Renaissance

Used to describe the era in music from about 1430 to about 1600. During this period, Flemish composers were in highest demand all over Europe. By about 1600 (the beginning of the baroque era) the Italian style was taking over.

This CD presents a slice of musical life from the court of the Holy Roman emperor Maximilan (1459-1519), who both embodied the medieval ideal of chivalry and supported, in the modern sense, the promotion of art and science. Maximilian established his own court chapel, which was of fundamental significance in the creation of German musical culture. Maximilian maintained contacts with the leading composers of the day, in particular the famous Henricus Isaac (a Flemming who had already made a mark at the infamous Medici court in Florence) and Paul Hofhaimer, of whom the great physician Paracelsus reportedly said: "Hofhaimer is to the organ what Dürer is to painting".

Music at the Court of Emperor Maximilian I
Concentus Musicus Wien; Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Label: Archiv

Catalogue No: 474 233-2 ABL

Recorded: 1964, reissued 2003
www.deutschegrammophon.com/archivblue

Imperii proceres by Henricus Isaac (1450-1517)