Blog

This is Beautiful Music to put a smile on your face! It’s a musical genre called a “guaracha” and the title of this one is AY QUE ME ABRASO. It was composed by Juan García de Zéspedes, a singer, composer, an viol player who was born in Puebla and lived from around 1619 until 1678. […]

May 4 is National Teacher Day, an opportunity to celebrate and thank the dedicated teachers who inspire and mentor, and power through whatever the circumstances might be. One of the great baroque era music teachers was Johann Sebastian Bach. He taught his own children and other students in his lifetime, and he continues to teach

Today’s Beautiful Music was composed by a musician whose name may be new to you, as it was to me. Caterina Assandra lived from c.1590 until after 1618. She was an Italian organist and a Benedictine nun. There’s a link below so you can read more about her.  This is one of Caterina Assandra’s few

Jeanine de Bique’s talent is transcendent, and she gives a luscious performance with Concerto Koln of the aria RITORNA, OH CARO from George Frideric Handel’s 1719 opera RODELINDA. Not only can you enjoy this gorgeous presentation of Beautiful Music, the performers describe their approach to it. Use the links below to learn more about Jeanine

Happy May Day! It’s the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, and a cheerful springtime celebration. You can read more about the holiday and its history using the link below. And you can listen to Beautiful Music for the season, including Thomas Morley’s madrigal, NOW IS THE MONTH OF MAYING performed

Happy Arbor Day! You can read more about the history of the occasion using the link below. And you can listen to Beautiful Music tailor-made for Arbor Day, because it is a love song to a tree!   Never was a shade of any plant dearer and more lovely, or more sweet.   Cecilia Bartoli

Rafael Sánchez Guevara plays cello and viola da gamba, and is an expert in historical performance practices. The Mexico City-born musician earned his Bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where he returned to teach viola gamba. He also earned his Master’s degree in viola da gamba from the

Today’s Beautiful Music is from Peru in the 18th century. Spaniard Baltasar Jaime Martínez Compañón (1737- 1797) was Bishop of Trujillo, Peru and, later Archbishop of Bogotá, New Granada, from 1790 to 1797. He compiled the Codex Martínez Compañón, a 9 volume collection of musical scores and watercolors by local artists, as a way to

Sackbut!! No, that’s not a naughty word or a euphemism — it’s an ancient instrument, an earlier cousin of the trombone. Today’s Beautiful Music is played on the Sackbut by Burt Mason with organist Victoria Shields. It’s a piece called La Hieronyma that was composed 400 years ago, in 1621, by  Giovanni Martino Cesare. You

Looking around for outstanding Beautiful Music to share with you, double bass player Joseph Conyers knocked my socks off! Since 2010, Mr. Conyers has been Assistant Principal Bassist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and before that held the Principal Bass position with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Grand Rapids Symphony. He teaches at the Juilliard