Froberger, Allemande from Suite XIX Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667) was the pre-eminent German composer of keyboard music in the mid 17th century. Few details are known about his biography, however. His father was Kapellmeister in Stuttgart, and Froberger presumably received his training there. He went … Read more
Louis Couperin, Suite in A Minor The Couperin family formed a Parisian dynasty from the late 16th century through the mid-19th. Louis Couperin (1626-1661) was the third son of Charles (1595-1654) and the oldest to reach adulthood. His two younger brothers gained prominence as well: … Read more
Bach, Christ lag in Todesbanden Your image of J.S. Bach is probably shaped by the portrait of an older man with a white wig. We don’t have many images of Bach as a young man, and the authenticity of the one here (left) is in … Read more
Monteverdi, Confitebor tibi Domine Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) had considerable success as both a Renaissance and Baroque composer. Those labels would come into use only later to describe his transition from one stylistic approach to another, but it was clear at the time that a new … Read more
Telemann, Overture “Burlesque de Quixotte” I have been occupied with Bach in the past few weeks, preparing our new Composer of the Month series. At the same time, I revisited the music of Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). The two had a lot in common. But … Read more
Frescobaldi, Se l’aura spira tutta vezzosa Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) is described in The New Grove* as “the most influential keyboard composer of the first half of the 17th century” whose mature works “are among the most moving and distinctive statements of the early Baroque spirit … Read more
Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, BWV 1049 Very early on in this series, we featured Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 filmed in Köthen’s Hall of Mirrors. It was an occasion to discuss Bach’s time in Köthen (from 1717-1723), where Bach lived and worked when he … Read more
Visée, Prelude & Chaconne If you’re still cooped up at home and have run out of things to keep you busy, you might want to dust off your theorbo and imagine that your house is actually the palace at Versailles. If, like me, you never … Read more
Roman, Violin Concerto in D Minor Two facts jump out if you look up Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758): (1) he is known as the father of Swedish music, and (2) he is known as the Swedish Handel. Those two things seem to be in conflict. … Read more
Corelli, Concerto in D Major, Op. 6, No. 4 Way back at the beginning of this series, we had a brief discussion of the concerto grosso. We’re talking about Performance Pick 10, a concerto grosso by Handel—218 picks ago. We briefly mentioned Corelli and his … Read more