The band’s new release, The Rose, returns to the instrumentation of the second album, Worldes Blysse, with credits for a wide range of period and other appropriate instruments backing the Bæbes’ characteristic multi-part vocal harmonies. It also marks a return to their roots in other ways: Toby Woods, who engineered and produced all the albums except for Undrentide, is back at the controls, contributing a familiar smoothness and atmosphere to the project. The new album, however, is not a rehash of previous work. It pushes the envelope, not in terms of contemporary sound sources, but in musical variety.

The Bæbes were founded by Katherine Blake, formerly of Miranda Sex Garden, and consist of a bevy of nine women, all with fine voices and other significant musical talents. Blake is the animatrix behind the band. In the past, as there wasn't a great deal of secular music notation in the Middle Ages, she has been responsible for writing the vast majority of the music. This time, only nine songs out of the impressive total of 17 have music by Blake, and the increased contribution of other members of the band makes for a much more varied sound here than in previous albums. In addition, the music has survived for two of the pieces. One of these, "L’Amour de Moi," is a traditional 14th-century French song. Arranged by Dorothy Carter (who also sings the lead) for hurdygurdy, recorders and percussion, it has quite a different feel from much of the rest of the work.

The subject of the album is love in its many forms, from the courtly, chivalrous love sung of by the troubadours, to more venal pursuits. The material ranges from the 11th to the 16th centuries, with two exceptions: a modern piece called "Razreesh," with Russian words by Vania Zouravliov (who also illustrated the album and took the atmospheric photographs in the book "Songs of the Flesh"), and "Spiriti", which takes its lyrics randomly from Mozart’s "Don Giovanni."

There are some remarkable things here, notably the atmospheric piece, "The Sour Grove," which is a setting of the final lines from a poem by one of the few female medieval Welsh poets of whose work anything substantial survives, Gwerful Mechain. She is now known for her erotic verse (though her most powerful work describes the Passion of Christ), and was likely vilified for straying into male territory in this regard. The extract is from a poem called "The Female Genitals" ("Cywydd Y Cedor").

The lyrics on this album cover quite a lot of ground, from the devotional, such as "There Is No Rose of Swych Vertu," to the bawdy 15th-century ditty "Dringo Bell." There is even a setting of an extract from Dante’s "Inferno."

Musically, the arrangements vary considerably. There is more breadth, a greater variety of musical styles (within a broad medieval space) and more musical light and shade than in "Worldes Blysse," the album most comparable to this one. The production by Toby Wood is pleasingly familiar and effective without being ostentatious, and the vocal arrangements, though rooted in the style Blake has made famous in previous albums, spread their branches to create a much more varied effect than before.

The Rose probably represents the Bæbes’ deepest and most involving album to date. I enjoyed it immensely. Playing it at the office immediately resulted in co-workers commenting favorably on it and asking who it was. Check it out.

By the way, the last track, "Blow Northern Wind," is listed as having a playing time of 6 minutes, 11 seconds. Your player will tell you it lasts over 20 minutes. Be sure to see what’s at the end.