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The Mediaeval Baebes are a very difficult act to pigeonhole for the very fact that they are a very eclectic collection of artists and create a very unique sound. Whilst the music could be described as mediaeval (I'll stick with their preferred spelling) vocal harmony, the band is much more than just a bunch of singers. The Mediaeval Baebes are eight young women who share a passion for music several centuries old but are as 21st century as they come. Their first album, Salva Nos, released in 1997, went to No2 in the classical charts, earning the girls a silver disc. Of the subsequent albums Worlds Blysse went straight to No1, Undrentide, The Rose and Mistletoe & Wine followed, all with great success.

The main stay of the band is Katherine Blake, a founder member and composer and arranger of their music. She also plays violin and recorder some of which finds its way into the arrangements found on this album. At the other end of the spectrum, Katherine was also the singer with gothic alternative band Miranda Sex Garden and she can also be found playing jazz numbers and promoting a cabaret club called Slappers. If you think that the formative member is an exceptional character the band also includes a costume designer who grew up on the tour bus of her mothers glam rock band Ragnorok, a writer who was raised in a mock gothic castle, a successful comedy sketch writer and performer and an ex-rock and roll bassist. As a live act the band certainly look the part, revelling in a mixture of renaissance fashion and gothic styling and the fact that they a group of very attractive young women doesn't hinder their cause on bit.

One criticism levelled at the band is that they are really only singing covers of established songs, admittedly 500-year-old songs, but covers none the less. Far from being a renaissance Boyzone, there is a lot talent and effort on the part of the group to bring this music to the public domain. The lyrics may be taken from historical sources, and therefore not original compositions, it must be remembered that the words are in Middle English, the language of Shakespeare, Milton and Jonson and to sing them you first have to master a whole new language to be able to tackle them. Whilst the words survive as historical facts music of this type and period often does not and the band have to use their knowledge and training to write the appropriate accompanying music and the arrangements necessary to complete the piece.

In is not necessary to dwell on the tracks

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