RONDELLUS: Sabbatum

Produced by Mihkel Raud
Released: 2002

A YouTube video of some guys performing "Hallowed be Thy Name" on a harp put me in mind of this strange little album from the Estonian medieval chamber orchestra Rondellus. If classical versions of Metallica songs weren't quirky enough, on Sabbatum Black Sabbath classics have been translated into authentic 14th Century chamber music! It's a bold and extremely interesting experiment that doesn't always succeed but makes for a pretty essential listen. Seriously, everyone needs to hear this at least once.

Rondellus do rather more than just strip back Sabbath’s songs to acoustic versions played on hurdy-gurdys, bagpipes and lutes which is what I probably actually expected when I dared to give this a listen. Instead, the songs have been completely deconstructed and transcribed into a medieval style, complete with lyrics chanted in Latin. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, because occasionally the arrangements and instrumentation are given prominence at the expense of the melody. This results in some tunes literally getting lost in the translation: 'War Pigs' and 'Symptom of the Universe' could be almost any song by anyone and 'After Forever', one of my favourite ever songs, is totally unrecognisable.

Nevertheless, the effect elsewhere is quite remarkable, if still somewhat bewildering. ‘Magus’ is quite obviously ‘The Wizard’ even with a Gothic harp and fiddle taking the place of guitar and harmonica, and ‘Solitudo’, ‘Planetarum vagatio’, ‘Via gravis’ and ‘Architectus urbis caelestis’ are all quite distinctly the songs they are meant to be, proving that even when performed in a musical style removed from their original form by 600 years, a great song remains a great song.

It's hard to know exactly what sort of audience this album is really aimed at, but one thing's for sure. When it comes to unique renditions of Black Sabbath material, Sabbatum takes the cake.

1. Verres Militares (War Pigs)
2. Oculi Filioli (Junior's Eyes)
3. Funambulus Domesticus (A National Acrobat)
4. Symptoma Mundi (Symptom of the Universe)
5. Post Murum Somnii (Behind the Wall of Sleep)
6. Post Aeternitatem (After Forever)
7. Magus (The Wizard)
8. Solitudo (Solitude)
9. Rotae Confusionis (Wheels of Confusion)
10. Planetarum Vagatio (Planet Caravan)
11. Via Gravis (A Hard Road)
12. Architectus Urbis Caelestis (Spiral Architect)

Rating: 72%