Search - Piffaro: The Renaissance Band :: Canzoni e Danze: Wind Music from Renaissance Italy

Definitely Worth the Listening

AllenatHome | Pewaukee, WI USA | 01/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Simply lovely. Some whimsical, some more technically serious. In all, definitely worth the money and the time. One of my new favorites."

Piffaro Renaissance Band Superb

AllenatHome | 05/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD has me dancing in the streets. I have played holes in the recording. The musicianship is extraordinary with excitement, love and a great warm sense of pleasure taken by everyone involved. Renaissance instruments are not generally known for subtlety or nuance, but these players work miracles. The percussion sections are also integral to the whole and thrilling, where appropriate. Piffaro, please keep your music coming."

Popular Tunes of the 16th Century on Ancient Instruments

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 02/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Canzoni e danze": Wind Music from Renaissance Italy. Performed by Piffaro - the Renaissance Band (dir. Joan Kimball and Robert Wiemken). Recorded in June and July 1994 at St. Osdag's Church in Mandelsloh, Germany. Released in 1995 as Deutsche Grammophon Archiv 445 883-2 (and since then re-released at mid-price: Canzoni e Danze). Total playing time: 62'29".



The Philadelphia Renaissance Wind Band was founded in 1980 and has been under the joint direction of Joan Kimball and Robert Wiemken since 1988. After appearing at the "Tage Alter Musik" in Regensburg, Germany, the group was signed up on "exclusive" contract to Deutsche Grammophon Archiv, for whom they made a total of four CDs under the name "Piffaro". This name is appropriate because it expresses the band's programme: on a wide selection of late medieval and renaissance instruments they attempt to recreate the repertoire of the "Stadtpfeifer" (German) or "Piffari" (Italian), bands of city "waits" who would play popular tunes in the open air at special events during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. These bands are documented as having both loud, raucous, rollicking repertoire played on brass and other wind instruments (shawms, trombones, crumhorns, dulcian, bagpipes) and softer pieces to be played on instruments such as the lute, the bandora, recorders or flutes. The pieces on this CD represent both categories pleasantly alternating between the extremes; as far as I am able to gather the information from the rather flimsy booklet, it seems that quite a number of the pieces were originally written for very different instrumental or vocal combinations and that "Piffaro" have taken the liberty of re-scoring them for their particular combination of instruments. At all events, this is a highly entertaining disk of somewhat unusual music of the more popular kind, and the excellent playing deserves the five stars which all the reviewers up to now have awarded it. The only complaint I have is about the booklet, which offers only a minimum of information and, in particular, gives no details whatsoever about the instruments used or who is playing when. Those who enjoy these ancient instruments would do well to purchase one of the BIS CDs by the Joculatores Upsalienses, where the excellently printed, comprehensive booklets offer a glossary of medieval and renaissance instruments with illustrations taken partly from contemporary sources (Joculatores Upsalienses: Early Music at Wik; The Four Seasons; Skogen, Flickan och Flaskan).



The other Piffaro productions for Deutsche Grammophon Archiv are here: Chansons et Danceries (French Renaissance Wind Music); Flemish Feast: Renaissance Wind Music; Los Ministriles: Spanish Renaissance Wind Music."