Search - English Anonymous, Italian Anonymous, Manuscrit du Roi - Anonymous :: A La Via! Street Music from the 13th to the 16th Century

Raw, rowdy and great, good fun!

Brianna Neal | USA | 11/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like street buskers of old, these two groups--Ensemble Anonymus (sic) and Strada--breath vitality and glee into ancient "good-time music" that deserves to be partied to again. "...There's plenty of dance music here for your next joust or pig roast," the packaging suggests. Indeed, the hooting, hollering, foot stomping, drum beating, pipe trilling, string strumming and bagpipe droning of these French Canadian artists enliven dances that are old favorites at Renaissance Faires and S.C.A. feasts, and others that should be. Appropriately (or inappropriately!) enough, I discovered this CD at the tranquil Cloisters museum in New York City, along with two discs of slightly less boisterous (but equally fun) music, "Istanpitta!: A Medieval Dance Band" and "Istanpitta II: Medieval Dances", by New York's Ensemble for Early Music Ensemble. The three together made for an excellent purchase, very complimentary and well worth the cost of the trip! Other good, rousing collections of medieval and Renaissance revel music include: "The Little Barley-Corne: Winter Revels from the Renaissance" by the Toronto Consort and the New London Consort's compilation album called "Sinners and Saints: The Ultimate Medieval and Renaissance Music Collection"."