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American composer Morten Lauridsen is a National Medal of Arts recipient known for his glorious and uplifting vocal music. The link below has more about the composer’s life and works. Today’s Beautiful Music feature a moving poetry reading by the poet Dana Gioia of his poem PRAYER, followed by Morten Lauridsen’s song based on the […]

Winter is the fourth and final concerto in Antonio Vivaldi’s musical celebration of the FOUR SEASONS. Today’s Beautiful Music features actor Patrick Stewart reading the Winter Sonnet that Vivaldi included with the Winter Concerto, in celebration of Poetry Month. And you’ll hear Vivaldi’s Winter Concerto from a 2018 concert in Brussels by teenaged violin prodigy

April is Poetry Month, so we’ve been featuring Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Concertos paired with the descriptive sonnet that Vivaldi included with each concerto. Today’s Beautiful Music features the Autumn sonnet read by actor Patrick Stewart, and the Autumn Concerto played by violinist Frederieke Saeijs with The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra from a 2014 concert.

Antonio Vivaldi’s SUMMER Concerto from the Four Seasons is today’s Beautiful Music. It’s performed by violinist Cynthia Miller Freivogel with Voices of Music period instrument ensemble. You can also hear actor Patrick Stewart read the SUMMER Sonnet that Vivaldi included with the Concerto.

Did you know that Antonio Vivaldi include a sonnet with each of his Four Seasons Violin Concertos? April is Poetry Month, so starting today, Beautiful Music will feature a spectacular performance of each of the Concertos paired with its descriptive sonnet. Today we’ll begin with Vivaldi’s SPRING Concerto played by The Spring Sonnet is read

George Frideric Handel had a knack for composing oratorios that told deeply meaningful and inspiring sacred stories. Today’s Beautiful Music features two of Handel’s artistic triumphs: the 1741 oratorio MESSIAH and the 1739 oratorio ISRAEL IN EGYPT. The text of MESSIAH includes the crucifixion story and redemption of mankind that is celebrated by Christian people

Today’s Beautiful Music features the sweet voices of The Michigan State University Children’s Choir. They are singing American choral composer Susan LaBarr’s (b.1981) musical setting of the Emily Dickinson poem HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS. There’s also a link below to an analysis of Dickinson’s poem. https://owlcation.com/humanities/Analysis-of-Poem-Hope-Is-The-Thing-With-Feathers-by-Emily-Dickinson

In 1786, Franz Joseph Haydn was commissioned to compose music for the Good Friday service at a church in Spain. His SEVEN LAST WORDS OF OUR SAVIOR ON THE CROSS was an orchestral work that Haydn published in 1787 and, later that year, adapted for string quartet. He also later created a solo piano adaptation,

In 1945, after visiting the liberated Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen, Benjamin Britten was moved by the horrors he witnessed to compose a song cycle for tenor or soprano voice with piano called THE HOLY SONNETS OF JOHN DONNE OP.35. Britten set 9 of 19 sonnets by the English poet John Donne, who lived from 1572-1631.

Today’s Beautiful Music features a magnificent performance of THE PLANETS by Gustav Holst. Finnish conductor and cellist Susannah Mälkki leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra in this 2015 Proms performance at Royal Albert Hall in London. And since April is Poetry Month, there is also a link below to a poem — WARMING UP FOR THE