Table 19

On their major-label debut, Under the Table and Dreaming, the Dave Matthews Band is helped by the lean production of Steve Lillywhite, who manages to rein in the group's tendency to meander. The result is a set of eclectic pop/rock that is accentuated by bursts of instrumental virtuosity instead of being ruled by it. That also means that the Dave Matthews Band is capable of turning out pop songs, and as the hit single "What Would You Say" and "Ants Marching" illustrate, they have a flair for catchy hooks.

…The Camerata - an offshoot of Bruggen's Orchestra of the 18th Century - use only a single instrument to a part…the characterful immediacy of the individual playing translates into a corporate band capable of superb buoyancy and vigour. Flautist Konrad Hunteler directs with a twinkling eye rather than a dictatorial stick…The music's charm lies in a complex amalgam of innocence and sophistication which Hunteler judges to perfection…

This bargain box contains recordings made between 1988 and 1999 accompanied by extensive introductory material. Alongside five CDs devoted exclusively to Telemann, and almost every work for recorder that he composed, are one of music for French horn and another of music for the rarer instruments of the baroque flute family. Works by composers contemporary with the Hamburg Kapellmeister have also been included in this new selection of re-releases from the Ricercar back catalogue.

Telemann's 1733 compendium exhibits impeccable 'table manners' thanks to Concentus Musicus Wien's innate vivacity and Harnoncourt's charm offensive.

Inaugurated in 1958, Das Alte Werk quickly gained a reputation for historically informed, high-quality recordings. As the field of early music spread wider and wider and new paths were constantly broken, the imprint rapidly became the touchstone by which other labels were judged, not least for its epoch-making complete recording of Bach's sacred cantatas. Originally recorded and released in the middle 1960s, this newly-reissued 4CD, groundbreaking set of Telemann's Musique de Table (Tafelmusik) features the late Franz Bruggen and the Concerto Amsterdam.

Tafelmusik (table music) is a term used since the mid-16th century for music played at feasts and banquets. Some of the most significant composers of Tafelmusik included Johann Schein and Michael Praetorius, who wrote about the genre in his Syntagma musicum of 1619. Composed in 1733, Telemann s Tafelmusik has been compared as a collection to the renowned Brandenburg Concertos of Johann Sebastian Bach in clearly demonstrating the composer s supreme skill in handling a diversity of musical genres and a variety of instruments. Played here by the Freiburger Barockorchester under the direction of their leader Gottfried von der Goltz, these Baroque gems shine as never before.