Suzanne Bona

Merry Christmas! Johann Sebastian Bach’s duties included composing music for church holidays. Bach’s Cantata BWV 63 was performed on Christmas Day 1723 in Leipzig, so today’s Beautiful Music is a performance of that work by Netherlands Bach Society. From all of us at Sunday Baroque, we wish you a happy and healthy holiday!

The Huron Carol — also known as Twas in the Moon of Wintertime — is a 17th century Canadian Christmas song. It was written by Jean de Brebeuf, who was a Jesuit missionary who lived among the Huron people. He composed the lyrics in their their Huron/Wendat language, set to the tune of the traditional

The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) made a announcement a few days ago. One of their founding members — Scott Tennant — decided to step down from the group after 42 years, and his successor will be Brazilian guitarist Douglas Lora. Today’s Beautiful Music features their announcement of this torch-passing, as well as a performance

Today’s Beautiful Music is as charming to watch as it is to hear! It’s the CAROL OF THE BELLS arranged for 5 cellos, and played by Kevin Krentz and four of his high school age students: Ava Rosenbaum, Kevin Lu, Ann-Marie Vo, and Eric Schindler. They recorded this lovely performance in 2021.

Salamon Rossi was an Italian violinist and composer who lived in the Jewish Ghetto in Mantua, Italy. He was born in around 1570, right before the baroque era began – so his career and music marked the beginning of the new era and pushed some of the limits of musical styles. published several collections of

In this holiday season, today’s Beautiful Music is a Peace Action: a Passacaglia for Ukraine. The performers are violinist Artem Szeganovskyi, viola da gamba player Alessia Travaglini, and theorbo player Sofia Ferri. The music’s composer — Roman Turvosky — held this performance because, as he told me, “Whatever a culture could do against philistinism ….”

Happy Hanukkah! The Jewish Festival of Lights began at sundown yesterday, and continues through December 26th. Today’s Beautiful Music is a performance of George Frideric Handel’s oratorio JUDAS MACCABEUS, a dramatic musical narrative of the Jewish leader. This 2021 concert performance features Edward Elwyn Jones conducting Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra and Harvard University Choir. https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9034-judas-maccabeus

George Frideric Handel’s oratorio MESSIAH is a three-part narrative of the life of Jesus — part one tells the nativity story. Today’s Beautiful Music is a magnificent 2019 performance by Handel & Haydn Society, led by Masaaki Suzuki. The dream team of soloists are soprano Elisabeth Watts, countertenor Reginald Mobley, tenor Nicholas Phan, and baritone

Beware!! Today’s Beautiful Music is likely to become an “ear worm” …. it’s the charming duet HAPPY WE from George Frideric Handel’s serenata ACIS AND GALATEA. Soprano Ítaca Vicente and tenor Ariel Hernández are featured in this wonderful live performance!

Tenor Aaron Crouch grew up in Bowie, Maryland and graduated from The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. The young musician is racking up awards and operatic roles all over the United States. Today’s Beautiful Music features Aaron Crouch as an 18-year old singing the aria DALLA SUA PACE from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera DON