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Since live musical performances are on hold, I thought you’d enjoyed hearing (and seeing) this live performance for today’s installment of Beautiful Music in Difficult Times. Look at the interplay between the singer and the trumpeter and, most of all, look at the look on Nicholas McGegan’s face as he conducts!! I have had the […]

For today’s installment of Beautiful Music in Difficult Times, I’m pleased to share with you one of my all-time favorite recordings. The title — OSTINATO — is a musical term. The Harvard Dictionary of Music (Second Edition) defines OSTINATO as: “A clearly defined phrase that is repeated persistently, usually in immediate succession, throughout a composition

If there’s one thing we can ALL use, it’s a reason to smile. So today’s installment of Beautiful Music in Difficult Times features a terrific ensemble playing interesting music by composers whose names you may not know. The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen (yes, that’s really the name of the group!) is committed to exploring

Beautiful Italy — the source of so much beautiful music — has been hit particularly hard. Out of solidarity, I share a performance by one of my favorite musical ensembles: Il Giardino Armonico. The Milan-based period instrument group offers an interesting variety of composers, combined with up close and personal video of their exciting performance

My choice for today’s offering of Beautiful Music in Difficult Times is Johann Sebastian Bach’s THE ART OF FUGUE.  A “fugue” is defined by the Harvard Dictionary of Music as “… a form of imitative counterpoint, developed in the 17th century and brought to perfection by J.S. Bach.”  His gift was taking a short melody,

Today’s selection of Beautiful Music in Difficult is Johann Sebastian Bach’s MAGNIFICAT. Today (3/22/20) is also the annual BACH BIRTHDAY BASH broadcast on Sunday Baroque, which I hope you will listen to on your public radio station. You can also hear it again all week using the online audio stream at www.SundayBaroque.org/listen starting on Monday,

Pull up a chair, and pour a cuppa joe for today’s installment of Beautiful Music in Difficult Times. It’s all too easy to put Bach on a pedestal and think of him only as the serious musician he was. But he was also fun and connected to the world. He composed more than 200 Cantatas,

In today’s installment of my series of Beautiful Music in Difficult Times, we’re anticipating this weekend’s annual Bach Birthday Bash on Sunday Baroque. (March 22 program)  Music was therapeutic for Johann Sebastian Bach – it helped him cope with his own personal challenges in life – from everyday struggles to significant losses – in addition

It’s the Vernal Equinox … the official beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere. And as we seek social connections, I thought it would be extra special to share a beloved musical selection for today’s installment of beautiful music in difficult times: Antonio Vivaldi’s SPRING Concerto from the Four Seasons. The bonus is that this