Jean-Baptiste Lully was the toast of the town in France during the Baroque era. The French King loved Lully, and today’s Beautiful Music is a live performance of an excerpt from the composer’s comédie-ballet LE BOURGEOIS GENTILHOMME. (Side note — you may notice that the conductor is not waving a baton to lead the group. Rather he is banging a large staff on the ground to keep time. This happens to be what led to Lully’s premature death! He accidentally stabbed his foot while leading with the conducting staff. He did not tend to his injury, and it became infected and, ultimately, developed gangrene.)