Cookie recipes blog: 50th Anniversary Harmonia Mundi (Box set) (2007)

Harmonia Mundi celebrates fifty years of great music with this specially-priced 30-CD boxed set that brings together memorable recordings of fifty works of the type the label is known for.

Founded in Paris by its present Chairman and Managing Director, Bernard Coutaz, pioneering independent label harmonia mundi has been making outstanding classical recordings since 1958. At the start, the label’s choice of repertoire was aimed at exploring the music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque. Legendary countertenor Alfred Deller, began recording for harmonia mundi in 1968, followed by William Christie, Renй Jacobs, Philippe Herreweghe and other early music luminaries. These visionary artists led a rediscovery of musical performance practice of the past by paying careful attention to the score, its context and the timbre of the instruments used. Since 1986, harmonia mundi has been headquartered in Arles, a historic town in southern France best known for once being home to the painter Vincent Van Gogh. Bucking current trends, harmonia mundi adds an average of fifty new titles annually to its unparalleled catalog of classical music, which now spans more than ten centuries, from Ancient Greece to the newest voices of our day. The company’s passionate spirit of exploration and fierce independence has been hailed by the international press with such high honors as the Label of the Year Award in 2003 (Gramophone) and 2006 (MIDEM Classical Awards) and most recently, two GRAMMY® Awards (Renй Jacobs in 2005, Paul Hillier in 2007). Join us in our birthday celebration!

To celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, harmonia mundi has compiled fifty landmarks in the development of Western music, in stellar performances by undisputed masters in their field. This must-have CD release of the year is a quintessential selection of musical milestones of the ages for every taste. It features over 36 hours of music in audiophile-quality sound, elegantly packaged in a deluxe boxed set of thirty compact discs and offered at a very special low price. Whether you are an inquisitive novice or a discerning connoisseur, you will be thrilled to experience the sonic triumphs of the world’s most innovative independent label.

Review: I sat on the fence for a long time before purchasing this Harmonia Mundi 50th anniversary box set. Even though it was reasonably priced, it was still a lot of money to lay out all at once for CDs of (mostly) unknown works performed by unknown (ie, not famous) artists. Would I actually listen to all of this new music? Would I find it interesting enough to listen to more than once? Would it broaden my musical horizons?

The answer to all three questions was Yes, Yes, and YES!

In short, this is an absolutely amazing box set. If you have been listening to classical music for many years, or decades, and are ready to broaden your outlook/knowledge you won't go wrong. The works themselves range from those you have probably heard, or know to some extant (Bach / Matthew'sPassion, Art of Fugue, Chopin Ballads, Schubert Sonata D960, Fantasy in C etc) to those you are probably not as familiar with (Purcell/ King Arthur) to those that are completely unfamiliar (Keiser / Croesus). You will find them all enjoyable and enlightening.

In the case of the known works, some of the performances are revelatory. The aforementioned Bach pieces for example opened my ears to new interpretations that astounded me. Herreweghe's first recording of Matthew's Passion was a gorgeous, soulful interpretation of this masterwork that has me seeking out his other performances. Fretwork's interpretation of the Art of Fugue was nothing but delightful, and complements the versions on the shelf featuring piano, string quartet and organ (you know who) without replacing them.

The recordings themselves are state of the art. Its rare to find digital recordings with this degree of warmth, presence, and three dimensionality. A joy to listen to.

In conclusion - this is a set I will be holding on to, and returning to again and again. (My wife, a professional mezzo, commented on the high quality of the vocalists in several of the recordings). At less than $3 per disc (less if you can find it used) this set is quite simply the deal of the century.

I may now even splurge for the Deutsch Harmonia Mundi set!

Composer: Franзois Couperin, Georg Muffat, Henry Purcell, Anonymous, de Dia, Beatriz, Comtessa,
Hildegard of Bingen, Guillaume Dufay, Johann Sebastian Bach, Jean-Baptiste Lully,
Marin Marais, Claudio Monteverdi, Heinrich Ignaz Biber, Antonio Vivaldi,
Georg Philipp Telemann, Jean-Henri D'Anglebert, Jacques Gautier, Daniel Bacheler,
Robert Johnson, Jacob le Polonais, Julien Perrichon, Cuthbert Hely,
Diomedes Cato, Lorenzini da Roma, Adriano Banchieri, Armand-Louis Couperin,
Johann Schobert, Reinhard Keiser, Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Gioachino Rossini, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Wolf,
Jean-Philippe Rameau, Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Manuel de Falla,
Franz Schubert, Frйdйric Chopin, Dmitri Shostakovich, Ernest Chausson,
Arnold Schoenberg, Leos Janбcek, Bйla Bartуk, Arvo Pдrt

Performer: Michel Chapuis, Renй Saorgin, Alfred Deller, Nigel Beavan, Maurice Bevan,
Mark Deller, Leigh Nixon, Honor Sheppard, Jean Knibbs,
Sister Marie Keyrouz, Barbara Schlick, Howard Crook, Ulrik Cold,
Renй Jacobs, Hans-Peter Blochwitz, Peter Kooy, John Holloway,
Davitt Moroney, Janet See, Jaap Ter Linden, Martha Cook,
Guillemette Laurens, Agnиs Mellon, Guy de Mey, Jean-Francois Gardeil,
Maria Cristina Kiehr, Andrew Manze, Richard Egarr, Andreas Scholl,
Kenneth Gilbert, Paul O'Dette, William Christie, David Fuller,
Vйronique Mйjean, Luciano Sgrizzi, Chiara Banchini, Philipp Bosbach,
Graham Pushee, Kwangchul Youn, Salome Haller, Johannes Mannov,
Klaus Hдger, Werner Gьra, Markus Schдfer, Dorothea Rцschmann,
Patrick Cohen, Christophe Coin, Erich Hцbarth, Andreas Staier,
Christine Schornsheim, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Krassimira Stoyanova, Ryoko Morooka,
Birgit Remmert, Phillip Moll, Steve Davislim, Hanno Mьller-Brachmann,
Bernarda Fink, Roger Vignoles, Michel Portal, Georges Pludermacher,
Juliane Banse, Dietrich Henschel, Alexandre Tharaud, Brigitte Balleys,
Ginesa Ortega, Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Paul Lewis,
Cйdric Tiberghien, Emmanuelle Bertrand, Pascal Amoyel, Claude Helffer,
Alain Planиs
Conductor: Alfred Deller, Sister Marie Keyrouz, Marcel Pйrиs, Renй Clemencic, Paul van Nevel,
Philippe Herreweghe, William Christie, Charles Medlam, Jean-Marc Aymes,
Chiara Banchini, Konrad Junghдnel, Dominique Visse, Renй Jacobs,
Petra Mьllejans, Kent Nagano, Josep Pons, Paul Hillier

Orchestra/Ensemble: King's Musick, Deller Consort, St. Julien-le-Pauvre Byzantine Choir, Ensemble Organum,
Clemencic Consort, Anonymous 4, Huelgas Ensemble,
Ghent Collegium Vocale, La Chapelle Royale Paris, La Chapelle Royale Chorus Paris,
Ghent Collegium Vocale Orchestra, Fretwork, Les Arts Florissants,
London Baroque, Concerto Soave, Ensemble 415,
Cantus Cцlln, Clйment Janequin Ensemble, Academy for Ancient Music Berlin,
Berlin RIAS Chamber Chorus, Hanover Boys' Choir Members, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra,
Ensemble Explorations, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Champs-Йlysйes Orchestra,
Barcelona Teatre Lliure Chamber Orchestra, Jerusalem String Quartet, Les Musiciens,
Melos String Quartet Stuttgart, Walter Boeykens Ensemble, Theatre of Voices

Number of Discs: 30
Recorded in: Stereo

List

CD 1-2 The Historic Organ Recordings
CD 3-4 Alfred Deller 1968-1979
CD 5-6 Late Antiquity & Middle Ages
CD 7-10 J. S. Bach, the Passion
CD 11-13 The 'Atys' Years
CD 14-15 The Masters of the Baroque
CD 16-20 50 Years of Rediscoveries
CD 21 Classicism Revisited!
CD 22-23 The Heart of Romanticism
CD 24-25 A New Look at Masterpieces
CD 26-27 New Generation
CD 28-29 From Yesterday to Tomorrow
CD 30 CD-ROM containing the original sung texts
and their translations into English, French and German.

Info + Tracklisting

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=176929

Logs (30 CDs)

http://hotfile.com/dl/53579967/9abd2ee/0709_gon171_HaMu_log.rar.html
http://www.fileserve.com/file/b5MkACD/0709_gon171_HaMu_log.rar
http://sharingmatrix.com/file/11736415/0709_gon171_HaMu_log.rar

Download album:
in Lossless

http://hotfile.com/dl/53581035/c9ef73a/0709_ha50.txt.html
http://www.fileserve.com/file/HwKr6fx
http://sharingmatrix.com/file/11765531/0709_ha50.txt

Source: CNET News (http://cnet.com/)

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Friday, July 9, 2010

50th Anniversary Harmonia Mundi (Box set) (2007)

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