Mediaeval Baebes bring seasonal music to Horsham

Horsham is a town they have built up quite an association with, as Mediaeval Baebes founder Katharine Blake says. “W e must have played Horsham four or fives times now and we have built up a following there from playing at the church so many times but we have also played at the Loxwo od Jo ust. I think some people have been introduced to us at the mediaeval festival and then they come along and hear us at Christmas as well.”

They will be performing in St Mary’s Church in Horsham on December 20. Tickets are available from www.mediaevalbaebes.com at a cost of £26.50 each and £11.50 for a child.

The gig follows on from the release of MydWynter, their 11th studio album which came out on November 25. Many of the tracks will be performed live for the very first time in the Horsham Christmas celebration.

“ We did a Christmas album in 2013 which had some really famous carols on there and this one has got some pretty well known ones as well but I think it's got a slightly more mystical sound than the last one. And actually a lot of the songs have been chosen by the fans. I put a post up on Facebook and said what are the Christmas songs that you want us to do that you haven't heard us do and actually that provided me with a really good starting point for the album. It was just finding the ones that fitted best with the mediaeval sounds and that would be the most magical to do. There are 12 tracks on the album. One of them is to the tune of Greensleeves where I've used the words from three different early English poems.

"I got some of the former members of the group to come back. I've written three pieces on the album using middle English texts and Latin texts so really it is been Christmas all year for me and I think by the time I get to Boxing Day I'm going to think ‘Thank goodness that's all over!’”

“We did a Christmas tour last year but it was pretty tough because omicron happened and 95 per cent of our audiences had masks on. I don't think it will be a question of looking out at a sea of masks again this year and fortunately sales are going well but we still managed to do well last year. I think people see a Mediaeval Baebes concert in a church setting as something really special and a lot of people would think well if they only go to one thing this year, then that's what they will go to.”

Inevitably the lockdowns brought huge changes for Katharine, but she happily admits it wasn't too tough.

“I had a great time. I felt slightly guilty that I had such a good time. I met my current partner at the end of 2019 and he has got a house at Glastonbury and I went and stayed there over the first lockdown and it was like a really long summer holiday in paradise.

"I did lots of recording and I wrote a couple of albums. My partner and my daughter and I started live streaming some locked down gigs.

"I got my daughter to form a little group with me and my partner and it's actually really interesting that when things are really challenging you end up being really creative. When things are tough you end up being so much more creative about your creativity.”