Hello,

The Mischievous Sprite is back after some frolics in faerie land, and would now like to draw your attention to the beauty of Worldes Blysse.

The Baebes second album, released in 1998, was a hit with fans, becoming a fan favourite and reaching the UK top 100 albums chart, a feat which hasn't been acheived by a Baebes album since.
The album consists of 16 tracks, all drawing their lyrics from anywhere between 12th-16th century.
Instrumentation came to he fore on this album with the staple recorders, tambourines and bells being joined by the more obscure hurdy gurdy, dulcimer and zither. Percussion was also introduced, meaning you could tap your toes to a few tracks unlike Salva Nos which hardly used any.

The theme for this album was life, both beginning and end, and some of the bits inbetween.

Kinderley opened the album, being sung in a round, with sticks, tambourines and drums being introduced, and with all Baebes contributing to vocals. This song described our life cycle in a truthful but still rather depressing way.

All Turns To Yesterday quickly slowed the pace with a quiet first verse sung by Audrey Evans, with harmony added by Nichole Sleet and later all Baebes coming in to join. It describes how children chase a shadow believed to be a ghost all through the night, never to catch it.

Love Me Broughte brought the toe tapping back into the album, with percussion and recorders. The song was sung all the way through, then instrumentation was added and the song repeated with breaks for the instruments.

Beatrice, to me, really 'felt' mediaeval. There is a quiet beauty to this song which keeps repeating in my head long after the song has finished. The song was sung primarily by Katharine and Rachel Van Asch, the latter taking the upper harmony. The Baebes joined towards the end, still quiet despite the 12 strong vocal. This piece really wouldn't seem out of place on Salva Nos.

Ecci Mundi Gaudium see Katharine lead the rest of the group through a short but lively piece, whilst Waylaway adds a dreamy element through use of the, I think, zither. This is a duet between Karen Lupton and Teresa Casella with added vocals from Dorothy Carter.

Alba brings Audrey back in the lead spot, being backed by Rachel though for me, its the recorder which really brings out the beauty of this song.
When Thy Turuf, is reminiscent of Lo, Here My Hert, a short song with no music, sung by all the Baebes.

Erthe Upon Erthe is a fab song, really easy to learn vocally, and benefits from the use of persussion, whereas Passing Thus Alone see's Karen put in a beautiful solo without any use of music. These two songs really go hand in hand together.

La Volta is the only instrumental on the album, and is followed by Pearl a definite fan favourite, it starts with a solo vocal by Lupton and steadily builds in speed with each Baebe adding their own vocals as we reach the crescendo.

Swete Sone follows directly after, and when I first listened to the album, I thought that it was still part of Pearl, Blake and Lupton having similar vocal sounds, coupled with the fact that the song starts slow with only one vocal, but builds in speed and vocal as it progresses.

The final three songs are all curiosities, So Spricht das Leben sees a rare lead vocal by Dorothy Carter, whilst C'est La Fin has a guest Instumenatlist playing the pipes, and the best closer of an album ever with How Death Comes, a disturbingly beautiful little song, all about decomposition.

This album is very hard to dislike and has been seen as some fans as the definitive Baebes album, some even controversially say that the Baebes haven't been able to top it.

I do love this album, it can be listened to at any time of the year, but i find it best listened to on a warm, balmy autumn late afternoon, with the sound of the harvest in the background and the death of nature just around the corner.

My only negative point here, and I fear I may be chastised for this, is the use of Dorothy Carter as a vocalist. For me her voice just doesn't fit in with the rest of the Baebes. But it is only a slight critisism, I do love the album as a whole.

What are your feelings on the album? Do you see this as the ultimate Baebes album? What are your favourite songs? Are there any you dislike?
Is there anyone out there who really doesn't rate this album?

It has been a firm favourite of mine since the first time I listened to it.

This is also my favorite of all the albums, if I had to choose just one. I also love the album art and dresses

This was the first album that I heard all through and has remained my favourite, and although I do agree that Dorothy's voice seems out of place, she could really play that dulcimer! I first saw the Baebes in Cardiff about 10 years ago when Dorothy was touring with all 12 of them. It was wonderful!

While I'm in agreement on most points I'll have to disagree on one big one. I love Dorothy Carter's voice and I wish she had recorded more songs with the Baebes. I prefer Dotty's version of L'amour de Moi on The Rose to the one on Mistletoe and Wine hands down.

Actually, this album was my first introduction to the Baebes. Although it's not a huge favourite, it has begun to grow on me. At first I didn't like Beatrice and was more into the upbeat songs, but as of late, it has started to win me over.

I agree with the Pearl/Swete Sone point - it segues so quietly into eachother it almost seems like it is the same song! Either bad pairing or masterful pairing but I like them both.

On Dorothy's voice (would she turn in her grave for calling her"Dotty" ? hmm ? LOL) I have to admit that it does stand out on the album, with the other girls having such sculptured young voices, but for me it adds a little atmosphere to the songs where she sings as well. I do not dislike her voice, in fact I even bought her solo album through the OS....which is also quite fun!

I have several favourite songs, but it would take all day to go on into that. On the whole, I agree with the Sprite PS Don't you just love the artwork on this album? I have never seen the Baebes look more lovely actually. The only gripe with this album is that not all lyrics are in the booklet - as English is not my first language (and old/medieval English not being a language I am well versed in LOL) it is sometimes quite hard to catch the words. On top of that, I love reading the original text and then the translation - it adds a bit of a learning curve to the Baebes' music!!

Love,
Phantas

OOOOHHH!! Worlde's Blysse was my introduction to the Baebes and it is still my favourite and I still think they haven't been able to top it. It was a perfect balance of real and fantasy medieval.

I love this CD. Waylaway was the first Baebes song I heard on Echoes (NPR) and I just had to have the CD. I love all the 'death' songs like Kinderly, Erthe Upon Erthe and How Death Comes. I don't know if they do a lot of these at Ren Faires but when I saw them at the Tremont in Charlotte, they dress in black and do the 'Death Set.' To me this is the most purely 'medieval' CD they do and I would recommend it to one whose never heard of the Baebes whose interested in this type of music. I tend to listen to it in the Winter months and Undrentide in the Spring months.

toadshade

Hmmmm, might make an interesting little project - a compilation set:

Music of the Mediaeval Year.
CD1 - Home Fires In Winter.
CD2 - Buds & Blossoms.
CD3 - Long Languid Days.
CD4 - Falling Leaves.

Cheers,

I think you're on to something Pat. I may whip through iTunes and come up a 'seasonal' mix. I love projects!

toadshade