How many children did J.S. Bach have? How many of them became musicians? This great article from Classic FM has the answers!
Q: How many children did J.S. Bach have?
A: Loads. Here’s what we know.
Cavalieri's Lamentations
I loved exploring these pieces with my colleagues in Miryam a few years ago, and I wish our edition had included these markings! Thanks as always to Early Music Sources for bringing this to life!
2 Years of Early Music Monday
Early Music Monday started 2 years ago this week!
In that time, we’ve had 36 musical excerpts,
24 posts about performance practice/theory,
22 posts about composers/patrons/performers,
16 history-related posts,
3 about instruments, and
3 about musical philosophy!
Onward for year 3!
Ye sacred muses
A death in the family this week has me thinking about grief and how musicians in history handled it. Case in point: William Byrd’s magnificent ode to his friend and mentor Thomas Tallis.
Ye sacred muses (Elegy for Thomas Tallis - 1585)
by William Byrd
with Sonnambula: Shirley Hunt, Amy Domingues, Elizabeth Weinfield, and Colleen McGary-Smith
in conjunction with the Henry Purcell Society of Boston
recorded by Russ Anderson, T-Stop Productions
Live performance, October 2018
Dulces Exuviae
Purcell wasn’t the only composer to set the story of Dido and Aeneas. This week’s post is the gorgeous “Dulces Exuviae” of Jean Mouton, his version of Dido’s lament ~200 years earlier.
Read the text here, and then listen below!
False Relations in the Late Renaissance
Part expressive device, part musica ficta challenge, Early Music Monday goes back to the Renaissance this week with an awesome video on false relations from Early Music Sources!
July of Handel: Zadok the Priest
“At the coronation itself on 11 October 1727, the choir of Westminster Abbey sang Zadok the Priest in the wrong part of the service; they had earlier entirely forgotten to sing one anthem and another ended ‘in confusion’.”
Despite a questionable debut, this epic Handel Coronation Anthem has been a part of the coronation of every British monarch since 1727.
Read more here, and then listen below!
July of Handel: Chaconne in G major, HWV 435
Never one to forget solo instruments as well, July of Handel continues this week with the Chaconne and Variations in G major, HWV 435!
July of Handel: Dixit Dominus
Before Handel moved to London, he spent time in Italy at the invitation of the Medici family. Opera was banned in Rome at the time, so he turned his attention to sacred music, including this glorious soprano duet from Dixit Dominus.
July of Handel: Lascia ch'io pianga
Before Handel started writing oratorios (like Messiah), he was a successful and celebrated composer of operas, including Rinaldo, his first opera after moving to London.