Suzanne Bona

For today’s offering of Beautiful Music, Four Nations Ensemble’s performance of George Frideric Handel’s cantata for voice and continuo, LUCREZIA. It’s from Four Nations’ Concise Dictionary volume 2.    

Beautiful Oboe Music is my offering today. Alessandro Marcello’s beautiful Oboe Concerto in d minor played by a masterful Belgian musician, Marcel Ponseele.  

Something fun for you today! When I was newly in the radio business, I acquired a recording called BAROQUE AND ON THE STREET. It featured guitarist Frederic Hand and other fine musicians playing baroque era music by Antonio Vivaldi and others on guitar, banjo, flute, recorder, soprano saxophone and mandolin. It was charming and fun,

Today’s offering is in honor of students who ended their school years very differently than they imagined, including those who graduated without an in-person commencement ceremony. Congratulations! This is a suite of Student Music composed by 17th century German church organist and choir director Johann Rosenmuller.  

On this Memorial Day, when we honor the men and women who have died while serving in the U.S. military, I am sharing a stirring REQUIEM by French baroque composer Andre Campra.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xok6BaUNRo&t=87s  

On this Memorial Day weekend, a setting by Salamone Rossi of KADDISH, music from the one of the most sacred mourning rituals in Judaism. Beautiful music, indeed, for difficult times.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBBXYsdt8Jk  

A Sunday Baroque listener contacted me about some music on a recent broadcast. She and her husband noted that the piece — a Flute Concerto by 18th century Neapolitan composer Davide Perez — showed great “emotional intelligence” and they especially enjoyed it. So today, I’m sharing with you another piece by this relatively unknown composer.

I’m happy to share this Harp Concerto by George Frideric Handel for today’s Beautiful Music in Difficult Times. I love this uplifting, cheery piece — it always puts a smile on my face. I hope it does the same for you.        

Musicians all over the world are finding ways to continue collaborating with one another, and sharing their artistry with the outside world. Oleg Timofeyev is taking advantage of sheltering in place in Iowa with his family, which includes his son, cellist Tobias Timofeyev, and Tobias’ girlfriend, flutist Isabela Cruz-Vespa. They’re having fun playing this lovely

Some exotic and ancient music is today’s highlight of beautiful music. Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI perform their LACHRIMAE CARAVAGGIO (Caravaggio’s Tears) program of improvisations on the works of the artist Caravaggio. The featured performers include Mr. Savall on viola da gamba, with violinists Riccardo Minasi and Xavier Puertas, and harpist Andrew Lawrence-King. The music