Customer Reviews

Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 50th Anniversary Box

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Deals like this don't come around often and don't last. I collected a few of these recordings over the years when they were first released, so when I saw this set come up for sale I ordered immediately.

Here's what you get:

CD 1

ASTORGA - Stabat Mater

PERGOLESI - Confitebor

DURANTE - Magnificat

Freiburger Barockorchester

Thomas Hengelbrock



CD 2

BACH

Concertos pour hautbois § Double-concerto

Camerata Köln



CD 3

BACH

Variations Goldberg

Gustav Leonhardt, clavecin



CD 4

BACH

L'Offrande Musicale

Barthold Kuijken

Sigiswald Kuijken

Wieland Kuijken

Robert Kohnen



CD 5

BACH

Motets

Cantus Cölln



CD 6-7

BACH

Messe en si mineur

Freiburger Barockorchester

Thomas Hengelbrock



CD 8

BACH / VIVALDI

Ouvertures, Symphonies, Concertos

Thomas Hengelbrock



CD 9-10

BACH

Suites pour violoncelle solo

Hidemi Suzuki



CD 11

BAROCCO ESPA'OL

Literes / Duron

Martha Almajano

Al Ayre Espanol



CD 12

Le violoncelle au 17ème Siècle

FRESCOBALDI

GABRIELLI

JACCHINI

ANTONII

Anner Bylsma



CD 13

BIBER

Requiem à 15

STEFFANI

Stabat Mater

Gustav Leonhardt



CD 14

BOCCHERINI

Concertos pour violoncelle

Symphonies

Tafelmusik

Anner Bylsma



CD 15

BUXTEHUDE

Sonates

Capriccio Stravagante

Skip Sempé



CD 16

CACCINI

Le Nuove Musiche

Jordi Savall

Montserrat Figueras

Schola Cantorum Basiliensis



CD 17

COUPERIN

La Sultane

Skip Sempé



CD 18

FACCO

Pensieri adriarmonici

6 Concerti Op.1

L'Arte Dell'Arco



CD 19

FORQUERAY

Pièces de viole et de clavecin

Jay Bernfeld

Skip Sempe



CD 20

FRESCOBALDI

Messa della Domenica

Canticum

Lorenzo Ghielmi



CD 21

FRESCOBALDI

Messe de la Madone

Canticum



CD 22

GLUCK

Les Chinoises

Un Opéra-Sérénade

Anne Sofie von Otter

Schola Cantorum Basiliensis

René Jacobs



CD 23

LASSUS

Musica Dei Donum

Lauda Sion Salvatorem

Missa « Puisque j'ay perdu »

à 4 voix

Pro Cantione Antiqua



CD 24

LASSUS

Requiem à 5

Magnificat

Pro Cantione Antiqua



CD 25

LITERES

Los Elementos

Opéra harmonique

Al Ayre Espanol



CD 26

LULLY

Divertissements

Capriccio Stravagante

Skip Sempé



CD 27

MACHAUT - Messe à Notre-Dame

MAGNUS / LE CHANCELIER

Deller-Consort

Collegium Aureum

Alfred Deller



CD 28

KNŪPFER, SCHELLE, KUHNAU

Les Maītres de la Chapelle St. Thomas avant J.-S. Bach

Cantus Cölln



CD 29

MARAIS

Fantaisie champźtre

Pieces in trio

Ensemble Rebel



CD 30

MONTEVERDI

Lamento d'Arianna

Combatimento di Trancrede et Clorinda

Capriccio Stravagante

Skip Sempé



CD 31-32

MONTEVERDI

Vźpres de la Vierge

Cantus Cölln



CD 33

PACHELBEL

BACH

Motets

Cantus Cölln



CD 34

PALESTRINA

Lamentations du Samedi Saint

Missa in duplicibus

Ensemble Gilles Binchois

Schola Cantorum Basiliensis

Dominique Vellard



CD 35

PERGOLESI

La Serva Padrona

Maddalena Bonifaccio

Siegmund Nimsgern

Collegium Aureum



CD 36

PURCELL

Dioclesian suite

HAENDEL

Concerto grosso

Il duello Amoroso

Freiburger Barockorchester





CD 37

PURCELL / LAWES

LOCKE / MATTEIS

English baroque music from the 17th Century,

pour flūte § clavecin

Pedro Memelsdorff

Andreas Staier



CD 38

RAMEAU

Hippolyte et Aricie

Suite pour orchestre

La Petite Bande

Sigiswald Kuijken



CD 39

RAMEAU

Platée et Dardanus

Suites

Nicholas McGegan



CD 40

RAMEAU

Pygmalion

La Petite Bande

Gustav Leonhardt



CD 41

REBEL

« Tombeau »

Les Sonates en trio

Ensemble Rebel



CD 42

SAINTE COLOMBE

Pièces pour viole de gambe

Hille Perl



CD 43

SCARLATTI

Cantates / Cantatas

David Daniels

Nicholas McGegan



CD 44

SCARLATTI

Passion selon St Jean

René Jacobs

Schola Cantorum Basiliensis



CD 45

TELEMANN

Concertos pour instruments à vent

Camerata Köln



CD 46

VIVALDI

Les quatre saisons

Freiburger Barockorchester

The Harp Consort



CD 47

VIVALDI

Avanti l'opera

Ouvertures d'Opéras oubliés

L'Arte dell'Arco

Christopher Hogwood



CD 48

VIVALDI

6 sonates pour violoncelle et basse continue

Anner Bylsma

Hidemi Suzuki



CD 49

ZELENKA

Missa dei Filii

Tafelmusik



CD 50

ZELENKA / PISENDEL

Concerti

Freiburger Barockorchester

Amazing, no? Most followers of Baroque music will find something new in this set. How delicious it is to discover music that is both new and yet hundreds of years old. The performers are first-rate as well--DHM cut no corners.

This is a wonderful set of music. I have bought much of this music in individual CD's at many times the price, and so this collection represents a terrific value. You should grab it while you can. This is an heirloom package we're talking about here.

Because this collection is so nice you may want to ask yourself what kind of condition you want it to be in when it arrives. I think this inquiry is very important if you are considering buying from one of Amazon's affiliated sellers, who often offer these sets at prices significantly better than Amazon's price. While I have had good luck buying individual CD's from the affiliated sellers, I have had abyssmal experiences with buying heavy "coffee table"-type books and these larger CD and DVD box sets. Why??? Because they aren't packaging them well. I bought this set from a reputable seller--MovieMars--and they literally sent it in an ENVELOPE. That's right! The thing has 50 CD's and weighs close to four pounds and is housed in a formal presentation box, and they pathetically wrap it in a paper backed bubble wrap--with absolutely NO BOX--and send it media mail. You can imagine the condition it was in when I received it. The box was dented and the lid was split open. This set does not use jewel cases--if it had, the plastic shards would have just poured out (as has happened several times in the past with these corner and cost-cutting affiliated sellers).

This has now happened with about half the box sets have bought from these Amazon-affiliated sellers. And the heavy books typically get bent corners, which is unacceptable to me. It is wasteful and tragic. Art become landfill due to their slothful indifference. It is obvious they are trying to cut shipping costs and so they compromise their packaging materials and effort. It is terribly frustrating: you have to either do a send-back (and you'll have to find your own shipping box), or accept an expensive item which is in tatters. Should you roll the dice and give one of these sellers a try to see if you can save some money?? After this experience with this set (Movie Mars offered me a $5 credit--which I obviously declined), I have decided that in the future I'm just going to spend the extra dollars and buy directly from Amazon. I just don't have time to send stuff back all the time, and it totally takes the fun out of buying these exquisite sets if they arrive in less than perfect condition. Amazon ships the old-fashioned way: a sturdy cardboard box. I'm willing to pay more for that.

I believe this Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 50th set is BETTER than the Harmonia Mundi France edition.

Why you ask? First of all, I think it is safe to say that over the years, Harmonia Mundi has always been far more valuable as a label for its recordings of music pre-1650. This Deutsche set reflects that. The HM France set is more of a chronological catalogue of all "classical" music.


Secondly (and completely subjectively), I prefer Baroque and Early Music, which this set is chock full of. Honestly, I haven't even really listen to much of the HM France edition which is weighed down by (in my opinion) too many unnecessary and boring recordings by the likes of Janacek, De Falla, Schumann, Chausson, Copland, et al.

Don't get me wrong, it is a great source for reference, but the Deutsche HM set is for my wife and I, far more listenable.

Now don't go getting your panties in a scrunch and say to yourself "He didn't just call Schumann BORING, did he?!"

Well, yes, I did. But the point is, if you want a historical overview of classical music then go with the HM FRANCE collection; if you love Harmonia Mundi for its Baroque and Early Music recordings, as I do, then get this one.

This is ancient music to be sure, and there is so much here to learn and enjoy. The recordings are wonderful performances captured in the highest audiophile quality. I hope to be enjoying these rarities for years and years to come!

This is an absurd bargain - very high quality stuff (nearly all the recordings are from the 90s) covering an enormous range, and at a low low price. Superb in every way.

I join other viewers here to say that this box really worth having. There is a wide variety of Baroque Music, very well selected and recorded in prestigious sound quality. Don't miss it if you like Classic Music and Baroque in particular!

This is a beautiful set. Well performed with good sound. Even if there are some duplicates with your collection, there is so much music you can't go wrong. If you just find 8 new recordings in this for your collection, the set will have paid for itself.

If you are interested in baroque and earlier music, this is the set for you. While the notes are somewhat cryptic, the music is outstanding and contains a number of compositions not elsewhere available

Some sellers are posting this item for sale and then not following through, or so it might seem. A while back, MOVIEMARS posted one at under $100. I placed the order. Later, they cancelled the order with no explanation. Perhaps they realized they had made a mistake by pricing it so low. Today, two sets were available at under $30 (!) from GERMANY. I quickly ordered one...then got a response that the item was no longer available from that seller. Of course, in both cases it could be a matter of just a few items selling out very quickly. One moment it's there, but before you can click the Buy With One Click button, someone else has already done the same and the item is gone.

There are few words that can describe the breath and quality of this wonderful set. Buy it and ENJOY!