Baroque music, not long ago considered the province of the specialist, now occupies a central place in the interests of any music-lover. Not just Bach and Handel, but Vivaldi and Monteverdi, Couperin and Rameau, Purcell and Schütz are familiar and loved figures. There is place now for a survey that offers fresh perspectives on these men and the times in which they lived. That is what the Companion to Baroque Music is designed to offer, to all those who are attracted by the music of that crucial ...