| Review by Lute January 14, 2013 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
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An enchanting collection of dance and other court music from the late renaissance & early baroque eras. Various composers from this time are represented here... Urreda, Verdelot, Palestrina, Guerrero, Lasso, Striggio, Holborne, and Schein...just to name a few. As was common at the time with ministrel performances, the dances are performed by wind instruments (cornett, slide trumpet, shawm, dulcian, sackbut, recorder) and accompanied by lute, theorbo and percussion. The pitch is a 440Hz meantone.
Capella de la Torre is an excellent period instrument ensemble from Germany. Under the direction of Katharina Bauml, they give intelligent, lively performances of these dances. Their playing is one of elegance and tasteful restraint, which probably reflects a northern European style... as opposed to a freer, more fiery southern European style, such as in Jordi Savall's performances. Each approach has its own merits. Personally, I find both styles appealing, whether it be the passion of the South or...the grace of the North.
They are joined by William Dongois on Cornett and Slide trumpet. His skillful playing compliments Capella de la Torre very well. His beautiful tone is surely one of the highlights here, for example: Track 9: Juan Ambrosio Dalza's "Calata a la Spagnola" has an entrancing beauty... as does Track 23: "Farnaby's Dream" from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.
Another highlight is the sound inside the medieval basilica of St. Osdag in Mandelsloh, Germany, where the recording took place in October 2007. The ambient acoustics of the basilica are well-captured and suit the music perfectly. Slightly distant miking is used, so the music is allowed to interact with the spacial qualities of the basilica. In multichannel, the rear speakers are used fairly aggressively...recreating a realistic 3D sound stage. 2-channel sound also has a nice ambient bloom. There is no information about the recording method, so I assume it is PCM.
The CD booklet contains an interesting discussion about the development of instrumental music and the status of musicians at the end of the renaissance. It also has good artwork and photos of the basilica's interior with the performers and their various instruments. Detailed information on all the instruments is provided as well.
Recommended!!
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