Customer Reviews

100 Best Baroque

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"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.

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.