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The Mediæval Bæbes are a British musical ensemble founded in 1996 by
Dorothy Carter Dorothy Carter (born New York City, 1935, died June 7, 2003 in New Orleans) was an American musician.Billboard - 1998 8 8 " ... in Berlin in 1996. While there, she hooked up with MEDIAEVAL BAEBES Dorothy Carter, an older woman ..." Carter performed ...
and
Katharine Blake.
It included some of Blake's colleagues from the band
Miranda Sex Garden
Miranda Sex Garden are an English music group from London. They were originally active from 1990 to 2000, reforming in 2022.
Biography
Formed in 1990, Katharine Blake, Kelly McCusker and Jocelyn West were originally a trio of madrigal singe ...
, as well as other friends who shared her love of
medieval music. The lineup often rotates from album to album, and ranges from six to twelve members. As of 2010, the group had sold some 500,000 records worldwide, their most successful being ''
Worldes Blysse
''Worldes Blysse'' is the second album by British vocal group Mediæval Bæbes
The Mediæval Bæbes are a British musical ensemble founded in 1996 by Dorothy Carter and Katharine Blake. It included some of Blake's colleagues from the band M ...
'' with 250,000 copies purchased.
Music
The Bæbes' first album, ''
Salva Nos'' (1997), reached number two on the UK specialist classical charts, and was certified silver on 15 May 1998.
Subsequent albums include ''
Worldes Blysse
''Worldes Blysse'' is the second album by British vocal group Mediæval Bæbes
The Mediæval Bæbes are a British musical ensemble founded in 1996 by Dorothy Carter and Katharine Blake. It included some of Blake's colleagues from the band M ...
'' (which went to No. 1), ''Undrentide'', (co-produced by
John Cale), ''The Rose'', (produced by Toby Wood), and the Christmas-themed album ''
Mistletoe and Wine
"Mistletoe and Wine" is a Christmas song made famous as a chart-topping single by Cliff Richard in 1988.
The song was written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan for a musical called ''Scraps'', which was an adaptation of Hans C ...
''.
''Mirabilis'' (2005) was launched at a concert and party in London, August 2005. A self-titled DVD was released in July 2006. The first 300 preorders were autographed by the band and received a special mention in the DVD credits.
A live album was released on 25 November 2006 and features two new studio tracks.
Each album features traditional medieval songs and
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
set to music, mostly arranged by Blake specifically for the ensemble, alongside varying numbers of original compositions. They sing in a variety of languages, including
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
,
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
,
French,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
,
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
,
Scottish English
Scottish English ( gd, Beurla Albannach) is the set of varieties of the English language spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardised variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standard ...
,
German,
Manx Gaelic,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
Welsh,
Bavarian,
Provençal,
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, modern
English and
Cornish. Their vocals are backed by medieval instruments, including the
recorder and
cittern
The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...
, played by the singers or fellow musicians.
The Bæbes' musical pieces run the gamut from extremely traditional, such as their version of the "
Coventry Carol" on ''Salva Nos'', to songs that feel traditional but are much more modern, such as their rendition of "Summerisle", a song written for
Robin Hardy's 1973 cult film, ''
The Wicker Man
''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 ...
''. John Cale added non-medieval instruments, including
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
and
electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...
, to some of the arrangements on ''Undrentide'', although with subsequent albums the band returned to more traditional instruments. Even with these instruments, however, the band's current style is quite different from medieval
authentic performance
Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of the musical era in whic ...
groups, as it displays significant modern influence - this juxtaposition is apparent in the album ''Illumination'' (2009) produced by
KK (Kevin Kerrigan)
KK (born Kevin Kerrigan, 1 December 1975) is a British composer, record producer and sound designer, best known for his work as a composer and music producer in the field of contemporary/pop music. His past work includes collaborations with Brian ...
.
Collaborations
In 2005, the Bæbes contributed Mediæval Bæbes music to the soundtrack of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
period drama ''
The Virgin Queen'', which portrays the life of
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eli ...
, including the title music, which is a poem written by Elizabeth set to music by Blake.
The Bæbes provided the vocal track for and starred in the video of the
Delerium
Delerium is a Canadian new-age ambient electronic musical duo that formed in 1987, originally as a side project of the influential industrial music act Front Line Assembly. Throughout the band’s history, their musical style has encompassed a ...
track "Aria"; the vocals are an adapted version of the vocals from "All Turns to Yesterday" from ''Worldes Blysse''. They are also featured on two tracks from Delerium's 2006 album, ''
Nuages du Monde'': "Extollere" and "Sister Sojourn Ghost".
In 2016, the group performed the theme song to the
ITV TV series ''
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
'', performing the composition by
Martin Phipps.
In 2023 the Baebes collaborated with
Orbital on the latter's single 'Ringa Ringa', a version of the children's rhyme 'Ring a ring a roses' referencing the COVID pandemic.
Members
On 19 December 2016, the Mediæval Bæbes performed a concert at the
Tabernacle, Notting Hill
The Tabernacle is a Grade II-listed building in Powis Square, Notting Hill, west London, England, built in 1887 as a church. The building boasts a curved Romanesque façade of red brick and terracotta, and towers with broach spires on either s ...
in London to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band. Seventeen of the past and present members were reunited on stage for a few songs.
In 2017, Sophia Halberstam joined as a high soprano vocalist.
Member Maple Bee (aka Melanie Garside) is the singer in electronic duo Huski and the younger sister of
KatieJane Garside
Katrina Jane Garside (born 8 July 1968) is an English singer, songwriter, visual artist, and poet. She is known for her dynamic musical projects, which have ranged in style from noise rock to acoustic folk music, folk-influenced, and featured vo ...
, singer of London-based rock band
Queenadreena
Queenadreena was an British rock music, English alternative rock band that formed in London, England in 1999 by vocalist KatieJane Garside and guitarist Crispin Gray, who had previously collaborated in the celebrated but short-lived band Daisy ...
.
Former members
One of the group's founding musicians,
Dorothy Carter Dorothy Carter (born New York City, 1935, died June 7, 2003 in New Orleans) was an American musician.Billboard - 1998 8 8 " ... in Berlin in 1996. While there, she hooked up with MEDIAEVAL BAEBES Dorothy Carter, an older woman ..." Carter performed ...
, died of a stroke in 2003 at the age of 68.
In addition to playing
autoharp,
hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a vi ...
, and
dulcimer
The word dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments.
Hammered dulcimers
The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...
with the group, she performed the lead vocals on "So Spricht Das Leben" (''Worldes Blysse'') and "L'Amour de Moi" (''The Rose'').
Emily Ovenden left the group at the beginning of 2016. She is the daughter of artists
Graham Ovenden and
Annie Ovenden
Ann Dinah Ovenden ( Gilmore, born 1945, Amersham, Buckinghamshire) is a British fine artist and a founder member of the Brotherhood of Ruralists. - From Martin, Christopher ''The Ruralists. Art and Design'' (1991) She is a figurative artist.
Ove ...
. She was born and raised in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
and now lives in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. She performed backing vocals on
DragonForce
DragonForce are a British power metal band from London, England. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, and are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics and retro video game-influenced ...
's ''
The Power Within''
and ''
Reaching into Infinity''.
[(2017). "Reaching into Infinity liner notes (Japanese edition)". In ''Reaching into Infinity'' D booklet JVC.] She is also a founding member and former lead vocalist of English gothic metal band
Pythia.
Marie Findley left the group in March 2007. She is also a film reviewer and television script writer for programmes such as ''
Smack the Pony
''Smack the Pony'' is a British sketch comedy show that was originally broadcast between 1999 and 2003 on Channel 4. The main performers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips. There were also regular appearances from ...
'' and ''The
Ant & Dec
Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo, consisting of Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as child actors on CBBC's ...
Show''. She was the lead (using the name Tulip Junkie) in the
Ken Russell film ''
The Fall of the Louse of Usher''.
16 May 2007 – Audrey Evans and Maple Bee resigned due to family and professional commitments and Cylindra Sapphire resigned in order to follow a different musical path.
22 July 2009 – Claire Rabbitt left the Bæbes. Sarah Kayte Foster came on to replace her.
Discography
Studio
* 1997 ''
Salva Nos''
* 1998 ''
Worldes Blysse
''Worldes Blysse'' is the second album by British vocal group Mediæval Bæbes
The Mediæval Bæbes are a British musical ensemble founded in 1996 by Dorothy Carter and Katharine Blake. It included some of Blake's colleagues from the band M ...
''
* 2000 ''Undrentide''
* 2002 ''The Rose''
* 2005 ''Mirabilis''
* 2008 ''Illumination''
* 2012 ''The Huntress''
* 2013 ''Of Kings and Angels''
* 2019 ''A Pocketful of Posies''
* 2020 ''Prayers of the Rosary''
* 2022 ''Mydwynter''
Live
* 2006 ''Live'' (includes two new studio tracks; sold only on the official website and at concerts)
* 2010 ''Temptation''
Compilations and soundtracks
* 1999 ''The Best of the Mediæval Bæbes'' (this title is absent from the Mediæval Bæbes' website, and they comment that ''Mistletoe and Wine'' is 'the only compilation endorsed by the Mediæval Bæbes')
* 2003 ''
Mistletoe and Wine
"Mistletoe and Wine" is a Christmas song made famous as a chart-topping single by Cliff Richard in 1988.
The song was written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan for a musical called ''Scraps'', which was an adaptation of Hans C ...
'' (a collection of Christmas-related music from previous albums, plus two new songs and two re-recorded songs)
* 2006 ''
The Virgin Queen - Music from the Original Television Series'' (soundtrack album by
Martin Phipps, featuring Mediæval Bæbes)
* 2012 ''Devotion'' (a collection of devotional tracks from previous albums remixed and remastered, plus one new song; sold only on the official website and at concerts)
* 2017 ''
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
'' (soundtrack album by
Martin Phipps and
Ruth Barrett, featuring Mediæval Bæbes; digital-only release)
* 2017 "Victoriana"
Video
* 2000 ''Live at The Rehearsal Hall'' (VHS)
* 2006 ''Mediæval Bæbes'' (DVD)
* 2009 ''Live at Gloucester Cathedral'' (DVD)
* 2015 ''In Concert At Berkeley Castle'' (DVD)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mediaeval Baebes
Early music choirs
Virgin Records artists
Musical groups established in 1996
1996 establishments in England