Search - Giovanni Gabrieli, Holger Eichhorn, Musicalische Compagney :: Giovanni Gabrieli from German Sources

They are ba-a-ack!

04/02/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"O good, Musicalische Compagney has resurfaced! Maybe they were around all along, but I wasn't aware of any recordings under the name Musicalische Compagney since 1986 (although many of the original cast members continued to work together). I'm really glad that the ensemble has stood its ground. They were beaten into a pulp by Gramophone back in 1986, the kind of treatment I didn't think they deserved. Well, I am happy to report that despite the beating they did not buckle under and remained true to their style. Thirteen years is a long time, and what may have been misunderstood in 1986 has certainly come to be viewed differently in 1999. I'm talking about the authentic performance practice. In my opinion, the all-male, medieval-sounding Musicalische Compagney gets it as close to the music's original design as the current state of knowledge about the 17th century allows us. The current Musicalische Compagney sounds remarkably similar to its earlier incarnation. I think they are very good. The similarity is all the more remarkable considering that the original cast contained such irreplaceables as Mark Padmore, Derek Lee Ragin, David Cordier, Harry van der Kamp and Manfred Cordes. The program of Gabrieli's works from German sources collected on this CD is excellent."