Track Listing

1. Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh
2. The Carnal and the Crane
3. The Oxen
4. Hark! Hark! What News
5. Bethlehem Down
6. Entre Le Bouef et L’Ane Gris
7. Rorate Coeli de Super

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20318 in Music
• Released on: 2001-11-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
If you're looking for a new and refreshing musical course through Christmas, then Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh may just do the trick. Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band extend their musical relationship to a sixth album together, this time based on a Christmas theme that investigates the well-known Nativity tale from the perspective of the many cultures and traditions that gave it birth and sustenance over the last two millennia. Themes, rhythms, melodies and words reflecting African, Near-Eastern and Arabic heritages can all be found here, reaching back to Zoroastrian traditions and beyond. So Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar tell their own stories and give their own explanations for their journeys and even the animals in the manger pass on their points of view. Prior and the Carnival Band, practised hands at performing together live and in the studio, put together a seamless narrative event that captures the imagination and also has a textural graininess sufficient to repel all accusations of sentimentality or roseate visions. This music reflects the stuff of ordinary lives caught up in extraordinary events--exactly what Christmas is all about, you might well say. --Keith Shadwick

Customer Reviews

Original and different with the true spirit of Christmas
Maddy Prior has made some superb recordings of Christmas Carols with the Carnival Band, but her release of 'Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh' is something a bit different. I bought this for Christmas 2001, so with Christmas 2002 rapidly approaching it's time to listen again.
There are two cycles of songs included on the CD. The first eight songs form 'Gold Frankincense and Myrrh' and were written by Maddy herself, telling the story of the Three Kings/Wise Men. In the first three songs each King tells his story, next they collectively tell of their journey, all to the accompaniment of an amazing array of authentic Arabian and African instruments. Then there is a switch to looking at the story through other eyes. 'Melima' is a woman used by Herod in a (conjectured) attempt to find out what the Three Kings were after. Next it is the turn of the animals in the stable to sing 'Song of the Animals', a round which might make a good item for an able school choir at a Christmas Concert! Mary then sings a lullaby before the sequence ends with an angelic song of praise. This is an original and thought-provoking cycle which repays careful listening.
The remaining six songs form the 'Creatures and Kings' sequence, the idea here being to highlight the place of animals in the Christmas story. The material runs from medieval liturgy to Thomas Hardy via an English traditional ballad and a Angevin folk carol, but they flow together surprisingly well. Maddy and the band perform them to their usual high standard and the message is in the true spirit of Christmas. This CD makes a refreshing and enjoyable change from the over-exposed mainstream Christmas musical fodder.

A stunning association of rythms and sound.
A remarkable series of musical and magical sounds. This album will grow on you. It possesses all the ingredients of a successful and innovative response to the music of christmas past, present and future. Do not fail to buy it.

Festive Folk
My family plays this, and Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band's Tapestry of Carols, every Christmas for the past 7 years or so. We love it; it is a great change from carols. The mix of Middle Eastern, European and British styles and instruments work beautifully.