CD Review - 'Mistletoe and Wine' by Mediæval Bæbes

Genre: Medieval Christmassy stuff

Review: 

Formed by Katharine Blake of band Miranda Sex Garden, the Mediæval Bæbes consists of a varying line up of female musicians performing medieval inspired music. I’ve listened to the Mediaeval Baebes casually for some time now on last.fm or youtube (etc) but only bought their album Mistletoe and Wine a few weeks back, needing to find a piece to work on for my singing lesson.

Mistletoe and Wine, as you might have guessed from the title, is an album of Christmas/advent/etc songs, most of which featured on earlier albums (according to Wikipedia two songs are new, two are rerecorded. I’m not going to check). As a rule, I hate it when a CD contains a mix of songs off other albums, plus one or two new ones, because it always seems like a cruel ploy to get people to buy songs twice. ‘Gold editions’ of albums, containing bonus tracks, released a couple of months after the original album just when all the fans have bought the first album drive me bonkers too. Anyway, I digress. The point is, this is the first CD by the Bæbes that I have bought and therefore I’m not too worried about the repetition.

Now’s the point when I talk about album art or something like that. Well, I downloaded this one so haven’t really got anything to say. It looks like an okay design, as far as one can tell on iTunes album art. I don't really understand the seemingly random naked people but it is a deep shade of red which works for Christmas, and for me. It’s not fair to comment when you can’t see something physically but there’s nothing that jumps out as impressive in the album cover; it’s just okay.

Sadly, that seems to be my general opinion on the important bit, the music. There’s nothing awful but there’s very little that stands out as great either. There are some beautiful arrangements, some great vocals, but overall the album left me rather nonplused. Yes, I do feel guilty posting a review about something that I don't really like, hence the generally positive reviews, but here goes.

The tune I ultimately ended up working on in my own singing lessons is ‘Gaudete’. I love this piece, even if, having sung it heaven only knows how many times over the past month, I am sick of it! The vocals in the stanzas sound pure, clear and really pretty. The burden is pretty too but it just doesn’t sound quite right. The singers sound a bit bored, maybe that they’re trying too hard to sound like an angelic choir… they sound a bit bored. They’re singing “Gaudete”, or “rejoice”, but sound like they couldn’t care less.

And there we have the problem with this recording, in my opinion. It’s pretty but that’s all I can say about it as a whole. It’s got some lovely moments, some lovely musical aspects, yet it feels soulless.

My favourite piece on the CD is Kinderly which, despite having some of the most depressing lyrics going (thanks medieval hymns!) is a bouncy piece, sung in a round with a fair amount of percussion. It’s bouncy, quick, and complex sounding enough for it to have some character. Similarly, I enjoy Ecce Mundi Gaudium which also seems to have a bit of charisma.

Out of the slower pieces, it is The Coventry Carol that really stands out. This piece is exceptionally simple in presentation and that really works for it. Although there’s no obvious emotion in the rendition, the purity and simplicity of the harmonies makes it an evocative lament.

Overall, I find this CD really difficult. It’s beautiful but lacking, really lacking something, in my opinion. I’ve had the disk playing in the background a bit, and it’s been on in the car when driving as background noise while my mother and I chat. Although the music is, often, lovely, there’s nothing that I have been able to connect with and therefore there is little power in the CD and little to have a strong feeling about. I want to like it more than I do. I feel it could have been great. Sadly, there are a lot of people who do this genre and so much better.

If the idea of medieval-style Christmas music catches your fancy then you can preview the tracks and buy them if you like from here.

There's a good reason why I love Christmas!

It's December now, okay? No moaning about my talking about Christmas!

Earlier today, I went out with my mother to a garden centre that's quite close to our home. I used to go there with my parents as a young child, around Christmas time, and now that we're back in Birmingham we naturally gravitated towards it.

Walking through their Christmas displays was a bit weird. So many things were familiar but it seemed so different. In a way it all seemed less magnificent, less exciting, yet nothing had really changed about it. There were tacky little lights all over, glittering baubles, expensive gifts... 

On a television by one of the walls was the new Snowman film playing away to itself, or so I thought. Looking down I saw a little girl, two years old a the most, sat on the floor. Leaning against the television stand she was watching the story, completely enthralled. Her mother called her to look at something and, after a moment, she dragged herself away from the screen to the next exciting thing. 

There were children all around. They were entranced by little light up model villages, old-fashioned models of Santa. They were excited. They were excited in the way that only a child can be, in the way that I used to be. Looking at the items on display in the garden centre I noticed my own excitement growing. It is oh so easy to look at the world through childish eyes once again and Christmas seems to be the only time that society allows us to do this. It's okay for grown people to have an advent calender (incidentally, my chocolate was cappuccino flavoured this morning... not impressed). It's okay for upstanding members of society to don novelty jumpers and reindeer antlers. For a few weeks we all start to feel that joy, that magic that is in the world, the feeling we lost with the end of 'youth'... or were told to loose.

Gosh, this is all getting a bit heavy. Didn't plan for that!

Anyway, I got back home and decided to focus my evening on getting my cards and presents ready for my own little children in the form of my two youngest nephews. Although I won't be there with them on Christmas day, I know they'll have a wonderful time!

Gifts and cards for the youngest nephews. Yes, I did have to make up
the chocolates myself because names like that don't come on the shelf!!

Bonus anecdote

Talking about how Christmas makes 'serious' people a bit, well, less so... My mother always tells the story about how she was working in the High Court and one of the solicitors was giving evidence. He lent forward to accentuate a serious point and all of a sudden 'Jingle Bells' starting playing out of nowhere. He then had to explain to the Judge that he was wearing musical underpants, must have leant on the button and there was no way to switch them off until they'd run their course. Naturally, everyone was quite amused!

Christmas song of the day

Ecci Mundi Gaudium, performed by the Mediaeval Baebes, 

lyrics and translation here.

The Mediaeval Baebes are a rotating line up of female singers performing medieval inspired pieces. Their work tends to be a bit hit and miss, as far as I'm concerned. I love some tracks and other arrangements, seem to me, to be lacking in character. 

This song, Ecci Mundi Gaudium is one of my favourites by them. I love the question and answer effect, I love the tune and I love the fact that the vocals aren't too perfect and therefore soulless.

I also love the rendition by Schelmish, which is even rougher in tone and a completely different beast! You can listen to that one by clicking here. Which do you prefer?