Album
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The Art of the Bawdy SongBaltimore Consort Ensemble
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In keeping with its reputation for ear-opening performances of early music, the Baltimore Consort delivers an audacious assortment of ribald songs and catches from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in The Art of the Bawdy Song. Joined by the Merry Companions—an uninhibited vocal group brought together for this recording—the ensemble presents the randiest works of Henry Purcell and other English composers of the period. Some songs are explicit, such as "Celia Learning on the Spinnet" and "My Lady's Coachman John," but most of the songs of cuckoldry, illicit sex, and failed amorous pursuits are quaint and provocative through sly innuendo. Drinking and smoking are topics in several songs, and even scatology is humorously addressed. The Merry Companions perform the intricate catches with rowdy gusto, and Custer LaRue sings the rustic ballads with a mixture of theatrical glee and sweet plaintiveness. A few instrumental pieces are included for variety, but the Baltimore Consort provides accompaniment for most of this album and is on hand to add spice and color to the proceedings. The album is clearly intended for adults, and its coarse subject matter may not suit every taste. However, this exposé of the seamy side of Renaissance and Baroque music is a delight for those who are game. © Blair Sanderson, Rovi
Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.
