Le Poème Harmonique is celebrating its twentieth birthday! Two decades of musical discoveries in many different repertoires, musical partnerships, broadcasts, concerts worldwide in every conceivable...

Le Poème Harmonique is celebrating its twentieth birthday! Two decades of musical discoveries in many different repertoires, musical partnerships, broadcasts, concerts worldwide in every conceivable format, large or small – and many recordings as well. To mark this important anniversary of Vincent Dumestre’s highly-prized ensemble, Alpha has selected twenty albums in a handsomely-produced box-set. Pieces from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, ‘airs de cours’, Italian and English music, make for a musical voyage through 16th- and 17th-century Europe. Here are twenty iconic albums for music-lovers to discover – or rediscover!

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Excerpts of select reviews of previously released volumes included in this set::

Firenze 1616:

This music is not just a piece of archaeological interest; it stands on its own very well in performances as varied, as musical and attractive as those on this disc. Singers are uniformly fine, both individually and in ensemble, with good diction and security of tone. Performances are informed, both musically and historically, as one would expect from such fine musicians.

– MusicWeb International

Love Is Strange:

Under the leadership of Vincent Dumestre the performances are irreproachable, impeccably tuned, and a pleasure from first note to last. The sonics are equally so, though with so many plucked instruments there's an unavoidable level of performance noise and some heavy breathing here and there. All things considered, it's far less than I expected, and not at all bothersome. In all, this is a wonderful disc, even for those who tend to shy away from "early music" collections.

– MusicWeb International