In this collection of recordings, ‘early’ means what it says. This is a journey through the music world of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It ends with those composers and those pieces of music that, around 1600, were shaping the sound that we call ‘baroque’. Presented chronologically, this extensive collection of works covers sacred and secular music from Italy, France, Germany, Spain, England, Flanders, Portugal and The Netherlands, from a wide range of composers.