Customer Reviews

A Trip To Killburn: Playford Tunes And Their Ballads

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The six member Baltimore Consort combines voice, wooden flute, recorder, bagpipes, rebec, lute, viols, cittern and Baroque guitar into a "broken consort" (a group of instruments that are not all the same kind)(obviously) to whip up spirited improvisations of popular Renaissance ballads and dances from England. A "Playford tune" is one that was published by John Playford in 1651 in his musical anthology, "The English Dancing Master". What is particularly wonderful to those familiar with English Country Dancing is to hear soprano Custer La Rue sing some of the ballads related to favorite dance tunes. Especially fun are "The French Report", "The Joviall Broome Man", "The Famous Ratketcher", and "The Beautiful Shepherdess of Arcadia". If you like these ballads, you may also enjoy the Baltimore Consort's "The Art of the Bawdy Song", with guest singers the Merry Companions, as well as the Toronto Consort's album "Mariners and Milkmaids: Ballads and Dances from 17th-Century England".

This collection features some of the most playful songs that the Baltimore Consort have ever recorded. These tunes, published by John Playford in 1651, are like a greatest hits collection from 17th century England. All of these tunes are entertaining. Some of my favorites are: Beggar Boy, A Scots Rant, and The Famous Ratcatcher-featuring typically brilliant singing by Custer LaRue (she is the queen of this kind of music). This is another great album by the Baltimore Consort. Buy it.

a trip to Killburn

I am crazy about Custer LaRue, and the Baltimore Consort. I am not crazy about jazz. If I wanted to hear jazz, I would buy a jazz CD. Reasonable? I have never particularly desired to hear what a cittern or lute sound like in a jam session. In track 9, unfortunately the title song, I can do without the jamming.

But don't let that stop you from enjoying this CD.