The subject of this list is music for instrumental ensembles. Although the list will have a bias both toward the viol and toward England, other instruments and outputs will be included so as to summarize my favorite examples of consort writing for this era.
When it comes to the abstract & austere music which I favor, the English output is rather uncharacteristically larger than that on the Continent. While many explanations might be offered for this phenomenon, including the tangible one that the French & Italian output has been less thoroughly surveyed, it is true nonetheless. In each case, after the period covered by this list and sometimes during it, the instrumental styles became lighter and more sonorous. It is the abstract polyphonic gravity which I am attempting to survey here.
I will list recordings roughly chronologically. The performances of this music are generally excellent, making a welcome change from some other repertories. Many pieces have more than one recording which would otherwise merit inclusion, but I will generally confine myself to single listings. I am increasingly picky in the latter sections. Finally, some repertories are equally available in keyboard renditions, as specific scoring is given only for the minority.
The English output can be quite compelling, even if it was mostly written over only a few decades by a handful of composers. The Renaissance fades very smoothly into the Baroque here, although there is some break as the consort medium itself is displaced by the Italian ensemble constitutions (the last item) and then especially with the Civil War. The repertory is now rather well-covered on CD, although performance technique does continue to improve.
There were highly varied instrumental idioms in Italy throughout the later 16th century, and especially into the 17th. The first citation is a unique discovery, while the next three citations represent important points of transition from the Italian Renaissance idiom. Although they tend to be rather brighter in tone than the English consort repertory, they have many interesting characteristics. After that, we move into the better-known style of violin dominated chamber music, finding its first summation in Corelli. There has been a renewed interest in recording the early 17th century of late, and so there is a growing discography of quality interpretations. The resulting variety inherent to this entire sub-listing is especially notable.
In the early days of instrumental music, Spain was a leader in development, but then became very conservative. These citations are for composers of almost unparalleled importance, certainly without peers in Spain.
In Renaissance France, very few polyphonic instrumental compositions were ascribed to individual composers. By far the largest output is that of Du Caurroy, with only his teacher Le Jeune writing other significant attributed fantasias. During the 17th century, writing for solo instrument was dominant, especially dance suites, and so is less interest to me. After some gap in time, Leclair reaches lofty heights by a combination of this style with the sonata form of Corelli.
Aside from substantial duplication, if a recording fitting the orientation of this sketch is not listed here, either I haven't been able to obtain a copy (perhaps out of print), I don't know about it at all, or I didn't care for it enough to give it one star. In the final section, obviously I am much more restrictive. Please feel free to inquire, especially if you know a recording I probably don't.
I will try to keep this page up to date as new releases appear.
Todd M. McComb Updated: 28 August 2007