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Eschewynge of Idlenesse is a collaboration between two English ensembles of mediaeval music: Misericordia (Stephen Tyler and Anne Marie Summers) and Gaïta (Cait Webb and Chris Elmes), along with guest vocalists Thor Ewing and Helen Barber. The subtitle of the album is "music for dancing", which is not only expressed in the tunes, but also in the fact that a booklet is available, allowing the reader to recreate some of the mediaeval dances presented. The songs used stem from various manuscripts and areas, including England, France, Italy and Burgundy.
As you'd expect, most of the tunes on this album are up-tempo, facilitating spirited dancing as they did centuries ago. When it comes to the instruments, the most prominent ones are pipes and hurdy-gurdies. Especially the last instrument isn't heard that often, so it adds a nice touch to the music with its distinctive sound. Besides this, we hear the usual trappings of mediaeval music, like skin drums, fiddle, recorder, etc. Apart from many instrumentals, there are some quite nice vocal pieces on this album, like "Soufres Maris" and "Ad Mortem Festinamus", which are sung in a very natural (non-classical) manner. It reminds me a bit of the style of the records released by Musica Reservata in the 1970's. This vocal style, to me, seems to be a bit closer to the authentic sound of people's music from the Middle Ages, rather than the polished sound that is used by other ensembles.
Altogether, this is a well-played, very pleasant collection of mediaeval music. The selection isn't particularly varied, as this is an album specifically about dance music, so that might make it a bit less interesting for people who are looking for a broad selection of early music. However, if you're a mediaval music enthusiast, wanting to expand your collection, this album will fit in very nicely.
O.S.
As you'd expect, most of the tunes on this album are up-tempo, facilitating spirited dancing as they did centuries ago. When it comes to the instruments, the most prominent ones are pipes and hurdy-gurdies. Especially the last instrument isn't heard that often, so it adds a nice touch to the music with its distinctive sound. Besides this, we hear the usual trappings of mediaeval music, like skin drums, fiddle, recorder, etc. Apart from many instrumentals, there are some quite nice vocal pieces on this album, like "Soufres Maris" and "Ad Mortem Festinamus", which are sung in a very natural (non-classical) manner. It reminds me a bit of the style of the records released by Musica Reservata in the 1970's. This vocal style, to me, seems to be a bit closer to the authentic sound of people's music from the Middle Ages, rather than the polished sound that is used by other ensembles.
Altogether, this is a well-played, very pleasant collection of mediaeval music. The selection isn't particularly varied, as this is an album specifically about dance music, so that might make it a bit less interesting for people who are looking for a broad selection of early music. However, if you're a mediaval music enthusiast, wanting to expand your collection, this album will fit in very nicely.
O.S.