Therese Schroeder-Sheker – The Queen's Minstrel (1988)

This is a medieval / classical / folk album on the American jazz label Windham Hill, which the charity shop I worked in accepted as a donation, along with many similar (possibly from someone who reviewed such things).

They didn't sell, and after one periodic cull were about to be thrown out, when I offered them a home for a token donation.

Of those I've listened to, there isn't yet one I've liked or hated.

Until now. Can you guess which way this is going to go?

Surprise, surprise, I quite like this. There's no bangers here, and I won't be dancing round the room, but there's a lovely gentle mix of solo harp pieces and pleasant recorder and harp pieces.

The couple of choral pieces are a little tiresome, but not so much that they spoil the overall vibe of the album. Just a nice gentle, relaxing collection of music. Sometimes that's all you want.

STOP PRESS: I just read the following about this album.

Schroeder-Sheker works as a music-thanatologist, where the practitioner works with those who are actively dying or have received a terminal diagnosis with a life expectancy of less than six months. The goals of music-thanatology include reduction of physical as well as emotional pain, creation of a supportive environment while dying, helping the patient become more conscious of their own death process.

That brings a whole new possibility to what I might be doing when I next listen to this.

Link to full album

3* - gentle, background harp music, good with recorders, less so with voices.