HILDEGARD VON BINGEN

Garmarna usually specializes in slightly-amplified versions of Scandinavian folk music, which is quite nice, but they took a left turn on this release. It is an adaptation of the music of medieval abbess and mystic Hildegard von Bingen to what I can only call a trip-hop backing. Lots of stop-start electronic beats, crisp acoustic guitar and fiddle and lush keyboards. Vocalist Emma Härdelin has an ethereal, soaring voice that is perfect for this type of material. This album is a nice contrast to all the early music versions of Hildegard's music by groups like Sequentia, with their perfect, classically-trained voices and sparse instrumentation. Not essential, but an interesting experiment. If you like early music or electronic pop, it will do the trick.