MALICORNE 4 [AKA: NOUS SOMMES CHANTEURS DE SORNETTES]

This group delivers French sung traditional music with strong emphasis on singing, often having multi-vocal choral, accompanied with violins, harpsichords, flutes, guitars and also bass guitar and drums, but with small emphasis to the modern instruments. Quite pompous approach is in my opinion characteristic to this record, not in very painful style though.

The traditional sides are strongly romantic in ancient medieval European style, covering ballads, marches and traditional dances. Most memorable tunes for me here are the chorally sung "Daniel, Mon Fils" and as finest "La Blanche Biche", having an experimental voice layer for a background of the lady singer, males joining later, melting modern and traditional approach in a fine manner. "Le Jardiner Du Couvent" is also probably interesting track for prog fans, this "mini epic" starts with melodic minor tune for pairing male and female voices, accompanied by piano, bass, and violin, with these creating tension released by a rock sequence later (not being really favorable direction to my taste). Later acoustic chord progressions and singing with piano, bass and violin continues. The album closes to "Ma Chanson Est Dite", which seems more like a happy, joyful joke than a proper song.

If French traditional music within a progressive folk rock sound context interests you, this group delivers it certainly. Nothing specially wrong with the record, but due some stylistic solutions it does not completely fit to my personal taste.