Beautiful Music

On what WOULD have been Tax Day (until it was postponed until July this year) I offer music by a baroque era composer whose “day job” was as Tax Collector for the Royal Tobacco Control.  French musician Joseph Bodin de Boismortier was afraid he wouldn’t be able to support his family as a full time […]

Today’s offering of beautiful music in difficult times features The Italian Violin. It’s a live concert from 2013 by the marvelous Four Nations Ensemble. I can’t think of a better way to connect with other people than with the intimacy of chamber music in a small venue, where one can see the communication between the

I can’t think of a better title for a piece of music to enjoy at this moment than AGREABLE SOLITUDE! Today I’m sharing a concert by Cincinnati, Ohio-based Catacoustic Consort which begins with this aptly named selection.  

Happy Easter! For today’s offering of Beautiful Music in Difficult Times, George Frideric Handel’s Easter Oratorio THE RESSURECTION. It’s an exciting concert performance by the Italian period instrument ensemble Accademia Bizantina. The group was founded in Ravenna in 1983 with their mission of “making music like a large quartet.”    

Please meet Salomone Rossi — he was an Italian violinist and composer who lived from c. 1570 – 1630. Rossi worked for the Gonzaga family in Mantua, and as a Jewish man, he also wrote music for Synagogue services. I hope you enjoy listening to Salomone Rossi’s SONGS OF SOLOMON and some of his madrigals.

This is the season of some of the holiest of holidays. Passover began at sunset on April 8, and will continue until April 16. George Frideric Handel composed an oratorio that tells the story of Passover, ISRAEL IN EGYPT. Since we can’t attend concerts in person, I’m sharing a concert recording by William Christie directing

Today I offer you another marvelous Italian musical ensemble: I Musici. the Rome-based chamber orchestra that established in 1951. This is one of their classic recordings — a sampler of familiar and beloved baroque music.    

Quiet contemplation, reflection, meditation … Heinrich Biber’s Mystery Sonatas were meant to accompany the recitation of rosary prayers. This is a lovely performance by multi-talented Russian musician Dmitry Sinkovsky, who is a virtuoso violinist, an accomplished singer (countertenor) and a conductor. He has some equally outstanding collaborators in Luca Pianca (archlute, ceterone), Olga Watts (organ,

Since April is National Humor Month — and since we can ALL use a little humor in our lives — today I’m offering Beautiful HUMOROUS Music in Difficult times! Despite those serious, unsmiling portraits of baroque era composers, wearing powdered wigs and dark clothing, they could be funny clever and mischievous in their compositions. 17th

Today’s Beautiful Music in Difficult Times is a gift from Abendmusik, New York’s Period Instrument String Band.  This group of top musicians plays 17th century music you may not have heard, by composers whose names may be new to you. These early instruments have a unique sonority and intimacy, and the music shows it off