Discover Early Music
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Composer: Alfonso X (el Sabio)Composer: 11th century French Polyphony Anonymous
Composer: Carmina Burana Anonymous
Composer: Antoine Busnois
Composer: William Byrd
Composer: Ambrosian Chant
Composer: Gregorian Chant
Composer: John Dowland
Composer: Guillaume Dufay
Composer: John Dunstable
Composer: Carlo Gesualdo
Composer: Claude Goudimel
Composer: Hildegard of Bingen
Composer: Heinrich Isaac
Composer: Clement Janequin
Composer: Josquin Desprez
Composer: Francesco Landini
Composer: Orlande de Lassus
Composer: Alonso de Mudarra
Composer: Jacob Obrecht
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-11-01
Music Label: Naxos
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Procession
- Viderunt omnes... (2-part organum)
- ...fines terre salutare dei nostri jubilate deo omnis terra (plainchant)
- Notum fecit...(2-part organum)
- ...Dominus...
- ...salutare suum ante conspectum gentium revelavit...
- ...justitiam suam (plainchant)
- [Unspecified] Cantiga de Santa Maria
- Kyrie
- Den III ronde - Den VI ronde - Les quatres branles
- Gaillarde I - II - III
- Sanctus
- [Unspecified] Tiento for vihuela
- Il Magnanimo Pietro
- Kyrie
- Kyrie
Music reviews of Discover Early Music
Music Review: Essential
Rating: 4 Stars
I highly recommend this set. It is an excellent introduction to medieval and Renaissance music. The choice of compositions is mostly good and the performances absolutely top-notch; the uncommonly enthusiastic ensembles Unicorn and Oni Wytars, the wonderfully solemn Nova Schola Gregoriana (I have never heard another group that is so perfectly suited to Gregorian Chant), and, above all, the incomparable Tonus Peregrinus are just some of the excellent groups performing here-the only dry spot is the insufferably dull Capilla Flamenca. However, they only show up on a few tracks-barely ten minutes' worth of music in total-so it doesn't make a great deal of difference.
But it's the superb accompanying booklet that really sets this thing apart. Featuring an erudite 65-page long essay, an extensive glossary, a list of recommended recordings, and a beautiful timeline, this set is truly unique. The essay is outstandingly accessible, too, completely lacking in the usual dryness and pretension of classical music discussions (particularly early music discussions). There is even occasional humour-"Chant is...a close relation of recitative...it also belongs to the same family as rap or hip-hop. Mozart, Eminem, and St. Ambrose may seem like odd companions, but they have in common the fact that they all prioritise words over melodies. If you cannot follow the recitative sections, you'll have no idea what's happening on Figaro's wedding day, what trailer-park poor whites are angry about, or what's so big about the Christian message." You might not find that funny (it is admittedly somewhat weak), but it is at least an attempt at humour, and even that is horribly rare in this sort of thing. And then there's the ridiculously low price-Naxos once again puts the absurdly expensive labels to shame with far superior products for far lower prices.
But there are, unfortunately, flaws. For one thing, the booklet's layout is quite confusing. Everything is out of order-he discusses Tracks 1-3, then 10-13, then 15-16 and 20-21, then 4-9, etc., etc. Not only this, but the numbering of tracks is off. He counts Tracks 4-9 on Disc 1 as a single track; subsequently, Tracks 4-9 are called Track 4, then Track 10 is called Track 5, Track 11 is called Track 6, etc. Also, it would have been nice if texts and translations were included, but I suppose this would have bulked up the booklet too much. If you can get past this, the booklet is outstanding. However, the worst problem of all is with the music itself; Guillaume de Machaut is unrepresented. How can an introduction to early music ignore this greatest exponent of the Ars Nova (and, indeed, one of maybe three or four known composers from before 1400)? The booklet does mention him, at least, but really this just makes it even more inexplicable that not a single Machaut composition appears on the disc. It isn't as if there wasn't enough room on the discs to include a short Machaut composition-Disc 2 is only an hour long, for heaven's sake.
Really, though, all of these flaws are completely outweighed by the overall excellence of the set. This is essential, and besides, it only costs $10; what have you got to lose?
General CDs
- Styles > Classical
- Chamber Music > General
- Featured Composers, A-Z > ( B ) > Byrd, William
- ( D ) > Dowland, John
- Dufay, Guillaume
- ( G ) > Gesualdo, Carlo
- ( H ) > Hildegard of Bingen
- ( L ) > Lassus, Orlando di(Lasso) > All Works by Lassus
- ( O ) > Obrecht, Jacob
- ( T ) > Tallis, Thomas
- Taverner, John
- Forms & Genres > Rondos
- Historical Periods > Early Music > Sacred & Religious
- Vocal & Song
- General
- Renaissance (c.1450-1600) > Sacred & Religious
- Sacred & Religious > General
- Opera & Vocal > General
- Historical Periods > Renaissance (c.1450-1600)
- Oratorios
- Vocal Non-Opera > Chansons
- Chants
- Masses
- Psalms
- Songs & Lieder > Lieder
- Madrigals
- Miscellaneous > Instructional > General
- Dowland, John - Works by Dowland
- Dufay, Guillaume - Works by Dufay
- Obrecht, Jacob - Works by Obrecht
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