Amber Soundroom
Folkdove (F,1975)*****
There are many French folk pearls of which still little is known outside France. Only some limited reissues, like the 2 items from Mormos, or some compilations from Mallicorne. Folkdove from Brittany (Bretagne) is also such a pearl, which was originally only pressed in 400-600. This is now reissued on CD from a "with no noise system remastered vinyl recording", with perfect sound. It doesn't really sound too different from the best UK examples which have medieval inspirations, subtle original and inspired arrangements, and beautiful vocals (items like Midwinter, Mourning Phase,..). What confirmed this original sound were some old instruments which were especially built for the group, like psalter, spinet, and medieval dulcimer. A couple of songs have very beautiful vocal arrangements. Often the six-piece group arrangements are sparse and rich at the same time. The female vocals for instance have a rich coloured sound too, which are already a blessing to hear. A must-have.
The album was released on LP, and I think was prepared for a CD release on Garden Of Delights (the layout and quality booklet is like prepared for it), but finally the label reissued it on CD themselves.
