Customer Reviews

Music of Tudor and Jacobean England

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This is a really beautiful set of pieces by early English composers of harpsichord music (then called the "virginals"). All the greats are here; Bull, Byrd, Gibbons, and others. The two discs are chock full of wonderful gems, many from the great Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, and other sources as well. The two Burr harpsichords (a single-manual on Disc One, a double-manual on Disc Two) are excellent modern instruments copied from Ruckers instruments, and they sound very much like classic Ruckers harpsichords (but without the inevitable signs of aging that the originals are sometimes prone to.) The recording is top-notch too; and the price makes this a great bargain as well. The third disc is an absorbing lecture-demonstration about the music on the first 2 discs, and it is recommended that the listener play that disc first before embarking on the pieces heard on the first 2 discs. What are you waiting for? Buy it!

I purchased these recordings because I'm a big fan of music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, and I was unfamiliar with the record label, Musica Omnia. I found the selection of pieces and the playing to be first rate; I really enjoyed these recordings. The only quibble I would mention is that I found the acoustic of the recording venue to be a little lively. My initial impression was that I was seated 20 or 25 feet away from the player, rather than a more intimate 8 to 10 feet, but by the time we were into the second piece this concern over obscured detail was completely forgotten. I fully intend to get more of Peter Watchorn's recordings on this label. FYI my set consisted of 2 discs only
which is fine by me as I probably would not listen to the lecture disc anyway.