A torchlit procession, music, storytelling and dance by the medieval music ensemble Mediaeval Baebes as they celebrate their 30th anniversary.
Mediaeval Baebes are coming to Exeter Cathedral on Tuesday 1 December, as part of their 30th anniversary tour. It's a torchlit procession, music, storytelling and dance, with the evening opening as it does at every one of their concerts: a procession of torches accompanied by a fanfare of medieval instruments and drums. The programme draws on their latest album, The Spinning Wheel, which holds twelve songs inspired by the months of the year.
It's a milestone tour for the ensemble, and the anniversary is a good way to see where they started. They began in 1996 when musical director and composer Katharine Blake slipped into London's Abney Park Cemetery at midnight to sing madrigals with a group of friends. Over the following thirty years they've released twelve studio albums and picked up an Ivor Novello Award for their performance on the BBC serialisation The Virgin Queen. They've also earned two Emmy nominations and a Royal Television Society award alongside composer Martin Phipps for the theme tune of ITV's Victoria.
They've toured the world in settings that range from castles and caves to cathedrals, with highlights at the Royal Albert Hall, Carnglaze Caverns in Cornwall and Glastonbury Festival's Pyramid Stage, and they've played alongside Jools Holland and Michael Flatley. This date fits that pattern, bringing the torchlit procession and the medieval instruments into the cathedral. The music will come from The Spinning Wheel, so the set follows the twelve songs they've written for the months of the year.
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It runs from 7:30pm to 9:30pm on Tuesday 1 December at Exeter Cathedral, in the heart of the city. The night opens with the torchlit procession and the fanfare of medieval instruments and drums, and the programme is built around The Spinning Wheel.
