CD Info

2013

 Self Released 
 13 Tracks

English, French, German, Italian, & Spanish Lyrics

OK, maybe this ain’t exactly metal, at least not in the classical sense. But, it’s a version of it, in the broadest sense. And, it features Gaby Koss who sure as hell knows Femme Metal as well as anyone. But this goes in another direction. It’s classified as Medieval, Folk, Renaissance music and I suspect there are lots of folks out there who will appreciate it, even without a death metal vocal or a screeching guitar. And this sure ‘nuff ain’t gonna be the last one of these sounds I intend to cover, Mediaeval Babes have a new one coming out soon and that’s in the same vein and I fully intend to cover that one. They’re actually somewhat similar, and both utilize vocals from the more intense realms of Femme Metal, just with another focus.

The musicians introduce themselves thusly: "What thee bards and gleemen were for the common folk that were minstrells, troubadours and ensembles for the ceremonies and festivities of the wealthy and noblemen. As fair art thou, my music, that s sweetly played in tune…. Fare ye well…" Right then, a bit of sound from the ol’ sod, from a variety of locations, in a variety of languages, but all with that "ol time religion" thing from eons past. You’ll probably recognize many of these tracks, so there’s little use in talking lyrics. But, we can discuss some of the songs and maybe even provide a few links, although it’s a little early in the process yet. But, it’s damn sure fine music and, if you’re into this kind of thing, it doesn’t get much better.

Renaissance music is pretty big these days, everyone seems to like it. It may not play at the local gin mill inhabited by the baddest ass metal heads but it does get it’s time at some of the bigger festivals in Europe. And, interestingly enough, it addresses a relatively wide variety of topics, not just Robin and the boys in Sherwood Forest. You get subjects that range across a pretty wide range of topics. And, that’s the case with this one, although there is a strong central musical theme that is carried throughout the release. You get a lot of strings, a lot of classical elements, and a LOT of very strong vocals. Gaby is NO beginner. And she’s not the only vocalist on this release.

Now I am a big Gaby fan, I’ve covered her in a bunch of releases lately, most of them of the relatively harder variety. But, we talk on occasion, on a variety of subjects ranging from music to geography and to why New Jersey is so unpopular in the US. She never did really understand that last one. But, she does know her music, and she had some interesting thoughts on this project. Probably because it is HER project. And, it is a BIG project, this isn’t a couple guitar players, a drummer and a singer, it involves a lot of instruments and more than a few singers; that’s what you get in this type of music. So, it’s probably appropriate to let her talk a little about the project. She says, "After invitations of Gaby Koss of several international musicians , who Gaby Koss got to know through her concerts in other countries with several other projects and bands, to come to play together a couple of Christmasconters a couple of years, she had the idea at Christmas 2011 of founding an own ensemble when a couple of musicians would be willing to spend some time for this new ensemble and so 3 of the Musicians decided to be part of this new founding: Tommaso (Bass-Bariton and Keyboard/Piano/Cembalo), Linda (Flute and Obeo) , Samel Jaime Santana (Countertenor) ." And that was the beginning. Things grew from there as Gaby recounts, "Later Gaby also asked Elisa for harp and Sebastian for bassguitar who joined also the last Christmas-concert and in in February 2012 they created the band name Cantus Lunaris and as already a couple of concerts had to be played and Gaby was looking for other instruments so she got in contact with Albert Dannenman from Blackmores Night (Hurdygurdy, Bagpipes, Wfhistles, Recorders, Crumhorns) to join as guest for a concert and found out that both sides longed for a membership in that ensemble. As Albert was with a friend of Ida Elena form Italy and Gaby also sang on her solo project, Gaby decided as she always wanted a couple of singers to have a vocal-ensemble , to ask Ida to join the ensemble as she had some different qualities on stage presence, songwriting and voice (popmix-voice) and Gaby thought despite of concurrence that this would have a totally different sound influence as the other singers are classical, to have Ida on board." These additions were later augmented with the addition of folks from Nota Profona and others, some of whom stayed, some of whom didn’t, and others who work on a part time basis when live performances call for additional personnel. Consequently, the ensemble is a relatively flexible one, with personnel joining together based on necessity and circumstance. Not an original concept with groups like this, but clearly one that works here.

The music, as I mentioned above, goes in several directions. It’s also done in a variety of languages. There are a lot of vocalists here, up to 6 on some occasions. And the lyrics are influenced by both the vocalists and the material. Consequently, live performances may be significantly different from what we have on this release. Live, more vocalists tend to be involved, here; it’s a more limited subset. But, live performances have become a real part of the deal, the group recently performed at Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig, one of the biggies in Western Europe.

Well, anyway, on to the music we have here. We begin with the classic Irish track, Bonny Portmore. I always thought this was about a lady but, well, you know, Bonny has various meanings in the Emerald Isle. In fact, the song addresses an Irish traditional folk song which laments the demise of Ireland's old oak forests, specifically The Great Oak of Portmore, which fell in a windstorm in 1760 and was subsequently used for shipbuilding and other purposes. Other tracks focus on material that may be more comfortable for Americans. Scarborough Fair certainly meets this requirement, as does the classic Greensleeves. But there are others that may be new to many here, although they are probably known well in some locals. One of the most interesting is Tourdion, which is performed in 5 languages, and, on this release, includes a bit of Amazing Grace. A truly interesting performance that carries on for some 12 and a half minutes. There’s a shortened version of it here, sans the Amazing Grace part. And, nice as this video is, it’s a continent away from what you get on the CD.

Given the breath of material on this release, picking your favorites is clearly a matter of personal preference. I tend towards the more classic sounds. Wayfaring Stranger clearly meets this criteria. The coldness of the North Atlantic never sounded more compelling. And Down by the Sally Gardens takes us to an Irish sound to bring tears to this old son of the ol’ sod. Others, like La Jument de Michao are sure to put some spring in your step.

Well, heavy metal it clearly ain’t, but great music, it surely is. And, a little diversification in our musical taste is well worth the effort. This is a different take on Femme Metal, but not that far removed from what we regularly listen to. And, given that some of these songs have been around for over 400 years, there’s certainly a global attraction to them. And, with these performers, they never sounded better over those 400 years. I think you’ll agree. Well done Gaby.

 9.5 / 10 

• Prev
• Next