Track Listing

1. J'Ai Vû le Loup
2. Has Tu Point Veu
3. Branle Double
4. Branle de Montirande
5. Branle de la Torche
6. Mignonne, Allons Voir Si la Rose
7. Frais et Gaillard
8. M'Avoit Promis
9. Volte
10. Mes Pas Semez
11. Gaillarde d'Escosse
12. Laroque Gaillarde
13. Alemande de Liège
14. Ma Bergère, Ma Lumière
15. Estans Assis aux Rives Aquatiques (PS. 137): Estans Assis/Estans Assis
16. Prélude
17. Tant Que Vivray
18. Ung Gay Bergère
19. O Madame, Pers-Je Mon Tems
20. J'Ay le Rebours
21. Branles de Village
22. Jeune Fillette
23. Jeune Fillette
24. Jeune Fillette
25. Nimphe Jolie
26. Jean de Nivelle

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64673 in Music
• Released on: 1993-09-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com
This title isn't just a joke. It makes the valid point that these Renaissance pieces occupied the same place in their culture as our pop music does in ours. People whistled these tunes in the street and danced to them at night, and you can easily accept the disc's title when hearing the Baltimore Consort's extremely lively performances, which have all the rhythmic drive and gusto of a good rock band. The ensemble's arrangements and the variety of its programming also contribute to the success of this disc, which would make an excellent introduction to music of the period. The booklet contains translations of all the vocal texts, and Dorian's sound leaps out of the loudspeakers with great clarity and presence. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews

If Led Zeppelin had been born 400 years earlier...
...and played the lute, they would've played like Ron McFarlane, and sang like Custer LaRue. Wonderful performances of 16th C popular music on historical instruments, with lovely twists of rock'n'roll performance techniques. Check out the jazzy krummhorn glissandos, the sexy lute strumming, the straight-ahead power vocal, and the hip plucked bass viol -- especially on the last track. This is my #1 "Desert Island Disk."

My favorite + audiophile recording
I've attended Baltimore Consort performances a number of times, and they are just about my favorite early music group. They do an outstanding job of making "old" music come alive. Sometimes early music recordings are dry and academic, and the Baltimore Consort is as far from that as you can get. Finally, they have a great since of humor, which often peaks through in their music.

They specialize in popular secular tunes of the age. Their playing is impeccable, and most of the group are accomplished soloists. La Rocque 'n' Roll is probably my favorite recording of theirs, the songs are fun, interesting, and involving. The best of the best...

The fact that the recording is technically very good is a nice bonus. As a matter of fact, "Jean de Nivelle" (track 26) is the first thing I play when evaluating speakers. It helps that I've heard the performance live (and unamplified), so I have a real life comparison. The recoding clearly captures the nuances of the individual instruments. Although obviously not as loud as modern rock, the recording still gives challenges speaker dynamics. Unlike some gee whiz audiophile recordings, I can listen to these songs again and again.

A perfect album
This is my favorite CD of all time. I've had it now for five years, I listen to it all the time, and I never get tired of it. Every track is enormously beautiful, from the bright and sunny tunes through the quieter and more melancholy ones.

This is a CD that sounds perfect in the early morning, late at night, or any other time of day.

I've become a huge fan of the Baltimore Consort (one of the highlights of my life was seeing the group perform the songs on this album live at Synod Hall in Pittsburgh, PA) and "La Rocque 'n' Roll" is their "Sgt. Pepper."