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ABC Classics: Baroque & Before

by Suzanne Yanko 1st January, 2015
by Suzanne Yanko 1st January, 2015
439

As Christmas brought music of the Baroque into focus – mainly thanks to Handel’s Messiah and its Hallelujah! Chorus – it’s timely to review ABC Classics’ great boxed set of CDs … it was our choice for a musical Christmas present. In the “Classic 100” series and with the title Baroque and Before this set comprises 8 CDs and over 10 hours of music, in the producers’ words “celebrating Western classical music from the earliest times to the Baroque”. It was six months ago that the Classic 100: Baroque and Before survey was counted down live on ABC Classic FM following contributions from music lovers across Australia.

In the quest to find the 100 most popular works of the period it was a clever ploy to include music before the Baroque as early works such as the anonymous Sumer is icumen in (no.100) are far less known than those by the towering Baroque figures: Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. Even Monteverdi (born a century earlier) just makes it into the top 20, with his Nigra sum from Vespers of the Blessed Virgin. The relative simplicity of earlier works also positions the Baroque period as one of extraordinary achievement, with its great concertos and massive choral works noteworthy in an enormous output of music.

Of course, aficionados of the Baroque will have already worked out that even with 8 CDs, 100 selections would mean that many works are only part of larger ones … and listeners may already have their own CDs or even LPs of favourite recordings. It might seem a missed opportunity not to have included more older recordings for contrast – but it would have been a nightmare in terms of copyright and negotiation, which would have increased the price. Besides, it can be refreshing to hear newer recordings, and it’s almost certain that the listener will be introduced to a “new” composer or version of a favourite work – and it’s good to have Australian artists at the forefront of all these CDs.

This boxed set relies on ABC Classics recordings for the most part, with its list featuring Sara Macliver, Yvonne Kenny, Jane Sheldon, Sally-Anne Russell, Fiona Campbell, Paul McMahon, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Elizabeth Wallfisch, Richard Tognetti, Diana Doherty, Tommie Andersson, Daniel Yeadon, Erin Helyard, Jacqueline Ogeil, Geoffrey Lancaster, Antony Walker, Paul Dyer, Graham Abbott, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Orchestra of the Antipodes and Australian Chamber Orchestra.

It was probably predictable that the top two choices were Handel’s Messiah and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. The full Top Ten, as presented on the first CD is:

  1. HANDEL Messiah: Hallelujah!
  2. VIVALDI The Four Seasons – Spring: I. Allegro
  3. ALLEGRI Miserere – excerpt
  4. HANDEL Water Music: Suite No. 1: VI. Air
  5. BACH St Matthew Passion: Mache dich, mein Herze, rein
  6. PACHELBEL Canon in D major
  7. PURCELL Dido and Aeneas: Dido’s Lament
  8. HANDEL Zadok the Priest
  9. HANDEL Music for the Royal Fireworks: IV. La Réjouissance
  10. TALLIS Spem in alium 

For the full list – and to order – go to  https://shop.abc.net.au/products/classic-100-baroque-and-before-8cd. At just under $60 it’s a good buy. Or consider the two-CD set with the Top Ten plus highlights.  https://shop.abc.net.au/products/classic-100-baroque-and-before-top-10-2cd at $19.99.

As stated earlier this is Classic Melbourne’s choice of recordings. They are sure to be appreciated by someone you know … yourself, perhaps?

_______________________________________________________

ABC Classics supplied the writer with a review copy of the full boxed set.

 

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$20 – $139
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July 21 @ 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm

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$20 – $93

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July 23 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Event Series

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Tempo Rubato: Listening Room #6: New York Minimalism & the Avant Garde

July 3
July 3 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Live at Toorak: Richard Tognetti x Konstantin Shamray

July 3 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Mozart and the Mendelssohns

July 3 @ 8:00 pm - 10:20 pm Event Series

Orchestra Victoria: Indie Symphony II: Video Games in Concert

July 4
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Orchestra Victoria: Indie Symphony II: Video Games in Concert

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Tempo Rubato: Darcy Gilkerson – A Glow in the Dark

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July 10
July 10 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm Event Series

Melbourne Chamber Orchestra: Pastorale

July 11
July 11 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

MSO and Short Black Opera: Yinya dana: lighting the path

July 11 @ 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Tempo Rubato: Simon Svoboda | Callum Mintzis

July 12
July 12 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Event Series

BENAUD TRIO 20TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

July 12 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Event Series

BENAUD TRIO 20TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

July 13
July 13 @ 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm Event Series

Melbourne Chamber Orchestra: Pastorale

July 14
July 14 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Event Series

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Dvořák’s Cello Concerto Quick Fix at Half Six

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July 17
July 17 @ 7:30 pm - 9:20 pm Event Series

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra presents Fiesta! Dvorak’s Cello Concerto & Chindamo

July 17 @ 7:30 pm - 9:20 pm Event Series

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Fiesta! Dvorak’s Cello Concerto & Chindamo

July 18
July 18 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

ELISION Ensemble AXIS MUNDI

July 18 @ 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Tempo Rubato: Beyond Time Trio – Butterfly Garden

July 18 @ 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Inland and Astra: Still Lives

July 19
July 19 @ 2:00 pm - 3:50 pm Event Series

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra presents Fiesta! Dvorak’s Cello Concerto & Chindamo

July 19 @ 2:00 pm - 3:50 pm Event Series

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Fiesta! Dvorak’s Cello Concerto & Chindamo

July 19 @ 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Tempo Rubato: Olive Cullen & Ronan Apcar – Ocean Whisperings

July 20
July 20 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Tempo Rubato: Sunday Mattutino – Melbourne Guitar Quartet

July 21
July 21 @ 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra presents Dvořák’s Cello Concerto – Quick Fix at Half Six

July 22
July 22 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Musica Viva Australia: Mozart’s Clarinet

July 23
July 23 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Event Series

Selby & Friends: A Ghostly Afternoon

July 23 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Event Series

Selby & Friends: A Ghostly Afternoon

July 23 @ 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Astra: Commas and

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July 25
July 25 @ 7:30 pm - 9:20 pm

Sjaella

July 26
July 26 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Robin Fox – The History of Australian Electronic Music

July 26 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Homophonic! presents: ‘Moonlite’

July 26 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Orchestra Victoria’s Southbank Series Concert 2: Prismatic Echoes

July 26 @ 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm

La La Chorale Française de Melbourne: Bastille Soirée 2025

July 27
July 27 @ 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

The Classical Collective in Concert

July 27 @ 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm Event Series

Kate Milligan, Louise Devenish, and Aaron Wyatt: Dark Oceanography

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August 1
August 1 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Grigoryan Brothers: Amistad

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August 1
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Grigoryan Brothers: Amistad

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