Focus on Flowers

The saltarello was a Renaissance dance that usually came in a package with other dances. This week on Harmonia we’ll get a feel for the lively saltarello and its occasional partners with a special focus on the lute music of the period. We’ll also listen a new release by Andrew Lawrence-King.

This week on Harmonia, we’ll explore music associated with a man that the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians calls “the most prominent German violinist of his day,” Johann Georg Pisendel. We’ll also review a new release by the ensemble Il Gardellino of music by Pisendel's star pupils, the Graun brothers.

This week on Harmonia we'll focus on two new recordings of operas by Jean-Baptiste Lully. Dynamic performances by the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra as well as La Simphonie du Marais will excite the soul and make you want to jump up and dance. In addition, we'll also enjoy a new release by the Hilliard Ensemble.

This week on Harmonia we explore two ensembles that have a single name in common. We’ll get a glimpse of the Spanish Renaissance with Musica Ficta of Spain and then cross the Atlantic where Musica Ficta of Colombia will delight us with Peruvian baroque music from the village and court. We'll also review a new release of music by Marin Marais.

On Harmonia this week we visit Europe and Mexico as we explore the many settings of the Magnificat, from the quiet devotion of William Byrd to the exuberant polychoral music of Heinrich Schütz. We also review a new release by the English viol consort Concordia.

The trumpet shall certainly sound this week on Harmonia as we look at the late-baroque aria for trumpet and voice, an unusual partnership employed by composers to make a specific point. We’ll also review a new release of the complete works of Vincent Lübeck.

On Harmonia this week we’ll begin to explore the Spanish popular song known as the villancico. What is now known as a Christmas carol was once a song that expressed a subtle and varied range of emotions for Spanish and New World composers. We'll also review a new release of Mozart works for keyboard and violin.

Audiences in North America and Europe have enjoyed the highly individual interpretations of medieval music by ensembles Trio Mediaeval and Liber unUsualis. This week on Harmonia we’ll sneak a peek at each ensemble and their recordings. We’ll also listen to a new release by Canadian harpsichordist Luc Beauséjour.

The recent Sofia Coppola film about Marie Antoinette’s life featured a heavy dose of rock music with a sprinkling of Rameau, Vivaldi, Scarlatti, and François Couperin. This week on Harmonia we’ll look at some Marie Antoinette’s favorites as well as review a new release by lutenist Rolf Lislevand.

On Harmonia this week we’ll look at a recent series of recordings by the Kölner Akademie directed by Michael Alexander Willens. The first four volumes in the Forgotten Treasures series will be accompanied by a new release of music by Johann Valentin Meder, also performed by the Kölner Akademie.