current 93 “Idumaea”
from: black ships ate the sky, 2006
Black Ships Ate the Sky is a 2006 album by the UK-based musical ensemble Current 93. The album features numerous guest vocalists, such as Anohni, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Marc Almond, and Shirley Collins. It features nine versions of the 1816 Appalachian tune “Idumæa,” with lyrics of a 1763 Methodist hymn by Charles Wesley, each featuring vocals by a different artist. The album was issued in digipak packaging, with a 56-page booklet containing liner notes, lyrics, photographs, and credits.
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Here, Ms. Collins, the doyenne of the British folk Renaissance, resurrects a seventeenth century diving rod as a pivotal portal into this amazing project. Still with us at the age of 88, I would direct you to her stunning catalogue of work and her most recent recording from 2023, Archangel Hill. Thrilling to have her continuing to operate in the ever expanding world of song.
“And am I born to die?
To lay this body down!
And must my trembling spirit fly
Into a world unknown?
A land of deepest shade,
Unpierced by human thought;
The dreary regions of the dead,
Where all things are forgot!
Soon as from earth I go,
What will become of me?
Eternal happiness or woe
Must then my portion be!
Waked by the trumpet sound,
I from my grave shall rise;
And see the Judge with glory crowned,
And see the flaming skies!
Editor’s Note: There are conflicting records of this songs content, so Ms. Collings version deviates from what is listed here.”
