Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra – Popular Masterworks Of The Baroque

I was able to pick up copy of this in mint condition and i agree with Gee_Money that this is fantastic recording with great fidelity. Worth seeking out!

Picked up a NM copy (LP and packaging both) from Record Surplus in Santa Monica. I'd never heard Tafelmusik (group or composition) on LP before, let alone on 45 RPM. This is a fantastic recording and pressing in every way. The sound space in particular is wonderfully balanced and clean, with each instrument more or less equally present on the stage, with the notable exception of the harpsichord, which is tastefully tucked a little further back, so as not to overpower the strings. The tiniest hint of residual echo from recording in a church doesn't detract at all; in fact, it adds a lovely spaciousness to the sound that's evocative of the social occasions for which these pieces were written, and the vivacity with which they would have sounded.

Audio qualities aside, the musicianship is phenomenal. Rich, precise playing gives these masterpieces the respect that they deserve, without overt stamps of personality to occlude the composers' musical voices.

5/5.