Music Of The Crusades

Grab yourself a thick history book and land your back under a tree. Play this CD in the background and let the flutes, cymbals and drums cheerfully take you places you’ve never been before. Enjoy
Rating: 2 / 5

Note that I am a harsh reviewer, especially for music. . . but there are a lot of problems with this CD and there are better other there.

It is certainly interesting music and it does have historical value, but it is by no means unique.

Here are my criticisms:

1)
All of the 19 tracks are short. They range from 1-4 minutes with an average of around 2 1/2 minutes per track.

2)
This wouldn’t be all that bad, except that none of those 19 tracks really stood out. They are all slow-paced and generic with little feeling of variety. Essentially, despite being a fan of the genre, I just couldn’t get ‘into’ any of the music. It was not at all inspiring.

3)
One of my favorite things about medieval/renaissance music is the excellent balance and combination of voice talent and instruments.
This CD did not come through at all in that area, however.
The majority of this CD was the mellow, slow-paced singing that many people associate with the genre.
However, whenever the singers got going, the relatively few instruments all disappeared entirely, leaving you with just the singers (who weren’t powerful enough to carry the show alone).

If you are a fan of the genre, then you might want to add this to your collection just because it isn’t very expensive.

However, if you are merely interested in trying out the archaic music genre, then I defintely would recommend:
“Sinners & Saints – The Ultimate Medieval and Renaissance Music Collection”
*instead* of this one.
I gave Sinners & Saints a 5/5 – It was the CD that this one should’ve been.
Rating: 2 / 5

Very authentic sounding, evokes feelings of ancient nostalgia but has an eclectic twist which adds to its interest. A good range of imagined moods of the time depicted with both energetic and slow pieces with depth.
Rating: 5 / 5

Out of all the cd’s I own, of music varying from opera to rock, this little disc is my absolute favorite. Music is the only real Time Machine we have and this one takes you instantly to the 12th and 13th centuries, and you can still bring your toothbrush and deodorant. This is literally the top hits of the day and the performances, as close to the original musical notation as possible, are extraordinary. David Munrow and crew have given us a tremendous gift.

When all else fails me, when I am discouraged by the times we live in now, I turn to this disc to transport me out of here. It may be unrealistic to believe the 12th was a fairytale era to live in, but like all ages, their music was filled with hope, longing and a yearning for happiness that transcends time and speaks to us even now.
Rating: 5 / 5

For early music people, this is another great compilation of stuff you just like to put on in the background while doing your daily routine. Good times.
Rating: 5 / 5