Customer Reviews

Baroque Celebration

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The New York Kammermusiker is one of my favorite ensembles, and I regret that they only have released to CDs. The ensemble the following instruments in various numbers: oboe, oboe d'amore, English horn, bassoon, and contrabassoon. They have a great sound...indeed, for some of the bigger pieces, such as the Lully and Handel, they sound almost orchestral. The nuancing and phrasing of the players is very satisfying, and the selection of repertoire is very nice. The Purcell suite sounds especially sweet in this arrangement.

There is a fun, short piece by Purcell that was played on thie disc with two bassoons and contrabassoon that's a delight.

This is a great disc to introduce someone to the joys of the Baroque, or to enjoy the sounds of the double reed instruments, or simply to have something lively and fun to listen to.

Three cheers for the NYKamm. !

Let's face it, there aren't that many fans of Baroque music in this world, and many of them would prefer strings to woodwinds, with or without double-reeds. So this collection is aimed for a niche within a niche... and it hits the target dead-center! If you love the sound of oboes, bassoons, and krumhorns, you MUST have this in your collection.

This is a nice collection of baroque works. They are more of the era of pieces that include a bit of drums and tambourines, although not all tracks include the percussion. The Water Music selections are only excerpts which is always difficult, however there are 42 tracks in all on this CD. Also keep in mind this is a double reed ensemble and so for example in the Water Music you either won't hear the usual horn parts or they are played by a reed.

If you like Renaissance music, or maybe even if you don't, you're bound to love this wonderful CD. It's one of the top 10 or so out of my collection of about a thousand. I don't have the literature that came with the CD in front of me, but if memory serves me, the NY Kammermusiker group plays Renaissance music on modern double reed instruments. While I love crumhorns &c, the sound here is even better and richer. I don't know if that's due to the instruments, the players, or both. But it doesn't matter. It's fantastic. Their Renaissance Tour of Europe disk is equally good -- one of my other top 10's.