This is a journey through the music world of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It ends with those composers and those pieces of music that, around 1600, were shaping the sound that we call ‘baroque’. Presented chronologically, this extensive collection of works covers sacred and secular music from Italy, France, Germany, Spain, England, Flanders, Portugal and The Netherlands, from a wide range of composers. Includes a comprehensive 76 page booklet charting the history and development of the music included in these specially chosen recordings. An ideal introduction and guide to this fascinating music.

Artists

Manuela Schenale (soprano), Rie Koch (alto), Linnea Lomholt (alto), Maria Lafitte (vocals), Marc Lewon (vocals), Baptiste Romain (vielle en luth), Belinda Sykes (contralto), Bernhard Landauer (countertenor), Loreto Fernandez Imaz (organ), Mahan Esfahani (organ), Joseph Payne (organ), Christopher Wilson (lute, vihuela), Shirley Rumsey (lute, vocals), Carl Smith (organ), Elizabeth Farr (harpsichord), Stephen Stubbs (lute), Paul Audet (lute), Steven Rickards (countertenor), Dorothy Linell (lute), Nigel North (lute), Jacob Heringman (lute), Laurence Cummings (organ), Glen Wilson (harpsichord, spinet), Tessa Bonner (soprano), Marco Pesci (lute), Sergio Vartolo (organ), Annalisa Pappano (treble viol), Michael Leopold (theorbo), Becky Baxter (harp), James David Christie (organ), Frederic Munoz (organ), Rosita Frisani (soprano), Marinella Pennicchi (soprano), Patrizia Vaccari (soprano), Alessandro Carmignani (tenor), Giovanni Pentasuglia (tenor), Michel van Goethem (countertenor), Alessandro Casari (countertenor), Gian Luigi Maria Ghiringhelli (countertenor), Roberto Abbondanza (baritone), Carlo Lepore (bass), Marcello Vargetto (bass), Gastone Sarti (bass), Catherine Webster (soprano), Aurora Surgit, Oxford Camerata, Ensemble Cosmedin, Musica Ficta, Tonus Peregrinus, Ensemble Unicorn, Oni Wytars Ensemble, Capilla Antigua de Chinchilla, Retrover Ensemble, Capilla Penaflorida, Ministriles de Marsias, Ciaramella, Il Curioso, Capilla Flamenca, Convivium Musicum, Ensemble Villanella, Convivium Musicum Gothenburgense, VivaVoce, Accentus Ensemble, Scholars of London, Estampie, Rose Consort of Viols, The Sarum Consort, Les Voix Humaines, Ars Nova, Schola Cantorum of Oxford, Bologna Cappella Musicale di St. Petronio, Claude Goudimel Ensemble, King's Singers, The, Westra Aros Pipers, Bourrasque Ensemble, Vasari Singers, London Symphony Brass, Prague Philharmonic Children's Choir, San Petronio Cappella Musicale Orchestra, Catacoustic Consort, Delitiae Musicae, Radio Svizzera Choir, Lugano, Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca, San Petronio Cappella Musicale Chorus, Scholars Baroque Ensemble, Alessio Randon, Jeremy Summerly, Bo Holten, Antony Pitts, Michael Posch, Jose Ferrero, Markus Tapio, Josep Cabré, Bernhard Bohm, Sven Berger, Peter Schubert, Thomas Wimmer, Graham Derrick, Andrew Mackay, Christine Morel, Bertil Farnlof, Jeremy Backhouse, Eric Crees, Marco Longhini, Diego Fasolis