This tremendous violinist, composer, and conductor was
- born in Bonn (in the same house as Beethoven)
- introduced symphonies by Haydn and Mozart to London
- may have had a hand in the libretto for Haydn's "Creation"
- was regarded by all as kind, generous, and a sensitive performer
- and he was Jewish!
Meet Johann Peter Salomon!
Offertory, Victoria's Requiem
Victoria's 6-voice setting of the requiem is one of the best (with Mozart, Brahms, Fauré, Duruflé, and Howells), and the Offertory movement is my favorite (beginning at 14:41). If you haven't heard the whole work, make sure to listen to the rest of this wonderful recording!
Salas Salve Regina
Esteban Salas y Castro - a Cuban composer believed to be of Spanish and African heritage who worked as an organist, choirmaster, teacher, and composer. His music was rediscovered in the 1940s and included so many glorious gems, like this beautiful Salve Maria!
Aleotti Miserere
I'm always on the lookout for new variants of the Miserere text, and this one by Aleotti was a lovely discovery! I hope to sing it again in the future!
Great King of Gods
Back in February I mentioned Gibbons' fantastic verse anthem "Great Lord of Lords" and talked about contrafacta - here's the example! This is the same anthem, played by viols rather than an organ, but with a different text.
The Most French Chord
What makes French Baroque music sound so distinct from anything else? Without writing an entire dissertation, one feature is this particular chord!
Great Lord of Lords
I've been diving into the glorious world of Gibbons verse anthems and rediscovered this one, which gives me serious mezzo envy. ;-)
Contrafacta
Have you ever heard a song and thought "I know this one, but with different words"? Welcome to the world of contrafacta! Early Music Sources explains the tradition of having multiple texts to the same tune (sometimes in translation, but not always)! Plus, do you know where Morley found "Now is the month of Maying"?
Dédé's "Morgiane"
It's admittedly a stretch calling this "Early Music", but it's too exciting (and too important) to not share! Bringing Morgiane Back to Life
Ludwig Daser
Student of Ludwig Senfl, later replaced by Orlando di Lasso in Münich, but a tremendous composer whose music doesn't get the attention it should! Meet Ludwig Daser!