The Florilegium Series - Medieval and Renaissance

The Guardian 100

(L’Oiseau Lyre) (50 CDs)

This richly rewarding collection brings together music across the centuries, from plainsong and the Carmina Burana to the late Renaissance, touching the early baroque of Monteverdi. It is also a celebration of a period of wonderful creativity in the British early music scene around the 1980s. Almost all the artists were from this country, nurtured and supported by the record industry: the piercing, simple eloquence of Anthony Rooley’s Consort of Musicke in madrigals and motets, more extrovert performances of Susato and Praetorius dances, and the superb Medieval Ensemble of London bringing to life little-known Isaac, Ockeghem, Dufay and Perugia. Both a treasure trove and a great historical document.