Medieval and Renaissance: Minstrels, Songs & Dances

Musica Antiqua (Artist), Elias Nikolaus Ammerbach (Composer), Anonymous (Composer), English Anonymous (Composer), German Anonymous (Composer), Italian Anonymous (Composer), Pierre Attaingnant (Composer), J. von Bruck (Composer), Francois Couperin (Composer), John Dowland (Composer), Thomas [poet] Ford (Composer), Melchior Franck (Composer), Claude Gervaise (Composer), Kleber (Composer), Hans Kotter (Composer), Hans Neusidler (Composer), Paul Peuerl (Composer), Francis Pilkington (Composer), Samuel Scheidt (Composer), Christmas Traditional (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Elias Nikolaus Ammerbach, Anonymous, English Anonymous, German Anonymous, Italian Anonymous, et al.
• Audio CD (August 24, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Legacy International
• ASIN: B000002NR5
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,360 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #10 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Virelais

Editorial Reviews

Medieval and Renaissance: Minstrels, Songs & Dances by Musica Antiqua

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent cross-section of early music, October 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Medieval and Renaissance: Minstrels, Songs & Dances (Audio CD)

While I understand the first reviewer's complaint about the crackling, it's only on the first two tracks (it's more like you're playing a record than being just unbearable), the rest of the tracks are clean, and I find that the loveliness of the music itself more than overcomes that shortcoming. Track 5, "Festive Sounds", a medley, begins with "Trotto" a rousing drum-driven piece that sounds like a medieval festival dance fest. If you are fond of medieval fair type music, this cd has plenty of lively tunes with the earthy and airy instrumentation authentic to the period. Well worth owning.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice overview of very early music, December 1, 2003

By 

T. Connor (Idaho, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Medieval and Renaissance: Minstrels, Songs & Dances (Audio CD)

This was one of the first recordings of early music I ever bought. It's a broad survey of styles and periods, from the 12th to 17th centuries. I've become a more sohisticated listener since then, but I still get this one out fairly regularly. The recording is apparently old and the digital remastering was not done extraordinarily well, but those who are more interested in music than in audio equipment should be able to listen through the occasional (minor) vinyl surface noise. My major complaint (why I gave it 3 stars instead of 4) is the lack of documentation--there is no information about the musicians, and many of the composers are uncredited (some because they actually are anonymous, but sometimes out of apparent laziness). Still, at this price it's a bargain.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Be Affraid, November 18, 2003

By 

James L. Farmer (Fort Mitchell, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Medieval and Renaissance: Minstrels, Songs & Dances (Audio CD)

This cd is worth picking up. Yes the first couple of tracks have pops and crackles in it. And yes it sounds as if the music was transferred directly from a vinyl source but the performances and selections on this cd are fabulous. And you get use to the flaws in the recordings which I find minor.

This cd was actually the first Medieval and Renaissance album I ever bought. I bought it randomly in 1992 to try and introduce myself to these two era's of Classical music. And it was PERFECT. I have been a loyal fan of Medieval & Renaissance music ever since. I currently own 25 to 30 cd's covering these era now and this album is still one of my favorites......