Mistletoe and Wine: A Seasonal Collection

On this CD: 1. The Holly and the Ivy (English)
Composed by Christmas Traditional
with Marie Findley, Andy Nice, Vince Johnson, Katherine Blake, Ruth Galloway, Gini Ball, Mediaeval Baebes

2. Gaudete (Swedish)
Composed by Christmas Traditional
with Katherine Blake, Mediaeval Baebes

3. L'amour de moy, chanson
Composed by French Traditional
with Vince Johnson, Katherine Blake, Nick Marsh, Ruth Galloway, Mediaeval Baebes, Audrey Evans, Andy Nice, Stephen Yates, Gini Ball

4. Salva Nos (13th cent.)
Composed by Anonymous
with Vince Johnson, Katherine Blake, Stephen Yates, Ruth Galloway, Mediaeval Baebes

5. Glass Window
Composed by Cylindra Sapphire
with Audrey Evans, Dorothy Carter, Rachel Van Asch, Trevor Sharpe, Katherine Blake, Cylindra Sapphire, Mediaeval Baebes

6. There Is No Rose of Swych Vertu
Composed by Katherine Blake
with Claire Ravel, Katherine Blake, Teresa Casella, Mediaeval Baebes

7. Kinderly
Composed by Katherine Blake
with Katherine Blake, Mediaeval Baebes

8. In dulci jubilo (Piæ Cantiones)
Composed by Christmas Traditional
with Katherine Blake, Mediaeval Baebes

9. Love Me Broughte
Composed by Katherine Blake
with Trevor Sharpe, Katherine Blake, Ruth Galloway, Mediaeval Baebes

10. I Am Eve
Composed by Katherine Blake
with Trevor Sharpe, Katherine Blake, Ruth Galloway, Mediaeval Baebes

11. Quan vey la lauzeta
Composed by Bernart de Ventadorn
with Marie Findley, Rachel Van Asch, Katherine Blake, Ruth Galloway, Mediaeval Baebes

12. Coventry Carol (2) Lully, Lulla Thou Little
Composed by Christmas Traditional
with Karen Lupton, Katherine Blake, Mediaeval Baebes

13. Undrentide
Composed by Katherine Blake
with Trevor Sharpe, Katherine Blake, Mediaeval Baebes

14. Ecce mundi guadium (Now Let the World Rejoice) (Anglo-Norman)
Composed by Christmas Traditional
with Dorothy Carter, Trevor Sharpe, Katherine Blake, Mediaeval Baebes

15. Blow Northern Wind
Composed by Katherine Blake
with David Daniels, Trevor Sharpe, Katherine Blake, Bruce White, Mike Servent, Gavin Wright, Mediaeval Baebes, Boguslav Kostecki, Dorothy Carter

Mistletoe and Wine: A Seasonal Collection,Andy Nice,David Daniels,Anonymous,Katherine Blake,Cylindra Sapphire,Christmas Traditional,French Traditional,Bernart de Ventadorn,Nick Marsh,Ruth Galloway,Trevor Sharpe,Vince Johnson,Mike Servent,Katherine Blake,Bruce White,Boguslav Kostecki,Gavin Wright,Gini Ball,Audrey Evans,Claire Ravel,Karen Lupton,Marie Findley,Rachel Van Asch,Teresa Casella,Nettwerk Records,Choral,Choral Music,Christmas,Christmas / Chanukkah,Christmas Music,Early Music,Ethnic Fusion,Medieval,Miscellaneous,Miscellaneous Music,Pop,Vocal,Vocal Music,Xmas Vocal

Tracks:

The Holly & The Ivy
Gaudete
L'Amour De Moi
Salva Nos
Glass Window
There Is No Rose of Swych Vertu
Kinderly
In Dulce Jubilo
Love Me Broughte
I Am Eve
Quan Vey La Lauzeta
The Coventry Carol
Undrentide
Ecce Mundi Gaudium
Blow Northern Wind

Customer Reviews:

buy this one first.......2006-06-29

This is not really a Christmas, or even a seasonal, album, more of a best of the Babes. yYs, they lead off with "The Holly and the Ivy" (and do it beautifully) but do not buy this as a "holiday music album"... or do... you won't regret buying it whatever your reasons!
This was my introduction to this band and I was absolutely floored. It lived in my car CD player for 2 months straight, and still is in the first section of my CD storage unit.... a rare honor for *any* Cd. It is also responsible for causing me to go out and try to buy every other CD the band has out, and I have not been disapointed in any of the ones I have gotten so far.
Speaking as a former music major, religious student, and medieval re-creationist, I know I can be pretty nit picky when it comes to "medieval" music; all too often it is neither medieval, nor (in my opinion) music! This is one of those rare exceptions that can manage to get you out of a chair to dance, while singing at the top of your lungs in Olde Englishe, Latin, or whatever. There isnt a bad voice in the lot (although some of the harmonies can be a bit odd if you arent used to medieval music) and the instrumental backings are pure gold.

Great introduction to Mediaeval Baebes.......2006-02-27

This CD has many songs from previous albums and a few new songs. It is a great introduction to Mediaeval Baebes music and serves as "best of" type of collection. It is billed as a "holiday" collection but I listen to it year round and quite often. The Mediaeval Baebes have a very unique and wonderful sound.

Great choral versions of ancient songs.......2005-11-19

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.

A pleasing tone.......2004-12-02

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.

A "best of", not really a Christmas record.......2004-03-27

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'.

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