Product Description Throughout history, the symbolic and allegorical allure of flowers has been irresistible to artists, poets and composers who have delighted in the overt beauty and secret codes that flowers convey. Available again by popular demand, the Orlando Consort's The Rose, the Lily and the Whortleberry explores the inventiveness of European composers from the 13th - 16th centuries who used floral imagery to illustrate both earthly and heavenly love (both pure and erotic). The disc's selections effortlessly switch between enchanting representations of horticulture and sentiments that would make any gardener blush. A handsomely illustrated, 116-page book features the complete song texts, as well as full-color garden illustrations and additional notes contributed by Sir Roy Strong, President of the Garden History Society of England, Susan Hitch, an expert in medieval literature and a BBC Radio 3 presenter. As a special bonus, Christopher Bradley-Hole, one of the world's top garden designers, contributes a Medieval garden plan with a contemporary twist. Amazon.com This beautiful CD of music from the 13th to 16th centuries in France, England, Spain, Italy, and the Low Countries finds the all-male Orlando Consort centering their attention on texts having to do with the garden and flowers. They open with a beautiful chanson by Machaut and his unique technique of playing melodies and texts off one another simultaneously to make a stunning blend--an ideal floral arrangement, if you will. The Virgin Mary is often referred to in floral terms, so many of these works are religious in nature, and there's a terrific motet by Brumel from The Song of Songs. Tempi and textures vary, so that there's never a sense of tedium. The CD comes with a grandly illustrated booklet, filled with reproductions, in brilliant color, of Medieval and Renaissance art. The idea, the music making, the presentation are all ravishing; this is already one of the best CDs of 2006. --Robert Levine