Ostara

First album - Released in February 2004

The album title, Ostara, evokes the spring festival. Eastre, the Teutonic goddess of dawn and spring, gave her name to the English "Easter." From this name comes Ostara, the festival of the vernal equinox that corresponds to Christian Easter, a theme that perfectly suits the festive tone of the vocal and instrumental pieces on Skarazula's debut album.

Ostara presents both original compositions by the group and works drawn from the medieval repertoire. Like the musicians of the Middle Ages, two members of Skarazula, François Rainville, a luthier, and Steve Grenier, crafted several of the instruments they play. The psaltery, the cittern, the mandora, the marine trumpet, and the bowed fiddle are thus the result of the work of these musician-luthiers.

The recording of the album benefited from the exceptional acoustics of La Pierre Angulaire, a café theatre located in Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, in central Quebec, built directly on a mountain.