Panorama: Dances of the Renaissance

Michael Praetorius (Composer), Erasmus Widmann (Composer), Johann Hermann Schein (Composer), Italian Anonymous (Composer), Anonymous (Composer), M. Gulielmus (Composer), Francisco de la Torre (Composer), Joan Ambrosio Dalza (Composer), Hans Neusidler (Composer), Luis de Milan (Composer), Alonso de Mudarra (Composer), Renaissance dances Anonymous (Composer), Thoinot Arbeau (Composer), Pierre Phalese (Composer), Giorgio Mainerio (Composer), Jean-Baptiste Besard (Composer), Simone Molinaro (Composer), Carlo Gesualdo (Composer), Fabritio Caroso (Composer), Pierre Francisque Caroubel (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Michael Praetorius, Erasmus Widmann, Johann Hermann Schein, Italian Anonymous, Anonymous, et al.
• Audio CD (February 27, 2001)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B00004YMTN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,165 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I could not have asked for a better combination, June 3, 2002

By 

mattgb1 "mattgb1" (New York City) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Panorama: Dances of the Renaissance (Audio CD)

If you can only own one album of Renaissance music, this should be it.

Dance music of the Renaissance has been a particular passion of mine for nearly 30 years, both as a listener (I own many, many recordings) and performer (both as musician and dancer). And yet, if I selected my favorites from every album and combined them into one, it would still not be better than this one.

Not only do they select the best pieces, but each one is played beautifully. And that's saying a lot, because most music of this period was written without any orchestration notes and therefore is open to wide variations of interpretation today. So the same piece can be boring or exciting, soothing or irritating, good or bad, depending upon its interpretation. I'm delighted to say that this album has the best renditions possible.

My heart sings with every piece.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars even for original instrument crowd, this is just perfect, December 6, 2002

By 

Christian Ellithorpe "ellithorpeillustrations" (Streamwood, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Panorama: Dances of the Renaissance (Audio CD)

Even the most fanatical "original instrument purist" should give this one a listen. Though apparently played on modern instruments, these are nearly perfect performances in every way. Warm, appealing charm that captures the real spirit of these optimistic pieces from the Renaissance. I have modern & "period" performances of the Renaissance "Terpishore" dances which open the first disc, and some are quite good. However, this collection outshines all the others. Also bravo to DG for the great remastering. For example, any trace of noise seems to have dropped away completely leaving clean, enthusiastic performance. These musicians clearly honor Musicality above anything.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful reissue from early days of early music recordings, January 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Panorama: Dances of the Renaissance (Audio CD)

This cd is a reissue of material from several albums in the 60s. The Fritz Neumeyer recordings of Praetorius are from an old Archiv LP that was one of my first introductions to "early music", and it can be charged that it was more enthusiastic than historically informed. A recorder consort will take up one section of a tune, and then a group of viols will swirl in, maybe followed by crumhorns playing another brief phrase, and then a solo harpsichord finishing off the tune. Different instruments provide a variety of textures of sound, keeping things interesting even though most of the tunes are played fairly "straight", without a lot of improvisation. There's been quite a bit of research and rediscovery of Renaissance techniques since this record was first out, and I appreciate those, but these old recordings really get my toe tapping and remind me why I fell in love with early music in the first place.