Misericordia — Passion, Pestilence and Polyphony
The project is mainly made up of the duo of Anne Marie Summers who plays; bagpipes, recorder, harp, hurdy gurdy, percussion & voice. Stephen Tyler(no not that one!) who plays; hurdy gurdy, gothic harp, citole. With others adding in instrumental colours such as tapan, darabouka, dumbek, frame drum, duf, and reque.
This is their fourth album and it concentrates on songs from the 14th century with the sung tracks often sang in French Tongue though the lyrics are helpful translated into English in the accompany booklet. The album is split fairly squarely between vocal tracks and instrumental ones, I have to say I prefer the instrumental tracks more as there more up beat & often jolly bringing to mind overflow castle banquet halls or general medieval merry making. Where as the vocal tracks are more spiritually, beautiful & sometimes sad, which on the whole are rather haunting and pretty but just don’t grab me in the same way.
Certainly an album of something a little ‘different’ performed with really vigour and passion. With my only slight criticism been it does feel a too little long for it’s own good at near on 70 minutes playing time, I really feel it would have been much more easyer to swallow and enjoy at half this length. Never the less worth a look if your interested in any form of different folk bound or acoustic music played with real flair & feeling.