Bach, Es ist vollbracht (St. John Passion) J.S. Bach wrote two Passions: The Passion According to St. John and The Passion According to St. Matthew. A Passion presents the Gospel texts for Good Friday in dramatic form. Passion plays became popular in medieval times as a … Read more
Handel, Ombra mai fu (from Xerxes) Most everyone knows Handel’s Messiah, but Handel was primarily an opera composer. Oratorios followed the operatic style while omitting the staging in deference to Lent. The opera Xerxes (Serse) was written in 1738. It had little success, but the aria … Read more
Monteverdi, Moresca from L’Orfeo We have discussed the opera L’Orfeo many times on this site, in particular as the starting point for Discovering Music: 300 Years of Interaction in Western Music, Arts, History, and Culture. It’s also the starting point for opera as a genre. And you can find … Read more
Buxtehude, Sonata in A minor In 1705, the 20-year-old Bach walked from Arnstadt to Lübeck, a distance of about 250 miles. He went to listen to the famed organist Dieterich Buxtehude. It was a good enough reason to secure a one-month leave from his post … Read more
Trabaci, Gagliarda Seconda detta la Scabrosetta Maybe you played the recorder at some point in your life or watched your kids learn to play one while studying the rudiments of music. Its popularity possibly owes something to the fact that it can be made rather cheaply. … Read more
Handel, Royal Fireworks It was 1749 and the king wanted a celebration. George II had signed the Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle ending the War of the Austrian Succession. Handel (1685-1759) was the logical composer for the occasion. By then he had had a long career in London … Read more
Telemann, Viola Concerto in G Major Since Professor Carol was answering a question about Telemann yesterday, why not turn to him for this week’s Friday Performance Pick? It’s hard to think about Georg Phillipp Telemann (1681-1767) without making comparisons to J.S. Bach. Telemann was just four … Read more
We love to receive questions from our students. Here’s one that we just received: I am an eighth grader and pianist. I am studying your “300 Years” course. Why is Telemann not in the Lutheran hymnal, despite his family’s ties with the Lutheran church? What … Read more
Handel, Messiah – For Unto Us a Child Is Born If you followed Professor Carol’s Advent Calendar this year, you know that we remain in the middle of the Christmas season. It’s the 8th day of Christmas – maids a’milking and all that. Handel’s Messiah is frequently performed … Read more
Lully, Marche pour la cérémonie des Turcs The Italian-born Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) became one of the most prominent composers of the French Baroque era and court composer for French King Louis XIV. Also employed at the time by Louis XIV was the playwright Molière with whom Lully … Read more