ARTIST: Mediaeval Baebes
TITLE: Mirabilis
LABEL: Nettwerk America
GENRE: Classical
BITRATE: 191kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 58min total
RELEASE DATE: 2005-07-19
RIP DATE: 2005-07-06
Track List
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01. Star Of The Sea 3:32
02. Trovommi Amor 4:38
03. Temptasyon 3:19
04. San'c Fuy Belha Ni Prezada 1:35
05. All For The Love Of One 3:38
06. The Lament 3:28
07. Musa Venit Carmine 3:26
08. Kilmeny 3:59
09. Lhiannan Shee 2:56
10. Umlahi 2:14
11. Cittern Segue 0:52
12. Return Of The Birds 3:45
13. Tam Lin 4:24
14. Scarborough Fayre 3:23
15. Come My Sweet 3:20
16. Mark Hur Var Skugga 3:42
17. The World Fareth As A Fantasye 4:07
18. Away 2:20
Release Notes:
"The theme of our latest album MIRABILIS is enchantment," purrs Katharine
Blake, the founder member of the Mediaeval Baebes. "It's about strange
creatures who seduce men and women into their faery world. Just like the
Baebes - we're seducing the listener into our world. And I can guarantee
they'll never be quite the same again afterwards."
MIRABILIS is the latest studio album from the eight chart-topping singers
and instrumentalists known as the Mediaeval Baebes. The title is a
mediaeval Latin word, meaning miraculous, with pagan associations used to
describe the supernatural forces on the edge of the world; and with its
mix of pagan, gothic, religious and historical connotations, it
brilliantly sums up the Baebes' eclectic approach. "We're a mediaeval
fantasy," says Blake. "We donÆt pretend to be authentic - some people
don't realize we write our own songs, and I want to emphasise that. We're
like the fairytale princesses of the mediaeval world - it's about reality
and myth intertwining."
MIRABILIS is the most sophisticated, multi-layered album that the Baebes
have produced so far, full of rich, luxurious textures and evocative
sounds - as well, of course, as their trademark seductive vocals. "Tam
Lin", based on a Scottish ballad, tells the story of a man who is seduced
by an evil faery queen. "It starts quietly with raindrops, then gets more
and more spooky, gothic and scary. It's very disturbing," says soprano
Emily Ovenden. "In 'Temptasyon' I imagine someone being enchanted by angel
voices," says singer Marie Findley, adding, "we're like sirens luring
someone away with strange sounds." Katharine Blake howls with laughter.
"It's like our psychedelic album."
The Baebes sing in several languages on the album, including Middle
English, Manx, Cornish, Latin, mediaeval Italian and Eighteenth-century
Swedish. Their songs range from the galloping drum-beat excitement of "All
For the Love of One" to the weird, spectral sounds of "Lhiannon Shee," a
Manx ballad about a man who is tormented by his first taste of
supernatural delights to the Elizabethan poem "Scarborough Fayre," familiar
for its popularity as the Simon & Garfunkel hit. Most of the Baebes have
contributed songs to the album, with Katharine Blake writing about half.
"We write as individuals," she says. "Then we bring our work to the group,
and we all suggest ways to make it better. But the writer has the final
say."
The Mediaeval Baebes were founded in 1996, when the band gathered a group of
female friends together to enjoy some musical Mayday frolics on Hampstead
Heath. They broke into a cordoned area - which they subsequently discovered
was a witchesÆ circle - and then sang, danced and drank until a thunderstorm
drenched them.
But they realized they were onto something. Blake quickly arranged a more
formal gig in the leafy and atmospheric setting of Abney Park Cemetary in
London, complete with white robes, ivy crowns and candles. They mainly sang
arrangements of mediaeval motets - and the Mediaeval Baebes were born.
Within a few months they were signed to Virgin Records, and their first album
Salva Nos went to #2 on the classical charts. A succession of UK, North
American and European tours followed, as well as more albums including
Worldes Blysse, Undrentide and The Rose on Nettwerk Records.
Being a Mediaeval Baebe is the main focus for all eight members, but they also
lead remarkably varied lives outside the group too. Marie Findley, for
example, is a model and comedy writer whose sketch, "The Singing Match," for
Smack the Pony came high in Channel 4's survey of the Fifty Greatest Comedy
Sketches. Emily Ovenden has written a novel called The Ice Room and is the
manager of Abney Public Hall in North London. Katharine Blake promotes a
performance-art club called Slappers, Rachel Van Asch runs her own successful
fashion label, Van Asch, and Audrey Evans is a qualified Child Psychologist.
Maple Bee has a career as a solo artist and is studying psychology, while
Cylindra Sapphire is a qualified physical therapist, and Teresa Casella is an
avid follower of fashion and talented stylist.
But the one thing they all share is what Blake calls "Baebe Attitude." It's a
mixture of hopeless romanticism, an earthy sense of fun and a gift for hard
partying. "Our tour bus is like a hen night on wheels," cackles Blake. "Our
old manager said the Baebes were like a New York girlsÆ street gang."