Track Listing

1. Renaissance Song & Dance (Now Will the Sound of Singing Tell/Bransles d
2. Dance Suite - Collection of 1613 (Johanna/Regina/Rosina/Magdelena/Marga
3. Three English Songs for Voices and Instruments (Lully Lullary (The Cove
4. Instrumental Music of the Early Barogue (Two Aufzugs/Schreittanz (Sprin
5. Festive Sounds (Trotto - English 14th Century/Alle, Psallite - Alleluya
6. Trouvere Tunes (Rondeau - Dieux d'Amours/Virelair - E Dame Jolie)
7. Cabinet Organ (Preambulum in Fa/ der Zeuner Tantz/Preambulum In/Passame
8. Lauda and Motet (Alla Trinta - 13th Century/Venite a Laudare - 13th Cen
9. Minstrel Melodies (Ach Reine Zart - Liederbuch/Das Jaegerhorn - Liederb
10. Medieval Dances (Dance Tune - French Circa 1300/Stantipes - English 13t

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97827 in Music
• Released on: 2008-08-24
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Medieval and Renaissance: Minstrels, Songs & Dances by Musica Antiqua

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Customer Reviews

Excellent cross-section of early music
While I understand the first reviewer's complaint about the crackling, it's only on the first two tracks (it's more like you're playing a record than being just unbearable), the rest of the tracks are clean, and I find that the loveliness of the music itself more than overcomes that shortcoming. Track 5, "Festive Sounds", a medley, begins with "Trotto" a rousing drum-driven piece that sounds like a medieval festival dance fest. If you are fond of medieval fair type music, this cd has plenty of lively tunes with the earthy and airy instrumentation authentic to the period. Well worth owning.

A nice overview of very early music
This was one of the first recordings of early music I ever bought. It's a broad survey of styles and periods, from the 12th to 17th centuries. I've become a more sohisticated listener since then, but I still get this one out fairly regularly. The recording is apparently old and the digital remastering was not done extraordinarily well, but those who are more interested in music than in audio equipment should be able to listen through the occasional (minor) vinyl surface noise. My major complaint (why I gave it 3 stars instead of 4) is the lack of documentation--there is no information about the musicians, and many of the composers are uncredited (some because they actually are anonymous, but sometimes out of apparent laziness). Still, at this price it's a bargain.

adequate performances but totally inadequate information
It is perhaps unfair to judge the performances on this recording (presumably made in the late 1950s/early 60s? - we are not given a date) by modern standards of early music performance. Yes, there are moments when the experimental nature of the approach is all too apparent, both in terms of the [im]plausibility of the interpretations and in the [at times] excruciating intonation (a particularly pertinent example is the shawm playing in track 10). But what is in fact by far the most deplorable feature of this recording is the utter sparsity of information provided - about the performers, the instruments, the composers, the repertoire, etc. Worse still, what little that is provided is often hopelessly inaccurate: sometimes in the form of blatant spelling errors (eg the Coventry Carol becomes here 'Lully Lullary', etc), at other times factual blunders (the medieval 'Estampie' in track 10 is in fact a 16th cent [ie Renaissance] tourdion, 'Quand je bois du vin clairet', whilst John Dowland's 'Frogg Galliard', c.1597, is here given an anonymous attribution...etc, etc, etc).

In short, for those not acquainted with pre-Baroque music, this is NOT a good place to start!!! Seasoned Early Music connoisseurs, on the other hand, may find a perverse pleasure in some atrocious moments, or perhaps take interest in its value as an example of historically informed performance style in the pioneering years - but you have been warned!!

For those interested, here are some alternative recommendations if you are new to this music: firstly, 2 wide-ranging compilations by 2 well-known ensembles -

1. Sinners and Saints - The New London Consort/Philip Pickett (Decca 48559)
2. Portrait ('Moyen Age et Renaissance') - Hesperion XX/Jordi Savall (Auvidis Fontalis 'Portrait' ES9904), or either of the 2 new compilations by Savall and his ensemble(s) on Alia Vox ('Harmonie Universelle', AV9810; 'Harmonie Universelle II', AV9839).

and a compilation (mostly of early music) featuring a number of different groups -

'Pastime with Good Company' (Alpha, A901) [includes groups like L'Arpegiatta, Le Poeme Harmonique, Diabolus in Musica...]