The Early Music Club (EMC)

[Que]

This is imo a fantastic recording, but caveat emptor - it will assuredly NOT be to everyone's taste. Pérès' ensemble heavily ornaments the vocal line with Byzantine-flavored melismas and microtonal intervals.  I find the results totally convincing and very exciting - this is my personal favorite recorded version of this early masterpiece.

Those were my sentiments as well.

Q

[val]

I love the set recorded by David Munrow with the Early Music Consort, with the title "Music of the Gothic Era". Among others it includes works from Leonin, Perotin and Vitry.

The recordings of the Studio der frühe Musik were also very good, dedicated to the Troubadours, Adam de la Halle, Wolkenstein, Machaut, but, with the exception of the last two, I cannot find them in CD.

The recording of Carmina Burana by the Clemencic Consort is very exciting.

The Cantigas of Santa Maria by Savall and Machaut's Messe de Notre Dame by the Hilliard are other great moments.

[Drasko]

Just heard excerpt of this on radio, and though my familiarity with the style is none I quite liked how it sounded. Went to put it in shopping basket and then noticed there are quite a few discs with Peres performing various pre-gregorian types of chant. Is anyone familiar with these discs, what would be the basic differences between them and which would be recommendable? Thanks in advance!




Corsican and Mozarabic chant discs seem to be out of print.

[Que]

Found it! (Mouthwatering.... ) Thanks for the recommendations.

Got this a while ago and already commented a few times on the Listening thread.

But for just the record: a truly great composer in terrific, emotionally intense and non-smooth/lively performances. REVIEW
Must-have IMO. Thanks again for the posters on this thread for recommending it!



NOW: another request. This time on Paul van Nevel and the Huelgas Ensemble.

I got hold of an old-fashioned sampler disc.



Very enjoyable. On hearing excerpts of several discs the outstanding recording quality was particularly striking. Musically speaking I found of the CDs covered the excerpts of these discs the most appealing:



Any comments or additional recommendations?

Q

[Bogey]

A thread to discuss Baroque music in general and that which preceded it. History, HIP, recommended recordings, composers, whatever...

(I did a quick search and could not find a thread specifically like this one. I'm sure if there is one, Que will duly rap my cyber-knuckles with his cyber-ruler.)

Yup, you are braver man than I am to start such a thread without going through our official GMG Baroque Gate Keeper, Dave, but I hope you success with this thread.  And do not let him push you around with takes such as "You know Dave, we do have a Northern High Altitude Italian Baroque Music Written in The First Two Weeks of March 1660" thread.   

[Todd]

I always considered "early" music to be pre-Baroque.  And until recently I've tried very little.  But the stuff I've started listening to recently is very good.  John Dowland is excellent, William Byrd, too.  But so far, for me, Cristobal de Morales is the best I've found in early music.  Some amazing music that I need to explore more.

[Dr. Dread]

I always considered "early" music to be pre-Baroque.  And until recently I've tried very little.  But the stuff I've started listening to recently is very good.  John Dowland is excellent, William Byrd, too.  But so far, for me, Cristobal de Morales is the best I've found in early music.  Some amazing music that I need to explore more.

Thanks, Todd. I've been meaning to try some Byrd, mainly due to his association with Purcell, whom I enjoy. Dowland I haven't gotten around to yet. and Morales is a new name for me so I appreciate you dropping it here.

Any specific recordings we should look for from these composers?

[Todd]

Any specific recordings we should look for from these composers?

I've covered some in my "new" music log, except for Byrd - I'm still winding my way through his complete keyboard set on Hyperion, which is quite good.  (I'm too lazy to look up the disc names on my own.)

[Bogey]

My recent enjoyment of early music has been Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179).  The three cds I have are all outstanding:

   

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

A thread to discuss Baroque music in general and that which preceded it.

Good luck with this thread. A couple years ago I started some threads on some early composers (Schein, Schütz, Zelenka) and got only a handful of replies. (Most of those on the Schütz thread were about how to put the ü in his name)

There are still big gaps in my knowledge, but after exploring a lot of music from this time, I've come to the conclusion that the late Renaissance-Baroque period produced more good composers and interesting music than any other, except for the 20th century. And it wasn't that long ago I was rather dismissive of it. Just goes to show that you shouldn't dismiss what you don't know.

[Dr. Dread]

Thanks for the recording recommendations. I will add them to my wish-list.

Another thing to think about is your favorite early music artists and groups. For instance, as you may have noticed lately, I've been going on about His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts and have been acquiring their recordings regardless of composer.

[Bogey]

What are bird stops, Don?

[Dr. Dread]

[From Wiki, because I had to look the guy up.]

Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1595 – 1663) was a German organist and composer. He was the best-known composer for the organ in north Germany in the early to mid-17th century, and was an important forerunner of Dieterich Buxtehude and J.S. Bach.

Life
He was born in Wöhrden in Holstein. His father was an organist in both Wöhrden and Hamburg, and probably Scheidemann received some early instruction from him. Scheidemann studied with Sweelinck in Amsterdam from 1611 to 1614, and evidently was one of his favorite pupils, since Sweelinck dedicated a canon to him, prior to Scheidemann's return to Germany. By 1629, and possibly earlier, Scheidemann was in Hamburg as organist at the Catharinenkirche, a position which he held for more than thirty years, until his death in Hamburg in early 1663 during an outbreak of the plague.

Music and influence
Scheidemann was renowned as an organist and composer, as evidenced by the wide distribution of his works; more organ music by Scheidemann survives than by any other composer of the time. Unlike the other early Baroque German composers, such as Praetorius, Schütz, Scheidt, and Schein, each of whom wrote in most of the current genres and styles, Scheidemann wrote almost entirely organ music. A few songs survive, as well as some harpsichord pieces, but they are dwarfed by the dozens of organ pieces, many in multiple movements.

Scheidemann's lasting contribution to the organ literature, and to Baroque music in general, was in his Lutheran chorale settings, which were of three general types: cantus firmus chorale arrangements, which were an early type of chorale prelude; "monodic" chorale arrangements, which imitated the current style of monody—a vocal solo over basso continuo—but for solo organ; and elaborate chorale fantasias, which were a new invention, founded on the keyboard style of Sweelinck but using the full resources of the developing German Baroque organ. In addition to his chorale arrangements, he also wrote important arrangements of the Magnificat, which are not only in multiple parts but are in cyclic form towards liturgical use in alternation with the choir during the socalled Vespers, a technique in multiple-movement musical construction which was not to return with vigor until the 19th century. Among his students were Johann Adam Reincken, his successor at the St. Catharine Church in Hamburg and Dieterich Buxtehude.

[jwinter]

I have always been enamoured of the polyphonic motets of Lassus, after studying Sherlock Holmes' famed monograph on the subject (ref. The Adventure of the Bruce Partington Plans).  I have this recording:

[Bogey]

I have always been enamoured of the polyphonic motets of Lassus, after studying Sherlock Holmes' famed monograph on the subject (ref. The Adventure of the Bruce Partington Plans).  I have this recording:

It's posts like this that demand that you are one of the top five "hippest cats" that post here JW.

[Dr. Dread]

I have always been enamoured of the polyphonic motets of Lassus, after studying Sherlock Holmes' famed monograph on the subject (ref. The Adventure of the Bruce Partington Plans).  I have this recording:

You get points from me for mentioning early music and detective fiction in the same post.  

[Bulldog]

What are bird stops, Don?

Stops allow wind pressure to go through specific organ pipes.  In the case of a bird stop, a fluttering sound is heard.

Hopefully, there are a few organists on the board who can provide some detail.

[jwinter]

You get points from me for mentioning early music and detective fiction in the same post.  

Hey for a fellow Lew Archer fan, I can do no less.  Though I tend to be more into the Holmes/Nero Wolfe school than hard-boiled myself.  I've loved Parker's Spenser books for years though, and have recently tried (and liked) some Michael Connelly, so go figure.

Anyway, so as not to derail such an innocent young thread, I do actually own that Lassus disc.  I also occasionally like Gregorian chant, and have a few other discs of medieval music which I like (click pics for link)...

[Dr. Dread]

If anyone can recommend some madrigal recordings, that would be swell too.

[Bogey]

I have this one on the shelf JW.  The Anonymous 4 would have been incredible to see live.  Plus the liner notes that come with these discs are history lesson within themselves.