CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Ostinato

from: Alia Vox Spain

Release Date January 08, 2002
I've been a fan of Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI for a while. However it must be said that occasionally albums of the 'early music' era can be somewhat austere and dry, simply because the compositions may tend that way. This is not one of those recordings. This is fresh, lively, and exquisite music making, absolutely beautifully recorded by masterful musicians.

There is space and air in the sound, a nicely varied palette of different instruments, and the ensembles are small and very well placed to hear each instrument. A lute is a very soft-voiced instrument and typically recorded so that it gets lost competing with a viola da gamba and a harpsichord, but the balance here is exceptional. For instance, on 'Greensleeves to a Ground', ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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Essential Hyperion, Vol. 2

from: Hyperion UK

Release Date January 09, 2001
As with their first collection of label highlights, Hyperion's new two-disc collection provides a broad sampling of their exceptional catalogue and performers. Particularly rewarding are the selections from Beethoven (Scherzo from String Trio in C minor, op 9 no 3, performed by the Leopold Trio) and Thomas Tallis (Salvator mundi I, performed by the Winchester Cathedral Choir), but experienced and novice listeners alike will find much to enjoy on these discs. It's also a good value--more than 2 1/2 hours of music for less than $10.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Garden of Early Delights

from: Linn Records

Release Date April 16, 2008
The recorder is a superb consort or ensemble instrument, but as a solo instrument can get boring due to its un-complex tone. This problem is accentuated with 17th century sonatas which must be a blast to play, full of complex passages and opportunites to improvise, but which get tiresome on a 60-minute=plus CD.

Patricia Thorby has avoided this pitfall on this CD by a combination of clever programming, and most of all by selecting the Andrew Lawrence-King's harp as the continuo instrument. Its softer tone proves to be a much better accompaniment to the recorder than a harpsichord. She has selected 4 pieces from Der Fluyten Lust-hof, but adds a harp continuo on 3 of these nominally solo works. The presence of a continuo adds a new dimension ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

La Bella Noeva

from: Alpha

Release Date January 01, 2003
The recorder is a superb consort or ensemble instrument, but as a solo instrument can get boring due to its un-complex tone. This problem is accentuated with 17th century sonatas which must be a blast to play, full of complex passages and opportunites to improvise, but which get tiresome on a 60-minute=plus CD.

Patricia Thorby has avoided this pitfall on this CD by a combination of clever programming, and most of all by selecting the Andrew Lawrence-King's harp as the continuo instrument. Its softer tone proves to be a much better accompaniment to the recorder than a harpsichord. She has selected 4 pieces from Der Fluyten Lust-hof, but adds a harp continuo on 3 of these nominally solo works. The presence of a continuo adds a new dimension ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Biagio Marini - Dario Castello

from: Ricercar

Release Date March 11, 2008
The recorder is a superb consort or ensemble instrument, but as a solo instrument can get boring due to its un-complex tone. This problem is accentuated with 17th century sonatas which must be a blast to play, full of complex passages and opportunites to improvise, but which get tiresome on a 60-minute=plus CD.

Patricia Thorby has avoided this pitfall on this CD by a combination of clever programming, and most of all by selecting the Andrew Lawrence-King's harp as the continuo instrument. Its softer tone proves to be a much better accompaniment to the recorder than a harpsichord. She has selected 4 pieces from Der Fluyten Lust-hof, but adds a harp continuo on 3 of these nominally solo works. The presence of a continuo adds a new dimension ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Portrait

from: Harmonia Mundi Fr.

Release Date August 15, 2000
Andrew Manze is a Cambridge-educated, early-music scholar, an internationally-famous period violinist, an accomplished chamber musician and director of the prestigious Academy of Ancient Music. His discography is vast - specializing in the early to late Baroque and with a strong affinity to the more unusual, 'quirky' Baroque sonatas such as those by Tartini, Schmelzer and Biber - recordings made with fellow Baroque specialists, John Toll and Nigel North (AKA 'Romanesca').

This sampler CD is a nice compilation of Manze's music - from solo violin to full orchestral music - featuring works from more well-known composers (Telemann, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi) to the more obscure Italian violin virtuoso composers (Tartini, Uccellini, Pandolfi, Geminiani, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Landi: La morte d'Orfeo

from: Zig Zag Territoires

Release Date May 13, 2008
Stefano Landi must have a similar relationship with Monteverdi in music history to what François Francoeur was to Rameau. Both of the lesser known composers wrote in a similar style to their respective contemporaries, except both avoided the extremes that the the older composers imparted in their music. What this boils down to is the fact that 'La morte d'Orfeo' sounds much more like Cavalli than it does L'Orfeo. It's still immensely enjoyable (I dare say it's my favorite 17th century Italian work), and this recording will not disappoint. The plot picks up after where most other works on the myth drop off, meaning that Eurydice has died, been retrieved from the underworld, and died again before the action begins. There is a vast number of characters, and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Boccherini, Geminiani, Legrenzi, Locatelli, Tartini (Box Set)

from: Opus 111

Release Date November 18, 2003
This is a reissue of 5 of the many recordings made by Fabio Biondi for Opus 111 in the 1990s, they are still in their original packaging in a cardboard slip cover but at a bargain basement price. As Europa Galante directed by Fabio Biondi are, in my opinion, the best interpreters of the Italian Baroque we can take it as read that the performances on all 5 discs are first rate, and the sound quality on all 5 discs is excellent, too. Writing a full review of all 5 discs is too large a task, as is reading 5 reviews in one go, so I will try to briefly inform the reader about the music on each of the CDs, roughly in the order of dates of composition.
The first CD is titled " Invenzioni Stravaganze", which really does not need translation, covers the period ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Virtuoso Italian Vocal Music

from: L'oiseau-Lyre

Release Date September 24, 2007
This is a reissue of 5 of the many recordings made by Fabio Biondi for Opus 111 in the 1990s, they are still in their original packaging in a cardboard slip cover but at a bargain basement price. As Europa Galante directed by Fabio Biondi are, in my opinion, the best interpreters of the Italian Baroque we can take it as read that the performances on all 5 discs are first rate, and the sound quality on all 5 discs is excellent, too. Writing a full review of all 5 discs is too large a task, as is reading 5 reviews in one go, so I will try to briefly inform the reader about the music on each of the CDs, roughly in the order of dates of composition.
The first CD is titled " Invenzioni Stravaganze", which really does not need translation, covers the period ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

An Italian Sojourn

from: Cedille

Release Date September 04, 2007
This is a reissue of 5 of the many recordings made by Fabio Biondi for Opus 111 in the 1990s, they are still in their original packaging in a cardboard slip cover but at a bargain basement price. As Europa Galante directed by Fabio Biondi are, in my opinion, the best interpreters of the Italian Baroque we can take it as read that the performances on all 5 discs are first rate, and the sound quality on all 5 discs is excellent, too. Writing a full review of all 5 discs is too large a task, as is reading 5 reviews in one go, so I will try to briefly inform the reader about the music on each of the CDs, roughly in the order of dates of composition.
The first CD is titled " Invenzioni Stravaganze", which really does not need translation, covers the period ... Read More: