The Rose

by Mediaeval Baebes

Overview

The Mediaeval Baebes' fourth album, The Rose, stays close to the band's magical stories of Old and Middle English, but with a romance that's sweetly aged and mysterious. Katharine Blake and her eight singing sisters are enchanting on this album, a fantastic cut above 1999's Worldes Blysse due to their pleasurable soundscapes of medieval Welsh and Russian languages. They still stay close to harmonies in German, Italian, Latin, and medieval French, but an expansive change allows The Rose to be more than just a piece of work surrounded by threads of worldbeat. The Mediaeval Baebes find themselves in a different world. It's dark and haunting in spots, and the howling blackness of "The Circle of the Lustful" and eerie earthiness of "Spiriti" are miserably beautiful. Other songs are more playful with their fiddle, pipe, and string arrangements, most notably the classic Irish sounds of "Lick the Maypole." "Snake" boasts radiant harmonies, while the Mediaeval Baebes' booming worldbeat percussion reflects the album's varying tones of love. It's dramatic, theatrical, fleshy, and inspired. The women of this band possess all of those traits, making The Rose their most delicately maddening album yet. The Mediaeval Baebes aren't wistful, but a melancholy desire is there. ~ MacKenzie Wilson

Product Details

Release Date:	03/26/2002
Label:	NETTWERK RECORDS
UPC:	0067003025621

Tracks

1. I Am Eve
2. Glass Window
3. Slay Me Suddenly
4. The Snake
5. The Circle of the Lustful
6. Laude Novella
7. There Is No Rose of Swych Vertu
8. Lick the Maypole
9. Razreesh
10. Byrd One Brere
11. Dringo Bell
12. The Rose
13. L' Amour de Moi
14. The Woods and the Rivers Are Silent
15. Spiriti
16. The Sour Grove
17. Blow Northern Wind

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mediaeval Baebes   Primary Artist
Ruth Galloway   Chant,Zither,Autoharp,Recorder,Guitar (Acoustic)
Katharine Blake   Violin,Vocals,Zither,Autoharp,Director,Recorder,Harmonium,Keyboards,Glockenspiel,Musical Direction
Dorothy Carter   Vocals,Zither,Autoharp,Dulcimer,Recorder,Hurdygurdy
Nick Marsh   Choir/Chorus,Guitar (Acoustic)
Bruce White   Viola
Gavyn Wright   Violin
Boguslav Kostecki   Violin
David Daniels   Cello,Violin
Marie Findley   Band
Mike Servant   Piano,Harmonium,Keyboards
Audrey Evans   Vocals,Keyboards,Percussion
Cylindra Sapphire   Keyboards
Claire Ravel   Band
Matt Fisher   Choir/Chorus
Trevor Sharpe   Percussion
Rachel Van Asch   Vocals
Carmen Schneider   Band,Vocals
Christian Hayes   Choir/Chorus,Guitar (Electric)
Pike Galloway   Choir/Chorus
Teresa Casella   Vocals,Mandolin,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic)

Technical Credits

Ruth Galloway   Arranger
Katharine Blake   Arranger,Composer,String Arrangements
Dorothy Carter   Arranger
Traditional   Composer
Toby Wood   Engineer,Producer
Daniel Johnston   Translation
Lucy Atkinson   Make-Up
Martin Giles   Mastering
Geoffrey Chaucer   Composer
Nick Harris & The Soundbarriers   String Arrangements
Marie Findley   Group Member
Piers Atkinson   Photography
Vania Zouravliov   Drawing,Composer
Audrey Evans   Arranger,Composer,Group Member
Dante Alighieri   Composer
Cylindra Sapphire   Composer,Group Member
Hear No Evil   Overdubs
Claire Ravel   Group Member
Trevor Sharpe   Percussion Arrangement
Rachel Van Asch   Arranger
Juan Carlos Ruiz   Composer
Marika Gauci   Assistant Photographer
Teresa Casella   Arranger,Composer