Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Pavane: Lachrymae antique
2. Rondeau
3. Overture
4. Act 3. Your counsel all... Great minds... Thy hand, Belinda... When I am laid in earth... With droo
5. Symphony - Come, ye sons of art, away - Sound the trumpet - Come, ye sons of art
6. Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
7. Hallelujah
8. He was despised
9. Overture - Hornpipe

Disc 2:

1. Ombra mai fu
2. Dall'ondoso periglio... Aure, deh, per pieta
3. Verdi prati
4. Sinfonia
5. Beatus vir
6. Pur ti miro
7. Sonata pian' e forte
8. 1. Allegro - 2. Adagio - 3. Presto

Disc 3:

1. 2. Adagio
2. Guitar Quintet in E~3. Menuetto
3. opening
4. 1. Allegro
5. Crucifixus
6. 3. Allegro
7. 1. Allegro
8. Fandango

Disc 4:

1. Contredanse
2. Caprice de Villers-Cotterets
3. Offertoire sur les grands jeux
4. Regina coeli
5. Introit (extract)
6. Tunc repletum est gaudio nostrum
7. La Plainte, ou le Tombeau de Mesdemoiselles de Visée, filles de l'auteur
8. La Plainte
9. Overture
10. Air des trembleurs: L'Hiver qui nous tourmente s'obstine à nous geler
11. Chaconne
12. Air: Régnez, plaisirs et jeux

Disc 5:

1. 3. Allegro non tanto
2. jesus bleibet meine Freude
3. Air
4. 1. Allegro
5. Toccata
6. Fugue
7. Aria: Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen
8. Oboe Concerto in F minor~2. Largo
9. Sinfonia
10. Aria
11. Es ist vollbracht
12. 3. Presto
13. 1. Prelude
14. Magnificat anima mea
15. 1. Allegro - 2. Largo - 3. Presto
16. 2. Siciliano
17. 5. La Réjouissance

Disc 6:

1. 1. Preludio
2. Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine
3. 1. Allegro
4. 2. Andante
5. 3. Allegro assai
6. Gloria in excelsis... Et in terra pax
7. Prelude & Fugue in C BWV 846
8. 2. Largo ma non tanto
9. 5. Bourrée
10. 6. Gigue
11. 1. Ouverture - 6. Menuet - 7. Badinerie
12. 1. Präludium
13. 6. Gigue
14. Deposuit potentes
15. Agnus Dei
16. 2. Largo - 3. Presto
17. 3. Allegro assai
18. Triumph! Der Fürst des Lebens sieget!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84938 in Music
• Released on: 2006-01-01
• Number of discs: 6

Customer Reviews

Great value, if slightly substandard recordings, for classical newbie
"100 Best Baroque" is what it seems - a compilation of the 100 definitive Baroque compositions. For a very low price you get a complete overview of the Baroque style, and while the sound quality of the recordings will not satisfy a serious student or fan of classical music, they are more than enough for a classical neophyte such as myself.

The compilation breaks down the songs into six categories on six separate CDs:

1. England and the Baroque - Handel's Zadok the Priest and Messiah, Purcell's O Solitude, Byrd's With Lillies White, etc.

2. The Best of Italian Baroque - Handel's Alcina and others, Albinoni's Adagio, Gabrielli's Sonata Pian e forte, Vivaldi's "Summer," etc.

3. Treasures of the Mediterranean Baroque - Vivaldi's Gloria, Boccherini's Guitar Quintet in E, Soler's Fandango, etc.

4. The Glory of French Baroque - Philidor, Lully, De Lalande, etc.

5. Bach and His Time - Pachelbel's Canon in D, J.S. Bach's Cantanta, Telemann, etc.

6. The Genius of Bach - all Bach selections.

The sound recordings are of secondary quality as one could expect for such a low-budget item as this. Still, this collection is perfect for the casual listener or for background music. That does not mean that the quality is poor - far from it - it's just not as good as what you can expect from some higher-priced CDs.

All in all, a fantastic value.

Good but Poorly Organized Music Selection
Let me start by saying that I am definitely not a Baroque music expert by any means, so my thinking about how poorly organized the music selection is might be off-base. If so, please correct me, because I really want to know!

Upon receiving this set, I noticed pretty immediately that the "Treasures Of Mediterranean Baroque" contained many composers that I always just thought of as Italian, such as Vivaldi and Tartini, which should have been a part of the set's "The Best of Italian Baroque" Disk -- and actually, there are also Vivaldi pieces on "The Best of Italian Baroque", and I don't understand what factors are considered in deciding which pieces went on which disk.

There are also several Handel pieces on "The Best of Italian Baroque", which should actually belong on a German Baroque Disk (which the set does not contain), or on the set's "England & The Baroque" disk -- and actually, there are also Handel pieces on the "England & The Baroque" disk.

I enjoyed the music, and especially appreciated the Bach selections for the two Bach disks. However, I was hoping I would be able to learn more about regional Baroque sounds, and because of the confusing way the set is organized, that won't be part of my listening experience.