Corvus Corax - Live in Berlin (DVD)

Title: Live in Berlin (DVD)
Artist: Corvus Corax
Genre: Medieval
Release Date: 31st July 2009
Label: Pica Music



Introduction

I was at the excellent gig in Berlin that this DVD was recorded at and so I was anticipating a great offering from these guys who have been, in one form or another, going for twenty years now. The venue was small and atmospheric, being the Passionskirche in Kreuzberg, set amid a small winter market and I wondered how that intimate atmosphere would translate to DVD. Very well as it happens!


Line-up

Hatz - Drums,Percussion
Wim - Bagpipes, Shawms, Cornets
Castus - Bagpipes, Binjou, Shawm, Bombard,Cittern, Hurdy-gurdy
Jordon - Bagpipes, Shawms
Teufel - Bagpipes, Shawms
Harmann der Drescher - Drums and Low Drums
Ardor vom Venushugel - Shawns, Bagpipes, Drumscheid


Website

http://www.corvuscorax.de/


Detailed Review

The venue, as I have said, is a small church in Kreuzberg and I thought it was initially a brave thing to attempt to capture the very vibrant atmosphere that emitted from the place. However, as soon as the DVD began I was immediately transported back to that energetic and ancient feeling that pervaded the evening just before Christmas last year. 'Prozession / Türkischer Tanz' began and you could palpably taste the audience's excitement as the band struck up. Both sound and lighting was good from the first off on the DVD, and despite it being a smaller venue the video work was excellent. 'Urmawi' and 'Totus Floreo' followed, as tight and energetic as the first song and then 'Cheiron' followed by 'Feralis Saltare-Pack'. There were various age ranges in the audience, from the (very) young to the extremely elderly and everyone in between, some in medieval dress and the videographers managed to capture not just the best of the band but the best of the audience as well.

' Saderalladon' and 'Tertio' were the next tracks with Teufel taking time to amuse and joke with the audience to great effect. The lighting design I have to say was exemplary and this comes over really well on the DVD, being different for practically every track and of a very high standard for any auditoria. Varying well known CORVUS tracks followed notably 'Ballade de Mercy' and 'Venus Vina Musica' my personal favourite. Everything about this DVD production is slick and tight, and the setlist (22 songs in all) was carefully chosen so as not to ever be in danger of letting the audience know what was happening next. One moment you are lulled by a mournful and beautiful ballad the next there are ribald jokes and tunes that you can't help but want to dance to. The zenith came with 'Chou Chou Sheng' which sees them dancing in sync with their pipes and shawms and I defy anyone not to want to join them.

The audience by now was having the time of their lives and could sense that this was their very final song as each member of the band gave a short performance of their own with wicked drum solos and instrumentals that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. The atmosphere I was so worried about not being there had been well and truly captured and I can't do anything but heartily recommend this to anyone who has a love of the band's music, the medieval or simply just likes something a little bit different. The DVD extras are missing from this promotional disc, but the “real” DVD is in fact packed with many treats for you including excerpts from their China and Mexico dates and apparently a very fly booklet is included as well as 'Mittelater Jetzt' (Medieval Now) a 1993 film about the band plus two Audio CDs which you get also with the package.

Cover Picture




Tracklist DVD

01. Prozession (Türkischer Tanz)
02. Urmawi
03. Totus Floreo
04. Cheiron
05. Feralis Saltare-Pack
06. Saderalladon
07. Tertio
08. Bibit Aleum
09. Skudrinka 2 (Mazedonischer Tanz)
10. Ballade de Mercy
11. Venus Vina Musica
12. Nominalto
13. Titenka
14. Albanischer Tanz
15. In Taberna
16. Sanyogita
17. Saltarello Ductia
18. Platerspiel
19. Saltarello
20. Admissio
21. Filii Neidhardi
22. Chou Chou Sheng
Total running time- 125 minutes


Rating

Audio: 8
Video: 8
Concert: 9
Extras: - (Only Promotional Discs with the Concert)
Total: 8.4

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