Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection
Year 1979, controversial year, the end of the golden decade of the seventies (musically speaking). It’s not only because I say it, but surprisingly, this is one of Renaissance’s best albums and last. We should have thought that because they gave up their classic and epic 10 minute long songs, it was the end of the band.
David Munrow was a major British music historian who started The Early Music Consort of London with Christopher Hogwood. Monroe also published a number scholarly works on Early Music. One of Munrow's early passions was the study of early musical instruments which he collected until this his death, and are now part of his historical archives. Monroe began a project to make recordings of musical instruments from the Medieval and Renaissance Periods during 1973-74. Munrow was himself was a respected musician in own right on the instruments of the period, and played many of the included examples himself.
There are several very distinct periods of Renaissance history - of which the most exciting may well be the time surrounding their best album, A Song for All Seasons, It is the album - along with Azure d'Or and Novella - that almost broke them as pop stars and was filled with some of the most interesting (in their prog rock roots) songs they had yet written. This live album is from the tour accompanying the Song for All Seasons tour - and, as such, it could be argued that it is Renaissance at the peak of their powers. Even more so than Live at Carnegie Hall or the welcomed reunion concert, In the Land of the Rising Sun, Dreams & Omens captures Renaissance as one tight pop band. They almost play like a cross between the Alan Parsons Project and late-era ABBA…
David Munrow was a major British music historian who started The Early Music Consort of London with Christopher Hogwood. Monroe also published a number scholarly works on Early Music. One of Munrow's early passions was the study of early musical instruments which he collected until this his death, and are now part of his historical archives. Monroe began a project to make recordings of musical instruments from the Medieval and Renaissance Periods during 1973-74. Munrow was himself was a respected musician in own right on the instruments of the period, and played many of the included examples himself.
The hungarian group 'Bakfark Consort' is led by Dániel Benkö lutenist.