16th & 17th Century Ceremonial Court Music

On this CD:

1. Suite for oboe band in C major
Composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully

Conducted by Paolo Tognon

2. Lustige Feld-Musik Partita for winds, No. 1 in F major
Composed by Johann Philipp Krieger

Conducted by Paolo Tognon

3. Queen's Farewell
Composed by James Paisible

Conducted by Paolo Tognon

4. Zéphire et Flore, ballet Suite
Composed by Louis Lully

Conducted by Paolo Tognon

5. Suite for winds in D minor
Composed by Johann Christoph (Petz) Pez

Conducted by Paolo Tognon

6. Marche du Régiment de la Calotte
Composed by Andre Danican Philidor

Conducted by Paolo Tognon

16th & 17th Century Ceremonial Court Music, Music, Ceremonial Court Music in the, Chamber Music & Recitals, Classical, Classical Collections-Composer Desc., Classical Music

Spanish Guitar: Timeless Collection
Average customer rating:

Wonderful Spanish classical guitar album

Spanish Guitar: Timeless Collection

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Reflections of Spain: Spanish Favorites for Guitar

ASIN: B00006B1KR
Release Date: 2002-11-19

Tracks:

Danza Espanola No.5 - Norbert Kraft
Allegretto - Dagoberto Linhares
Andante - Dagoberto Linhares
Allegro - Dagoberto Linhares
Preludio - Antigoni Goni
Coral - Antigoni Goni
Cuna - Antigoni Goni
Recitativo - Antigoni Goni
Cancion - Antigoni Goni
Muneira - Antigoni Goni
Allegro Giocoso - Norbert Kraft
Tarantella, Op.87b - Lorenzo Micheli
Asturias - Norbert Kraft
Mallorca - Norbert Kraft
Sevilla - Norbert Kraft
Dance Of The Miller - Norbert Kraft

Tracks:

Recuerdos De La Alhambra - Norbert Kraft
Theme & Variations, Op.11 - John Holmquist
Allegro - Andante - Norbert Kraft
I - Denis Azabagic
II - Denis Azabagic
III - Denis Azabagic
Allegro Moderato - Denis Azabagic
Adagio - Norbert Kraft
I. Gallarda - Lorenzo Micheli
II. El Canario - Lorenzo Micheli
III. El Villano - Lorenzo Micheli
IV. 'Pesame Dello Amor' - Lorenzo Micheli
V. 'El Rey Don Alonso El Bueno' - Lorenzo Micheli
Fandanguillo - Norbert Kraft
Soleares - Norbert Kraft
El Los Trigales - Martha Masters
Allegretto, Quasi Allegretto - Norbert Kraft

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Spanish classical guitar album.......2003-10-12

I recently got back from a trip to Spain, having heard much Spanish classical guitar music on their national classical FM radio station (which I would recommend listening to while in Spain, it seems to be available everywhere, although on different frequencies). I bought this CD to learn more about the works, composers, etc. Both myself and my friends have thoroughly enjoyed this CD from Naxos - everybody wants a copy. Composers include Granados, Torroba, Mompou, Albeniz, Falla, Tarrega, and Rodrigo. High quality recordings. Most pieces are solo guitar or with minimal accompaniment. Lovely, sensitive, relaxing music. Great value for a 2 CD album. I would recommend it highly on its own merits, and also as an entry point for further exploration of Spanish classical guitar music.

La Rocque 'n' Roll - Popular Music of Renaissance France / The Baltimore Consort

Average customer rating:

My favorite + audiophile recording
absolute favorite
Fun stuff!
A perfect album
If Led Zeppelin had been born 400 years earlier...

La Rocque 'n' Roll - Popular Music of Renaissance France / The Baltimore Consort
Ronn McFarlane , and Chris Norman
Manufacturer: Dorian Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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The Art of the Bawdy Song

ASIN: B000001Q9P
Release Date: 1993-09-28

Tracks:

J'ai vu le loup
Has tu point veu
Branle double
Branle double: Branle de Montirande
Branle double: Branle de la torche
Mignonne, allons voir si la rose
Frais et gaillard
Un m'avoit promis
Volte
Mes pas semez
Gaillarde d'escosse
Gaillarde d'escosse: Laroque Gaillarde
Gaillarde d'escosse: Alemand de Liege
Ma bergere, ma lumiere
Estans assis aux rives aquatiques (Ps. 137) - Estans assis - Estans assis - Estans assis
Prelude
Prelude: Tant qe vivray
Un gay bergere
O Madame, pers-je mon tems
J'ay le rebours
Branles de village
Un jeune fillette
Un jeune fillette
Un jeune fillette
Un jeune fillette
Jean de Nivelle

Amazon.com

This title isn't just a joke. It makes the valid point that these Renaissance pieces occupied the same place in their culture as our pop music does in ours. People whistled these tunes in the street and danced to them at night, and you can easily accept the disc's title when hearing the Baltimore Consort's extremely lively performances, which have all the rhythmic drive and gusto of a good rock band. The ensemble's arrangements and the variety of its programming also contribute to the success of this disc, which would make an excellent introduction to music of the period. The booklet contains translations of all the vocal texts, and Dorian's sound leaps out of the loudspeakers with great clarity and presence. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

My favorite + audiophile recording.......2005-05-26

I've attended Baltimore Consort performances a number of times, and they are just about my favorite early music group. They do an outstanding job of making "old" music come alive. Sometimes early music recordings are dry and academic, and the Baltimore Consort is as far from that as you can get. Finally, they have a great since of humor, which often peaks through in their music.

They specialize in popular secular tunes of the age. Their playing is impeccable, and most of the group are accomplished soloists. La Rocque 'n' Roll is probably my favorite recording of theirs, the songs are fun, interesting, and involving. The best of the best...

The fact that the recording is technically very good is a nice bonus. As a matter of fact, "Jean de Nivelle" (track 26) is the first thing I play when evaluating speakers. It helps that I've heard the performance live (and unamplified), so I have a real life comparison. The recoding clearly captures the nuances of the individual instruments. Although obviously not as loud as modern rock, the recording still gives challenges speaker dynamics. Unlike some gee whiz audiophile recordings, I can listen to these songs again and again.

absolute favorite .......2004-10-16

I've been collecting renaissance/medieval music for several years and have finally found something that sounds as though the musicians are actually having FUN with the repertoire. This is a blast, I recommend it to all.

Fun stuff!.......2002-11-29

The jaunty, whimsical tone of this CD is set by the opening bars of the first piece, "J'ai vu le loup," which starts out with one of the musicians shouting "Un! Dieux!" Many parallels are subtly drawn between the secular music of Renaissance France and popular music of today. "The appeal of performing 'popular' repertory lies in the opportunity it provides for creative expression," explains the insert booklet. "All of the song and dance arrangements on this CD are the creation of the members of the Baltimore Consort, who sometimes only have an unharmonized melody to start with..." What they may lack in specific direction from the long-dead song writers, they more than make up for with catchy arrangements and spirited improvisations. Soprano Custer LaRue sings her sultry French lyrics with relish and gusto, and the addition of reedy crumhorns and bagpipes played by Chris Norman and Mark Cudek adds to the provincial French flavor. The fun of the music is echoed in the CD's amusing packaging: The album cover, somewhat reminiscent of the Beatles' "Abbey Road", features the ensemble members walking along in single file, with their viol and lute cases in hand. Other interior pictures of the group poke fun at other folk and rock imagery, including one shot of a gentleman in shades licking the neck of his bass viol. Not exactly the norm for early music releases, but refreshing for just that reason. Rocque on!

A perfect album.......2000-02-22

This is my favorite CD of all time. I've had it now for five years, I listen to it all the time, and I never get tired of it. Every track is enormously beautiful, from the bright and sunny tunes through the quieter and more melancholy ones.

This is a CD that sounds perfect in the early morning, late at night, or any other time of day.

I've become a huge fan of the Baltimore Consort (one of the highlights of my life was seeing the group perform the songs on this album live at Synod Hall in Pittsburgh, PA) and "La Rocque 'n' Roll" is their "Sgt. Pepper."

If Led Zeppelin had been born 400 years earlier..........1999-10-02

...and played the lute, they would've played like Ron McFarlane, and sang like Custer LaRue. Wonderful performances of 16th C popular music on historical instruments, with lovely twists of rock'n'roll performance techniques. Check out the jazzy krummhorn glissandos, the sexy lute strumming, the straight-ahead power vocal, and the hip plucked bass viol -- especially on the last track. This is my #1 "Desert Island Disk."

In Nomine: 16th Century English Music for Viols Including the Complete Consort Music of Thomas Tallis - Fretwork

Average customer rating:

In Nomine: 16th Century English Music for Viols Including the Complete Consort Music of Thomas Tallis - Fretwork
John Taverner , Thomas Preston , Robert Johnson , Robert Parsons , Alfonso Ferrabosco , Richard Campbell , Julia Hodgson , William Hunt , Elizabeth Liddle , and Christopher Wilson
Manufacturer: Amon Ra
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002048
Release Date: 1995-03-06

Tracks:

In Nomine A 4, No. 1
In Nomine A 5 'Crye'
In Nomine A 5 'Trust'
Solfaing Song A 5
Fa La Sol A 3
In Nomine A 4
Fant A 5
In Nomine A 5
In Nomine A 4, No. 2
Fant A 3, No. 3
In Nomine
In Nomine A 4, No. 2
O Lux Beata Trinitas A 3
In Nomine A 4
In Nomine A 5
Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La A 4
In Nomine A 5
Lute Fant, No 5
Fant A 4
Libera Nos, Salva Nos A 5
In Nomine A 4

Ancient Airs and Dances: 16th Century Songs & Dances for Lute

Average customer rating:

Great Sampler of O'Dette's Virtuoso Performances

Ancient Airs and Dances: 16th Century Songs & Dances for Lute

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0001O2J22
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Customer Reviews:

Great Sampler of O'Dette's Virtuoso Performances.......2005-11-22

'Ancient Airs and Dances' performed by Paul O'Dette on lutes and guitar, accompanyied by vocals from tenor Rogers Covey-Crump, violinist, John Holloway, lutist, Nigel North, and base viol player Christel Thielmann has all the qualities I like in medieval performances, with the bonus that even I, who has virtually no real training in either stringed instruments or ancient music can appreciate the skill with which these pieces, many by an anonymous composer, are performed.

I would probably not have bought this CD if it were not for the combination of artist O'Dette's reputation plus the recording label, Hyperion, whose relatively pricy works are always superior, especially for performances involving a small ensemble.

I usually listen to all music simply for the visceral punch, or in an attempt to educate my viscera to get more punch from an unfamiliar style of music.

While this recording does not leave my viscera unengaged, it is outstanding in the sense that it successfully involves my higher cognitive functions, which Mick and Keith rarely reach.

Very highly recommended as a sample of old music.

McKay: Violin Concerto, 16th Century Hymn Tunes

Average customer rating:

An Extremely Strong Program of McKay's Extremely Fine Music

McKay: Violin Concerto, 16th Century Hymn Tunes

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Ivanovs: Symphonies Nos. 8 & 20
Alfvén: Symphony No. 4 "From the Outermost Skerries"

ASIN: B0006M4SVO
Release Date: 2005-01-18

Tracks:

Allegro Molto Ma Risoluto
Andante - Quasi Adagio
Allegor Vigoroso
Meditation
Rondolet
Air Varie
Choeur Celeste
Cortege Joyeux
Allegro Con Gaiezza E Con Brio
Moderato Pastorale
Allegro Gioioso E Ritmico Molto
Song Over The Great Plains

Customer Reviews:

An Extremely Strong Program of McKay's Extremely Fine Music.......2005-01-27

This CD is the third in a series devoted to the music of George Frederick McKay (1899-1970) which certainly deserves whatever attention it is currently getting. One hopes that the years of neglect that this composer's music has experienced - largely because for most of his professional life he lived in the Pacific Northwest, far away from US classical music centers - are over. He is remembered with fondness, though, by citizens of Seattle, where his music has continued to be performed occasionally; by alumni of the University of Washington where he taught for many years; and by such students of his as the eminent current-day composer William Bolcom, who indeed was a major participant in the second CD in the series devoted to McKay's chamber music. One only wishes that another of his former students, Goddard Lieberson, who went on to become a huge influence in the classical music recording industry, had done something to preserve his music in recordings, but alas that didn't happen. This CD, the second to present orchestral music of McKay's conducted by John McLaughlin Williams, is a fine addition to the series. It comprises four very different works that, among other things, show the range that McKay had.

By far the most important work here is the Violin Concerto (1940) which is here played with real commitment, virtuosic precision and ravishing tone by Brian Reagin, a violinist new to me but one who bears watching. He is currently the concertmaster of the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra and was previously assistant concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony. The Concerto, in three movements in the usual fast-slow-fast arrangement, is played without pause. The first movement is dramatic and declamatory. The first appearance of the violin is a statement of the movement's most important theme in double-stops and gossamer arpeggios. The orchestra features peremptory brass interjections that, an evidence of McKay's expertise, do not ever cover the soloist. There are several cadenzas in this movement, none long but all of them extraordinarily virtuosic. The final cadenza leads into the lyrical second movement which is clearly the heart of the concerto. Harmonically this movement sounds, to this listener, as if it could only have been composed in the 1940s, using as it does chromatic and bluesy harmonies that were newly in the air during that time. Think, if you will, of the harmonies and sinuous melodic contour of David Raksin's theme-song for the movie, 'Laura,' written three years later, and you'll have some idea of this movement's atmosphere; I hasten to add that what McKay does here is miles more effective (and sophisticated) than Raksin's effort. A passage for solo violin and flute leads into the exuberantly rhythmic third movement which begins with woodwind writing that reminded me right away of the similarly orchestrated wind chords in Edward MacDowell's 'Indian Suite.' And indeed both the melodic and rhythmic elements of this movement remind one of authentic Indian music, through the prism of classical techniques, and at the same time the mild jazziness of the earlier movements continues. This is an extraordinarily strong violin concerto and I would venture to say that it is the equal of Samuel Barber's concerto which some think is the finest ever written by an American. This is strong praise, I realize, about which I've thought seriously. I'll go further and say that McKay's third movement is more effective that Barber's.

The 'Suite on Sixteenth Century Hymn Tunes' (originally for organ, 1945; rev. 1962) is for strings alone (except for the appropriate addition of the celesta in the fourth movement, 'Choeur céleste'). The strings are divided into two separate orchestras. The five movements are elaborations on hymns by 16th century French composer, Louis Bourgeois, written for John Calvin's Genevan Psalter. The tunes themselves are lovely, and their incorporation into McKay's work extremely effective. I particularly liked the concluding 'Cortège joyeux,' a celebratory recessional.

'Sinfonietta No. 4' (1942), one of five McKay wrote, was, according to the very informative notes by conductor Williams, a precursor to his 'true' symphony, the so-called 'Evocation' Symphony, recorded nicely in the first CD in this series. In three movements, the first is more neo-classic, spare, rhythmically asymmetric, harmonically astringent and bracing than the other works on this CD. The second movement evokes, with its lonely wind solos, the wide-open spaces of the American West without sounding in the least like Copland's brand of 'Western-ness.' Again, there is an American Indian tinge to the melodies. The finale, Allegro gioioso e ritmico molto, is McKay in a playful, even prankish, mood. It burbles along cheerfully, interrupted now and again by brass fanfares and chirruping winds. Yet, it is in modified sonata allegro form, with concentrated development and recapitulation leading to a jubilant coda that ends abruptly with a hiccup.

The final work, 'Song Over the Great Plains' (1953), was written on commission from the Indianapolis Symphony who asked for a work to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Steinway Piano Company. It has an important piano obbligato part, played here by Ludmilla Kovaleva, but is not quite a piano concerto. It is a fourteen-minute single movement work that evokes early spring in the northern Great Plains - McKay had spent some time teaching in South Dakota before moving to Seattle - and quotes the call of the western meadowlark, happily quite recognizable by this reviewer from Kansas for whom it is the state bird. The work has a main theme that sounds like a folksong, but Williams assures us it is original with McKay. It builds to a climax followed by a long piano cadenza before dying away as softly as it began. A lovely piece worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Vaughan Williams's own lark piece, 'The Lark Ascending.'

One cannot praise too highly conductor John McLaughlin Williams for bringing us the music in this extraordinary program, nor the playing of the National Radio Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine whose growing number of excellent recordings of American music should surely qualify them for honorary US citizenship.

Strongest recommendation.

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

Traditional & Modern Carols
Theatre of Voices , and Hillier
Manufacturer: Hmf Classical Exp.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006I49C
Release Date: 2002-11-12

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Santiago De Murcia Codex

Manufacturer: Astree
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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La Belle Homicide: Manuscrit barbe
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Rolf Lislevand

ASIN: B0009PEYT4
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Average customer rating:

A spiritual holiday treat

Tydings Trew
Anonymous , English Anonymous , Gregorian Chant , Christmas Traditional , and Lionheart
Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

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Paris 1200
Palestrina: Soul of Rome
My Fayre Lady: Tudor Songs and Chant
El Siglo de Oro
Words of the Angel

ASIN: B0000AYLIQ
Release Date: 2003-10-07

Tracks:

Hymn: A solis ortus cardine
Carol: Nowell, nowell
Carol: Hayl Mary, ful of grace
Motet: Venter tuus
Antiphon: Facta est cum angelo
Canticle: Benedicite omnia opera domini domino
Carol: As I outrode this endres night
Carol: Ecce, quod natura
Motet: Nesciens mater
Carol: A, my dere, a, my dere Son
Carol: Nowel, nowel
Hymn: Sancte dei preciose
Carol: Eya, martir Stephane
Responsory: Hic est discipulus
Carol: Worcepe we this holy day
Carol: Lully lulla
Carol: Seynt Thomas honour we
Antiphon: Magi videntes stellam
Carol: Ave Rex angelorum
Motet: Gaude virgo mater Christi
Antiphon: Alleluya, omnes de saba
Canticle: Nunc dimittis

Customer Reviews:

A spiritual holiday treat.......2003-11-04

Lionheart once again delights with a splendid mixture of chants and hymns, this time centered on medieval Christmas fare. Their sense of ensemble and balance is magical - there are no individuals in this group - they sing as one luscious voice.

Average customer rating:

A very pleasant tour through early music history

English Madrigals and Songs

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

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Renaissance Madrigals

ASIN: B000001446
Release Date: 1996-11-19

Tracks:

Pastime With Good Company
Blow Thy Horn, Hunter
Ah Robin, Gentle Robin
Hey Trolly Lolly Lo
Draw On, Sweet Night
Thule, The Period Of Cosmography
Weep, Weep Mine Eyes
As Vesta Was
Sound Saddest Notes
Fair Phyllis
Sleep, Fleshly Birth
Mother, I Will Have A Husband
Lay A Garland
Brigg Fair
The Trees They Do Grow High
The Blue Bird

Customer Reviews:

A very pleasant tour through early music history.......2004-11-24

From King Henry through the early 18th century, the best vocal music of the times. I was so taken by the earliest material that my a capella group learned several of the pieces and have performed them in many venues over the years.

If you like the sound of early music, this is a must-have.

Average customer rating:

The Wonder of the Spanish Conquests Brought to Life!
One of the great histories written... ever
A Great History
One of Our Greatest Works of Historical Art
A Historical Masterpiece

History of the Conquest of Mexico

Manufacturer: Naxos Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Mexico | International | Styles | Music

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Letters from Mexico
The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico: 1517-1521
Conquest: Cortes, Montezuma, and the Fall of Old Mexico
The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico

ASIN: 962634282X
Release Date: 2003-02-18

Tracks:

Introduction: View of the Aztec Civilization
Succession to the Crown
Mexican Mythology the Sacerdotal Order - The Temples - Human ...
Mexican Hieroglyphics - Manuscripts - Chronology
Aztec Agriculture - The Mechanical Arts - Merchants - Domestic Manners
Tezcucans - Their Golden Age - Decline of Their Monarchy
Discovery of Mexico: 1516-1518: Spain Under Charles V - Progress ...
Hernando Cort- His Early Life - Visits the New World - His ...
Jealousy of Velasquez - CortEmbarks - Equipment of His Fleet - ...
Voyage to Cozumel - Conversion of the Natives
Voyage Along the Coast - Dona Marina - Spaniards Land in Mexico - ...
Account of Montezuma - State of His Empire - Strange Prognostics - ...
Troubles in the Camp - Plan for a Colony - Management of Cort- ...
Another Aztec Embassy - Destruction of Idols - Despatches Sent to ...

Tracks:

March to Mexico: Proceedings at Cempoalla - The Spaniards Climb ...
Republic of Tlascala - The Discussions in the Senate - Desperate ...
Decisive Victory - Indian Council - Night Attack - Negotiations ...
Tlascalan Spies - Peace With the Republic - Embassy from Montezuma
Spaniards Enter Tlascala - A Description of the Capital - ...
City of Cholula - March to Cholula - Reception Accorded the ...
Terrible Massacre - Tranquillity Restored - Envoys from Montezuma
March Resumed - Valley of Mexico - Impression on the Spaniards - ...
Environs of Mexico - Interview With Montezuma - Entrance into the ...
Residence in Mexico
Great Temple - Interior Sanctuaries - Spanish Quarters
Anxiety of Cort- Seizure of Montezuma - His Treatment by the ...
Montezuma's Deportment - His Life in the Spanish Quarters - ...
Montezuma Swears Allegiance to Spain - Royal Treasures - Their ...

Tracks:

Proceedings in the Castilian Court - Preparations of Velasquez - ...
CortDescends from the Tableland - Negotiates With Narvaez - ...
Discontent of the Troops - Insurrection in the Capital - Return of ...
Expulsion from Mexico: Desperate Assault on the Quarters - Fury of the
Storming of the Great Temple - Spirit of the Aztecs - Distresses ...
Council of War - Spaniards Evacuate the City - Noche Triste, Or ...
Spaniards Retreat - Distresses of the Army - Great Battle of Otompan

Tracks:

Arrival in Tlascala - Friendly Reception - Discontents of the Army ...
War With the Surrounding Tribes - Successes of the Spaniards
Guatemozin, New Emperor of the Aztecs - Preparations for the March ...
Siege and Surrender of Mexico: Arrangements at Tezcuco - Sack of ...
CortReconnoitres the Capital - Occupies Tacuba - Skirmishes ...
Second Reconnoitring Expedition - The Capture of Cuernavaca - ...
Brigantines Launched - Muster of Forces - Execution of Xicotencatl ...
Indian Flotilla Defeated - The Causeways Occupied - Desperate Assaults
General Assault on the City - Defeat of the Spaniards - Their ...
Success of the Spaniards - Buildings Razed to the Ground - ...
Dreadful Sufferings of the Besieged - Spirit of Guatemozin - Murderous
Postscript

Book Description

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"It is a magnificent epic," said William H. Prescott after the publication of History of the Conquest of Mexico in 1843. Since then, his sweeping account of Cortés's subjugation of the Aztec people has endured as a landmark work of scholarship and dramatic storytelling. This pioneering study presents a compelling view of the clash of civilizations that reverberates in Latin America to this day.
----"Regarded simply from the standpoint of literary criticism, the Conquest of Mexico is Prescott's masterpiece," judged his biographer Harry Thurston Peck. "More than that, it is one of the most brilliant examples which the English language possesses of literary art applied to historical narration. . . . Here, as nowhere else, has Prescott succeeded in delineating character. All the chief actors of his great historic drama not only live and breathe, but they are as distinctly differentiated as they must have been in life. Cortés and his lieutenants are persons whom we actually come to know in the pages of Pres-cott. . . . Over against these brilliant figures stands the melancholy form of Montezuma, around whom, even from the first, one feels gathering the darkness of his coming fate. He reminds one of some hero of Greek tragedy, doomed to destruction and intensely conscious of it, yet striving in vain against the decree of an inexorable des-
tiny. . . . [Prescott] transmuted the acquisitions of laborious research into an enduring monument of pure literature."

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Prescott's thrilling and romantic history of "savages" and conquerers

Customer Reviews:

The Wonder of the Spanish Conquests Brought to Life!.......2007-06-14

Prescott was one of the first historians to credit the Native Americans with the founding of the ancient American civilizations; rather than some lost white race or wandering tribe of Hebrews.

Maya explorer John Lloyd Stephens was another famous person from the 1840s who realized that ancient American civilization arose independently in the New World. When it is considered that almost everyone else was pointing to lost white races as the originators of these civilizations, the vision of these two men is remarkable.

Nevertheless, Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico" and "Conquest of Peru" (bound together in the "Modern Library Giant" edition) are stunning as historical narratives based on original sources. What an achievement by a man who was half blind!

I would rank these two volumes as the two most captivating books I ever read. The audacity and bravery (and cruelty) of the Spanish leaves your mouth agape.

Read these two histories and relive the wonder of the Conquests of Mexico and Peru. Ten stars!

One of the great histories written... ever.......2005-10-26

Wow. I studied History and Literature at Harvard... and they never introduced me to this book! Shame on Harvard. Prescott is a true fusion of history and literature. Built on deep reading and comprehensive research of original sources and shot through with critical insights blended with fairness, Prescott's work is so different from much modern history (which is the manipulation of facts to satisfy politcal agendas).
Gosh, I know Prescott is disavowed/not read because of the discrimination against dead white males. But he's just flat-out better than the historian practitioners of today.

A Great History.......2005-07-10

William H. Prescott was nearly blind for most of his life and never visited Mexico. Nevertheless, his work contains vivid, almost cinematic, descriptions of landscapes, cities and battles. It is dramatic and entertaining in the manner of great imaginative literature. Surely there has never been a story like that of Cortes and Montezuma and the destruction of the Aztec empire. Here is the collision of late medieval Europe with a civilization closely resembling that of the ancient Egyptians. This story of one race subjugating another should put the reader in mind of the recent conquest of Iraq. Nothing fundamental has changed in the past five hundred years, except that we have no Prescott to tell the tale.

One of Our Greatest Works of Historical Art.......2003-10-15

This book is one of the greatest works of world literature, but it can be a deeply disturbing read. By turns, the heart races in outrage and sinks in sorrow at the retelling of the events surrounding Cortes's conquest of the Aztec Empire from 1519 to 1521. There has seldom been an event in history with greater drama, greater conflict, greater peril, and greater moral consequence. Though the conquest is not a turning point in world history, its events can help us fathom many of the most pressing and profound moral and political issues we face down to this day. Prescott tells the story of the conquest superbly, with depth, precision, elegance, sympathy, drama, and emotional power. There are few prose stylists as fine as William Hickling Prescott in the history of English literature, and this is not known widely enough. Many a swollen six-volume history from centuries past has become the province of scholars; few are the classic histories that still can command the attention of lay readers. This is one of them. Many lay readers and scholars testify that this book has lost none of its savor or substance. Prescott emulated Gibbon, that marvel of magnificence in English prose, but thankfully Prescott's style isn't quite as magnificently glorious as the historian's who laid out the momentous decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Prescott's prose stands a bit lower on the register than Gibbon's heroic grandeur; yet Prescott achieves a depth of perception, elegance, and insight that is matched by few writers in all of English literature. As with Gibbon, Prescott's sentences and paragraphs stand as works of art; they not are to be hurried through for the story only, but pondered with an expectation of almost unbounded discovery. Also like Gibbon, Prescott was a master of the subtle, sly aside and the telling tangent.

At the center of Prescott's story is the enthralling conquistador Hernan Cortes, that extraordinarily daring captain of the expedition to conquer the Aztecs; in two years, Cortes led a preposterously small band of Spanish soldiers across the Empire and succeeded, highly improbably, in toppling it. Is this one of the key moments of history? For Central America, certainly, but for world history probably not. Nonetheless, it is one of the most riveting stories of early modern times, and you should know it well. Moreover, our evaluations of the actions and ideas of Cortes and his men can help us understand what it means to be good, to toil as servants of the good, and to create a good society. It is easy to get furious with Cortes's band as we read of them fulfilling their audacious mission of conquest. It is easier still to morally condemn them. It could be that they deserve condemnation. But perhaps the matter deserves a very close look, and Prescott can help us examine and judge their actions better than any historian ever. In my view, there are three crucial events that demand our account: (1) the massacre at Cholula, (2) the Noche Triste, an escape of the Spaniards from Tenochtitlan at mid-conquest, and (3) the brutal siege of Tenochtitlan in the final act. Through these and the other events of the conquest, Prescott can guide us in evaluating our principles of morality, government, war, liberty, and religion, as well as the meaning of life and society. This book is a classic now, having been written some 150 years ago. Many histories and studies of the conquest have been written up to the present, but none matches Prescott's in the power and depth of its insights into human nature and society, and none matches it in the beauty and power of its prose. Prescott has much to say about why people behave as they do, about the power of religion, the thirst for gold and glory, the temptations of ambition, the rationalization of crimes and sin, and much, much more. Surely by now you realize that I cannot recommend this great history highly enough. It remains in print in several editions, which is a testament to its enduring appeal both to scholars and readers, and it is most deserving of all the attention it still receives.

A Historical Masterpiece.......2000-07-05

In his "History of the Conquest of Mexico" and it's companion volume, the "History of the Conquest of Peru", William Prescott achieves the remarkable feat of portraying the action and adventures of the Spanish cavaliers in a highly readable format for those with little prior knowledge of the Conquests. The subject matter for these books is basically the clash of cultures that occurred between the Old World (in the form of Catholic Spain) and the New (in the form of the Aztecs in Mexico and the Incas in Peru). It is interesting to note that these books were written by in the early 19th century by a partially sighted American author who had never visited the countries but who had access to all available historical documents. The style of writing is such that the reader is never overwhelmed by detail and is continually impressed by the heroic feats of the Spanish and at the same time shocked by their cruelty to the indigenous poeples.

In the "History of the Conquest of Mexico", Prescott provides an excellent acount of the origin and nature of Mexican civilization at the time of the conquest, describing how the Aztecs dominated the many races of Mexico with savage brutality, indulging in regular human sacrifices. He then goes on to describe the key player in this adventure, Hernando Cortes, and how he and a small party of cavaliers overcame overwhelming odds to defeat the armies of the Aztecs. While it is impossible not to admire the genius of Cortes, the reader is left in no doubt that the Spaniards were motivated by the promise of Aztec gold and not by the desire to "spread the word of God to the heathen". However, Prescott excuses the means by which Cortes overthrew the Aztec empire as it put an end to the Aztec practice of human sacrifice. In the second book, "History of the Conquest of Peru", Prescott finds no excuse for the manner in which Pizarro and Almagro conquered the relatively peaceful empire of the Incas. As with the first book, an interesting description of the Inca way of life precedes the action. While equally enthralling as the conquest of Mexico, Pizzaro accomplished the overthrow of the Incas by brute force, without the finesse of Cortes. The second half of this book deals with the remarkable events which followed the conquest; the two civil wars and their resolution by Pedro de la Gasca on behalf of the Spanish crown. It is difficult to find fault with Prescott's scientific approach to his writings; all of the events are backed up by references to documents written at the time of, or shortly after the conquests and these are given as valuable footnotes on each page. In addition, at the end of some of the chapters, Prescott writes short essays about his sources, describing which are trustworthy and which are prejudiced. If there were to be a fault with Prescott's approach, then it would his sympathy with the Catholic church during the years of the Conquest and his excusing of the Spanish atrocities as a means of spreading Christianity. But then we should bear in mind that Prescott was writing in the 1840s and was obviously a serious Christian. A second problem is that some of the footnotes are left in their original text, i.e. Spanish, Latin or sometimes Greek which presents problems to non-polyglots. The publishers have obviously not thought to translate these. In conclusion, these two books are essential reading for anyone interested in the empires of the Aztecs and Incas, and their overthrow by the Spanish Conquestadors. I have not read any other books on the subject which compare to Prescott's masterpieces.

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