Playlist

Did you know that January is National Hobby Month? Music was frequently a hobby for people with day jobs in non-musical fields, and Sunday Baroque will feature music by some of those talented and passionate dilettantes.

January 26th is Australia Day – a huge national occasion celebrating the land, people, democracy and culture of Australia. Many wonderful musicians connected to Australia have made an impact on the worldwide cultural landscape. Sunday Baroque will feature some outstanding Australian musicians.

January is National Braille Literacy month because it’s the anniversary of the birth of inventor Louis Braille, who created the system of raised dots that allows people to read by touch. Sunday Baroque will highlight music by talented composers who happened to be sight impaired.

Now that it’s 2017, we’ll turn back the calendar exactly 300 years, highlighting music composed or published in 1717 by Francois Couperin, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Sebastian Bach and Jan Zelenka.

Sunday Baroque welcomes the New Year with a lively program of some of the greatest hits of the Baroque era by Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel and more, so you can tap your toes along with some familiar favorites!

Suzanne Bona created her annual Sunday Baroque Holiday Gift List, and it’s available on the Sunday Baroque website and Facebook page. You can also audition some of this year’s offerings, including a lively collection of French baroque theatre music. It’s one of the highlights of Sunday Baroque this weekend.

Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of music and musicians, poets and singers. She is celebrated on November 22nd, and many composers wrote music in tribute to her. Sunday Baroque will feature some of those Saint Cecilia odes.