In the world of Early Music, the Mediaeval Baebes offer a surprising sight. The eight young women are dressed in white-colored gothic robes and resemble seductive air spirits. The atmosphere of the ethereal polyphonic singing is supernatural and fairytale. In 1996, the group of women met regularly to sing songs together for fun. Their enthusiasm grew to such an extent that some of the group members
… began to compose music based on medieval poetry. Thus the Mediaeval Baebes turned out to be a commercially very successful group. Founder and musical director Katharine Blake is classically trained and writes most of the compositions. She selects texts from medieval poetry with timeless themes such as life, death and love. The use of medieval keys and techniques gives the music its medieval character. The harmonies on the album Mirabilis are even richer and more complex than on the previous albums. The somewhat husky but clean voices are acoustically accompanied on authentic instruments such as recorders, percussion, bagpipes, zither and fiddle. The Mediaeval Baebes sing in many languages, including Medieval English and Italian, Latin and Gaelic. (SvdP)more
