The second volume in the History of Early Music series on Ricercar, this staggeringly voluminous 8 CD compilation covers the period of almost a century ranging from the late 1500s to late 1600s with the transition to the Baroque era. With the profane and sacred intersecting and the birth of various idioms including opera and oratorio, along with forms such as the sonata; this collection features a comprehensive survey of the composers of this era enlivened with performances by acclaimed ensembles and soloists. A collection to be reveled in and lived with, it also features a book discussing the Baroque aesthetic and written by J�rome Lejeune.