much the same. Usually it's from their slower pieces, but this time included something meant to be a bit more of a busy piece. The Blacksmiths is completely different from their traditional material but would remind many people of pieces done by Steeleye Span. The song is very stacatto and beyond the random bits of modern English airy singing thrown in the middle seems like it would have probably been less grating to me if done by male vocalists.
The bits of the album that I've liked have also been notable for music that I'd expect out of a random reanaissance era movie. In other words, they sound a bit like something from a soundtrack. These include "I Sing of a Maiden", "Yonder Lea", and Sunrise.
Sunrise is probably my favorite song out of the album. The news link on their website appears to have the full song as background music as part of a rotation of their work..