Customer Reviews

Dance of the Renaissance

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great CD. Searles has made a number of more new age heavy on the synthesizers cds-THIS one however, plays great music of the renaissance era-using acoustic instruments very warmly and unobtrusively filled in with synthesizer. You could use this for a renaissance party and not feel that it was inauthentic-truth is -alot of cds of this type of music played solely on traditional instruments have a harder edge.I like this one better...

Dance of the Renaissance is a Masterpiece. One can listen to this heavenly collection of music repeatedly without ever becoming bored or tired of its tranquil notes. Richard Searles in my opinion has done the world a favor by preserving some of these ancient melodies. He opens a door to the listener, introducing a world of music that once existed in the courts of Kings and now can be played in your living room. So sit back, with a glass of wine, close your eyes, take yourself back to a time of art and culture; and let the sounds of Lutes, Dulcimers, Guitars, and Recorders penetrate your soul.

I bought this CD about 10 years ago. It's easily one of the ten best CDs I've ever heard. It makes me imagine an Elizabethan wedding, with courtly dances, ladies in long dresses, gentlemen wearing swords, etc. I bought a video teaching Renaissance court dance because I wanted to be see the dances the music on this CD were for. But I wonder how historic is it? I've since bought other Renaissance music CDs, and was bored stiff. The other CDs lack the passion, the perfect clarity of this CD. If you time-traveled back 500 years would you hear musicians playing with the freshness of this CD? Or are Searles and Yslas putting in their own talent, and modern sensibilities, to make this music sound so good?

I have had the pleasure of listening to quite a bit of Richard Searles's music, and I would highly recommend this album. The music is so full of feeling, so free and spirited, you feel as is you are carried back to the days of the Renaissance. You can almost see peasants enjoying some gossip while they shop at a street market and horse-drawn carriages rattling by. I really love the full sound of the recording as well. A wonderful addition to any music collection!

I bought this today at a fair and came here looking for more like it. It is very upbeat, really well done. We've been listening to it all day.

...from 14 years ago.

"Dance of the Renaissance" played lullaby after lullaby for my new love and I as we made our journey from one state to another 3,000 miles apart and our new life began together. My clearest memory is dancing one night beneath the April moon with him to this CD. We wore out the cassette long ago. Today, I have found the CD and will once again be lulled to that space that only this music can bring us. If you love romantic collections that each sound just as beautiful as the last, this one is it! I look forward to owning a new copy that I can play over and over - and I intend to purchase more music by this talented, moving artist.

Another album of Merry Renaissance Musicke in the same vein as Dream of the Troubadour; but this time with the guitars aided by harpsichord, recorder, violin and synthesizer, resulting in a much greater variety of sound. No composers are specified -- just round up the usual suspects (Susato, Prętorius, Anon etc). Cesare Negri's "Bianco Fiore" is quaintly relabelled "White Flower'.

"Drewries Accordes" is played through twice, with no ornamentation either time. It won't give Jakob Lindberg & Paul O'Dette any sleepless nights, but it's pleasant and bouncy, as are the other tunes. All the musicians are more than competent. I can think of few better albums to put on at a party.

The interior of the booklet consists of two blank pages, allowing you to create your own notes. The total time is 43'30".

SUMMARY

Well-arranged with a good stereo image, cheerful, tuneful, brazenly inauthentic and a lot of fun.

P.S. I see that poor Gilbert Yslas has been purged from the cover of this album, too (check the picture on the mp3 version)!

I bought this CD several years ago and played it over and over again. It's simply delightful and pleasant; great background music to fill the house with:-) There are some lively pieces here; for some reason I thought this cd was no longer available. Now I can replace the one that I overplayed:-)

This CD works well for the holidays, but is not limited to holiday use. The Renaissance instrumentals are upbeat, yet classic, and well-performed. It would be enjoyable background music at a dinner or low-key party. I would have liked it to be a bit longer playing CD.