La Rocque 'n' Roll - Popular Music of Renaissance France / The Baltimore Consort

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This title isn't just a joke. It makes the valid point that these Renaissance pieces occupied the same place in their culture as our pop music does in ours. People whistled these tunes in the street and danced to them at night, and you can easily accept the disc's title when hearing the Baltimore Consort's extremely lively performances, which have all the rhythmic drive and gusto of a good rock band. The ensemble's arrangements and the variety of its programming also contribute to the success of this disc, which would make an excellent introduction to music of the period. The booklet contains translations of all the vocal texts, and Dorian's sound leaps out of the loudspeakers with great clarity and presence. --Leslie Gerber

La Rocque 'n' Roll - Popular Music of Renaissance France / The Baltimore Consort, Music, Anonymous, Pierre Attaingnant, Daniel Bacheler, Robert Ballard, Giovanni Battista Bassani, Giovanni Bassano, Louis Bourgeois, Eustache du Caurroy, Pierre Certon, Thomas Champion, Jehan Chardavoine, Claude Goudimel, Adrian Le Roy, Jacques Mangeant, Pierre Phalese, Jehan Planson, Michael Praetorius, Claudin de Sermisy, French Traditional, Baltimore Consort, Ronn McFarlane, Chris Norman, Appalachia, Chamber, Chamber Music, Chamber Music & Recitals, Chanson, Classical, Classical Artists, Classical Music, Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous Chamber Music, Miscellaneous Music, Renaissance Dance Music, Unknown Genre/Unspecified Instrumentation, Vocal, Vocal Music
La Rocque 'n' Roll - Popular Music of Renaissance France / The Baltimore Consort
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • My favorite + audiophile recording
  • absolute favorite
  • Fun stuff!
  • A perfect album
  • If Led Zeppelin had been born 400 years earlier...
 La Rocque 'n' Roll - Popular Music of Renaissance France / The Baltimore Consort
Ronn McFarlane , and Chris Norman
Manufacturer: Dorian Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Michael PraetoriusAll Works by Michael Praetorius | Praetorius, Michael | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Chamber MusicChamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
Ballets & DancesBallets & Dances | Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
Baltimore ConsortBaltimore Consort | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Folk | Styles | Music
Traditional FolkTraditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ChansonsChansons | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000001Q9P
Release Date: 1993-09-28

Tracks:

  1. J'ai vu le loup
  2. Has tu point veu
  3. Branle double
  4. Branle double: Branle de Montirande
  5. Branle double: Branle de la torche
  6. Mignonne, allons voir si la rose
  7. Frais et gaillard
  8. Un m'avoit promis
  9. Volte
  10. Mes pas semez
  11. Gaillarde d'escosse
  12. Gaillarde d'escosse: Laroque Gaillarde
  13. Gaillarde d'escosse: Alemand de Liege
  14. Ma bergere, ma lumiere
  15. Estans assis aux rives aquatiques (Ps. 137) - Estans assis - Estans assis - Estans assis
  16. Prelude
  17. Prelude: Tant qe vivray
  18. Un gay bergere
  19. O Madame, pers-je mon tems
  20. J'ay le rebours
  21. Branles de village
  22. Un jeune fillette
  23. Un jeune fillette
  24. Un jeune fillette
  25. Un jeune fillette
  26. Jean de Nivelle

Amazon.com

This title isn't just a joke. It makes the valid point that these Renaissance pieces occupied the same place in their culture as our pop music does in ours. People whistled these tunes in the street and danced to them at night, and you can easily accept the disc's title when hearing the Baltimore Consort's extremely lively performances, which have all the rhythmic drive and gusto of a good rock band. The ensemble's arrangements and the variety of its programming also contribute to the success of this disc, which would make an excellent introduction to music of the period. The booklet contains translations of all the vocal texts, and Dorian's sound leaps out of the loudspeakers with great clarity and presence. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars My favorite + audiophile recording.......2005-05-26

I've attended Baltimore Consort performances a number of times, and they are just about my favorite early music group. They do an outstanding job of making "old" music come alive. Sometimes early music recordings are dry and academic, and the Baltimore Consort is as far from that as you can get. Finally, they have a great since of humor, which often peaks through in their music.

They specialize in popular secular tunes of the age. Their playing is impeccable, and most of the group are accomplished soloists. La Rocque 'n' Roll is probably my favorite recording of theirs, the songs are fun, interesting, and involving. The best of the best...

The fact that the recording is technically very good is a nice bonus. As a matter of fact, "Jean de Nivelle" (track 26) is the first thing I play when evaluating speakers. It helps that I've heard the performance live (and unamplified), so I have a real life comparison. The recoding clearly captures the nuances of the individual instruments. Although obviously not as loud as modern rock, the recording still gives challenges speaker dynamics. Unlike some gee whiz audiophile recordings, I can listen to these songs again and again.

5 out of 5 stars absolute favorite .......2004-10-16

I've been collecting renaissance/medieval music for several years and have finally found something that sounds as though the musicians are actually having FUN with the repertoire. This is a blast, I recommend it to all.

5 out of 5 stars Fun stuff!.......2002-11-29

The jaunty, whimsical tone of this CD is set by the opening bars of the first piece, "J'ai vu le loup," which starts out with one of the musicians shouting "Un! Dieux!" Many parallels are subtly drawn between the secular music of Renaissance France and popular music of today. "The appeal of performing 'popular' repertory lies in the opportunity it provides for creative expression," explains the insert booklet. "All of the song and dance arrangements on this CD are the creation of the members of the Baltimore Consort, who sometimes only have an unharmonized melody to start with..." What they may lack in specific direction from the long-dead song writers, they more than make up for with catchy arrangements and spirited improvisations. Soprano Custer LaRue sings her sultry French lyrics with relish and gusto, and the addition of reedy crumhorns and bagpipes played by Chris Norman and Mark Cudek adds to the provincial French flavor. The fun of the music is echoed in the CD's amusing packaging: The album cover, somewhat reminiscent of the Beatles' "Abbey Road", features the ensemble members walking along in single file, with their viol and lute cases in hand. Other interior pictures of the group poke fun at other folk and rock imagery, including one shot of a gentleman in shades licking the neck of his bass viol. Not exactly the norm for early music releases, but refreshing for just that reason. Rocque on!

5 out of 5 stars A perfect album.......2000-02-22

This is my favorite CD of all time. I've had it now for five years, I listen to it all the time, and I never get tired of it. Every track is enormously beautiful, from the bright and sunny tunes through the quieter and more melancholy ones.

This is a CD that sounds perfect in the early morning, late at night, or any other time of day.

I've become a huge fan of the Baltimore Consort (one of the highlights of my life was seeing the group perform the songs on this album live at Synod Hall in Pittsburgh, PA) and "La Rocque 'n' Roll" is their "Sgt. Pepper."

5 out of 5 stars If Led Zeppelin had been born 400 years earlier..........1999-10-02

...and played the lute, they would've played like Ron McFarlane, and sang like Custer LaRue. Wonderful performances of 16th C popular music on historical instruments, with lovely twists of rock'n'roll performance techniques. Check out the jazzy krummhorn glissandos, the sexy lute strumming, the straight-ahead power vocal, and the hip plucked bass viol -- especially on the last track. This is my #1 "Desert Island Disk."

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