Musical Examples
Essential Baroque. (2002). New York, NY: Decca.
Think of this audio recording as a “greatest hits” of the Baroque era. It features 35 of the best known Baroque pieces and is a great introduction to the music of the period.
The Ultimate Baroque album. (2004). New York: Universal Music Group.
This recording is similar to Essential Baroque but is a shorter collection. Although it features some of the same pieces as Essential Baroque, there are enough differences between the track lists to warrant a listen.
Neely, B., & Walters, R. (2003). The Baroque era: 91 selections from keyboard literature, concertos, oratorios & operas for piano solo. The world's great classical music. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard.
For piano players and other musicians, here is a collection of 91 pieces transcribed for solo piano. For those of you who can read music, this collection might act as a companion to some of the print resources, allowing you to examine individual pieces and styles.
Ouellette, M., Saint-Jean, R., Berryman, D., Marriner, N., Graf, M., Haenchen, H., et al. (2003). George Frideric Handel Explore the life and music of George Frideric Handel. The great composers. Berlin, Germany: Brilliant Classics.
This DVD features performances of notable works by G. F. Handel by a selection of great ensembles. It also follows the life of the composer through reenactments and narration.
Vivaldi, A., Nishizaki, T., Vivaldi, A., Vivaldi, A., Vivaldi, A., & Vivaldi, A. (2004). The four seasons Wind concerti. [Hong Kong]: Naxos Music Library.
Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons is one of the best known and loved works of the Baroque period. Composed in 1723, this set of four violin concertos remains one of the quintessential works of the high Baroque period to this day. This specific version is interesting because it is offered as a direct download through a partnership between CML and the MidOhio Library Digital Initiative (http://www.moldi.org). After you follow the link below and use the “click here to access download” link, click “add to cart” and then “proceed to checkout.” Here you will need your CML library card number and PIN to complete the transaction. You may keep the downloaded audio on your computer for 14 days. At that point it must be “returned.” Please take advantage of this convenient service!
