Chansons et Danceries: French Renaissance Wind Music

Piffaro (Artist), Josquin Desprez (Composer), Nicolas Gombert (Composer), Claudin de Sermisy (Composer), Claude Gervaise (Composer), Thomas Crecquillon (Composer), Jacques Buus (Composer), Philip van Wilder (Composer), Etienne du Tertre (Composer), Adrian Willaert (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Josquin Desprez, Nicolas Gombert, Claudin de Sermisy, Claude Gervaise, Thomas Crecquillon, et al.
• Audio CD (October 15, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Archiv Produktion
• ASIN: B0000057F3
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,979 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #5 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Renaissance (c.1450-1600) > General
  • #5 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Renaissance (c.1450-1600) > General AAS
  • #39 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Chansons

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available.
Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 15-OCT-1996

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hauntingly beautiful., November 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Chansons et Danceries: French Renaissance Wind Music (Audio CD)

We purchased this CD somewhat on a whim, based on an unsatisfied fondness for medieval sackbut music. This recording, however, provides much, much more and has rapidly become one of our favorites. Its haunting beauty is both relaxing and inspiring. We highly recommend it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Room for Nuances, February 29, 2008

By 

Leslie Richford (Selsingen, Lower Saxony) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chansons et Danceries: French Renaissance Wind Music (Audio CD)

"Chansons et Danseries": French Renaissance Wind Music. Performed by Piffaro - the Renaissance Band, dir. Joan Kimball und Robert Wiemken. Recorded in St. Osdag's Church in Mandelsloh near Hanover, Germany, in June and July 1994. Published in 1996 as Deutsche Grammophon Archiv 447 107-2. Total playing time: 62'44".

Although there is evidence of the existence of a shawm consort in 16th century France, there is only a very limited amount of music from France that was specifically written for such an ensemble. The Philadelphia Renaissance Wind Band (to use Piffaro's former name) has extricated itself from this quandary, however, by making its own arrangements (from Arbeau's "Orchésographie", for example) and by making use of pieces which, on a strict evaluation, should probably be considered Dutch (composers with names such as Buus, Willaert oder Van Wilder were from areas we today associate with Belgium). And together with the shawm and sackbut ensembles or the lute and bagpipes that one has come to associate with Piffaro, some exquisite recorder consorts have slipped into the program, reminding one in places of the musical paths trodden first by Clas Pehrsson's Musica Dolce ensemble or even by the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet. There is even a contrabass recorder to be heard!

What I personally like about this program ist that it is more comprehensive than "Canzoni e Danze" (which was recorded at the same sessions) and that the large number of "serious" pieces which are not just dance numbers leaves room for nuances, allowing the seven musicians of Piffaro to demonstrate their qualities not merely as rhythmically stomping "forte" virtuosi, but also as sensitive experts for the "piano" side of the coin. Of course, anyone looking merely for the wildness of bagpipes or the brassy loudness of "sackbuts" (trombones) could be disappointed because these aspects, although present, are embedded in an artistically and musically balanced whole.

As a footnote, I should like to add that Deutsche Grammophon's booklet for this second of their series of Piffaro CDs shows some improvements over the one issued with "Canzone e Danzi". The musicians are individually named, and abbreviations enable one to know who is playing which instrument when. Unfortunately, Deutsche Grammophon could still not bring itself to offer an introduction to the instruments which, today, have largely been forgotten. If you want to know more about them, you will have to use a musical encyclopedia or take a look at the magnificently produced booklets of the CDs by the group called Joculatores Upsalienses (there are three of them on the BIS label), where the whole gamut of late medieval instruments is lovingly described with words and contemporary illustrations.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for your Piffaro and Early Music collection, February 15, 2010

By 

Carol V. Stanger (Darien, IL) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chansons et Danceries: French Renaissance Wind Music (Audio CD)

This group is one of the most versatile and innovative early instruments groups performing today. If you have never gotten "into" early music, here's a good place to start.