La Rocque 'n' Roll: Popular Music of Renaissance France
This title isn't just a joke. It makes the valid point that these Renaissance pieces occupied the same place in their culture as our pop music does in ours. People whistled these tunes in the street and danced to them at night, and you can easily accept the disc's title when hearing the Baltimore Consort's extremely lively performances, which have all the rhythmic drive and gusto of a good rock band. The ensemble's arrangements and the variety of its programming also contribute to the success of this disc, which would make an excellent introduction to music of the period. The booklet contains translations of all the vocal texts, and Dorian's sound leaps out of the loudspeakers with great clarity and presence.--Leslie Gerber