Track Listing

1. Ballet des coqs, for 5 part instrumental ensemble (Terpsichore, 254)
2. Gaillarde, for ensemble (Terpsichore, 304)
3. Gaillarde (Terpsichore, 298)
4. Ballet du Roy pour sonner apres (Terpischore, 269)
5. Ballet (Terpsichore, 273 incerti)
6. Ballet (Terpsichore, 264 incerti)
7. Terpsichore Dances: Ballet des Baccanales (278 incerti) / Ballet des feus (279) / Ballet des Matelotz (280)
8. La, la, la, je ne l'ose dire
9. Bransle simple 1 (La, la, je ne l'ose...) (Terpsichore)
10. Bransle double 3 (Terpsichore)
11. Terpsichore Dances: Bransle Gay 1 / Bransle de Montirande
12. Bransle de la torche
13. La Boree
14. La Bourrée (Terpischore, 32)
15. Pavane de Spaigne, for 4 part instrumental ensemble (Terpsichore, 30)
16. Spagnoletta (Terpischore, 27)
17. La Canarie (Terpischore, 31)
18. So ben, mi ch'a bon tempo
19. Courante (So ben mi ch'ha bon tempo) (Terpsichore, 142)
20. Courante (Light of Love), for violin, 2 violas, bass violin & lutes (Terpsichore, 152)
21. Terpsichore Dances: Courante (148) / Courante (174 incerti) / Courante (157 incerti)
22. Courante (Terpsichore, 183 incerti)
23. Courante La Mouline (Terpsichore, 107)
24. Volte, for 5 part instrumental ensemble (Terpsichore, 210)
25. Volte (Terpsichore, 240)
26. Terpsichore Dances: Volte (243) / Volte (231) / Volte (230)
27. Volte (Terpsichore, 229)
28. Volte, for 5 part instrumental ensemble (Terpsichore, 201)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52749 in Music
• Released on: 1998-12-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
Michael Praetorius, German composer and observer of things musical, was one of the most important musicians of the mid-17th century. His encyclopedia of musical instruments, Syntagma Musicum, richly illustrated and annotated, has in many instances given us our only description of the bewildering variety of musical noisemaking devices in use at the time. Terpsichore, similarly, is a collection of mostly French dance music that has never ceased to inspire players and listeners. It's the source for much of what we now call "Renaissance" music, even though it actually dates from about a hundred years later, and no early-music fair or festival would be complete without it. These performances, by an appropriately costumed Dutch early-music group, have the right sense of fun, and their instrumental arrangements are both zesty and colorful. Delightful. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews

Renaissance Rocks!
This selection of music from Praetorius' Terpsichore (a small selection from over 300 individual pieces) is very enjoyable. It spans several different styles from few instruments to the whole kit and kaboodle, and voice. You can tell they had fun in those days. I keep this one in my car and listen to it over and over from start to finish, never needing to skip a track. If you are interested in Renaissance music, this is your ticket; and the price is right.

Good fun, variety, and versatility.
What we call Renaissance Dance Music has enjoyed increasing popularity in recent decades. No self-respecting record catalogue can afford to be without it. Naxos offers this 57-minute CD, comprising 28 items from Michael Praetorius's collection "Terpsichore" of 1612. Nowhere in the published collection was instrumentation specified, hence modern groups such as this have fun "setting" each piece for the combinations of period instruments they play. Sometimes some fancy percussion is added to help point the dance rhythms.

Good fun, variety, and versatility are to be heard in the work of this fine Swedish ensemble, marred slightly by a narrow recording spectrum that lacks high and low frequencies. A reproduction of "The Peasant Dance" by Pieter Breugel the Elder adorns the front cover.

Lively melodies, infectious fun
If "early" or "renaissance" music appeals to you, Praetorius' Dances from Terpsichore should be a keystone of your collection. The melodies are lively, the gaiety is palpable. The performances on this disc are indeed spirited, with a nice balance between foot-pounding numbers and more stately melodies. Some selections include vocals (mainly in old French), which are entrancing. Even if this period of music isn't quite your favorite, this super-cheap disc definitely is worth a try; you may even change your tastes as a result of hearing it. By the way, Mr. Hurwitz' review has one error: the main performers are Swedish, not Dutch, and they are joined by a Swiss group on several tracks.