A Relaxing and Beautiful Trip into the Middle Ages
07/22/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The singing and playing on this disk, as well as the music itself, is quite wonderful. There is also an extremely interesting, informative, and attractive booklet that comes with it filled with a great deal of information about Chaucer, the music, the sources of the music, and translations. Whether one is interested in Chaucer or not, the music is very compelling and quite beautiful, and all the facts about the Middle Ages were quite interesting, too. All three of the female vocalists are superb, as is the harp playing and the other instrumental music. I have listened to this CD many times now and find it very relaxing, especially after a day of work. So it has my highest recommedation for several reasons."
A Refreshing Change
Dorothy Douglas | Santa Fe | 02/13/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Carol Wood is a well-known Celtic scholar with a Ph.D. in Medieval Welsh literature and several books on Celtic poetry and early music. I once had the pleasure of hearing her perform in Paris. Her approach to early music and to the performance of the works on this beautiful disk as well as on her other CDs is a refreshing change from those pseudo-"authentic" performances on pseudo-"ancient" instruments that self-styled "scholars" insist is the only "correct" approach. Her love of this music comes through in the joy of her performance and in her truly "professional" and "scholarly" approach to it. I heartily recommend it to all lovers of early music."
One Hit Wonder...NOT!!!
P. Vanderlinden | Houston, TX | 01/19/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There is so much more to this album than "I Have A Gentil Cock". Like most, I originally purchased the album for this harmonious hit single, but after a few months I was beginning to get burnt out on it. I eventually decided to give the rest of the CD a try and was amazed. DONT MAKE THE MISTAKE I MADE!!! Dont get me wrong, "I Have A Gentil Cock" is a brilliantly mastered song but please do yourself a favor and give the rest of this cd a try. You wont be sorry!"
Keeping Chaucer Alive
P. Vanderlinden | 12/24/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD, and the Songbook that it accompanies, make Chaucer a living presence for the contemporary reader and listener. Many of Chaucer's pilgrims define themselves in part by the music they play or sing, and the characters in the stories they tell (even the rooster and chicken in "The Nun's Priest's Tale") express themselves musically. Until Carol Wood put this collection together, and arranged and performed the music for it, no one had made this rich context available. But not only is the work a triumph of musicological scholarship, the playing and singing are lovely quite on their own. Every edition of Chaucer (who wrote a number of poems, or portions of poems, for music) ought to include this CD in a pocket in the jacket!"