Recording Music By Yourself

These days, musicians who are used to playing with others on a regular basis are stuck at home away from their orchestras. For some, it is not as fun to play music by yourself. Many musicians miss playing with other people at school, at work, and in their spare time. There is a joy and … Continue reading Recording Music By Yourself →

The Baroque Christmas Pastorale

Baroque composers knew the best way to celebrate Christmas - write a concerto or an oratorio that will bring people joy and peace for centuries to come. Timeless music is a great gift one can give the world; Corelli, Locatelli, Bach and many others showed us that. Arcangelo Corelli’s Christmas Concerto Op. 6 No. 8 … Continue reading The Baroque Christmas Pastorale →

Antonio Caldara and the Baroque Sinfonia

Antonio Caldara was born two years before Vivaldi, in the same town, and shares a first name with the Red Priest. He does not share Vivaldi’s fame in the 21st Century, so I wanted to start listening to more of his music to see what kind of composer he was. He was a fascinating composer! … Continue reading Antonio Caldara and the Baroque Sinfonia →

Vivaldi’s Emotional Range

Vivaldi’s music is often one of two things - joyful or intense. The emotion of his music is generally straightforward. If you want joyful you can listen to RV 310; if you want intense you can listen to RV 119. If you want to be dazzled and thrilled you can listen to the last movement … Continue reading Vivaldi’s Emotional Range →

Gian Francesco Malipiero

Gian Francesco Malipiero (March 18 1882-August 1 1973) was an Italian composer who was inspired by the works of earlier Italian composers such as Vivaldi and Monteverdi. In addition to composing and teaching, Malipiero edited hundreds of compositions from the Baroque period, including the complete works of Monteverdi and many concerti by Vivaldi. An edition … Continue reading Gian Francesco Malipiero →

An Overview of the Concerto

Throughout the Baroque Period, the ‘concerto form’ was created, changed and developed until composers arrived at the modern definition of the concerto - a piece for one or more soloists and orchestra. At first, the term ‘concerto’ simply meant a composition for instruments, or a composition for instruments and vocalists where the voices and instruments … Continue reading An Overview of the Concerto →

Johann Sebastian Bach: How Did He Do It?

Bach's Inspiration: Himself Who arranged J.S. Bach’s Concerto BWV 1052 into a violin concerto, a harpsichord concerto, and a cantata? J.S. Bach. That man knew great music when he heard it and developed it to its full potential. The music happened to be his own, a lot of the time; several of Bach’s pieces borrow … Continue reading Johann Sebastian Bach: How Did He Do It? →

The Baroque Rondeau

What is a Rondeau? The Rondeau (also spelled Rondo) is a musical form that originated in the Baroque period and is still used today. It consists of sections of music where there is a central "A" theme that returns after digressions to the contrasting "B" and "C" sections. (The Baroque dance Rondeau is not to … Continue reading The Baroque Rondeau →

The Fun in Bach

It is sometimes hard to think of J. S. Bach’s music as being full of fun and joy; his music, while brilliant, is often academic and mathematical. But hidden within his “Peasant Cantata” (BWV 212 “Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet”) is a truly wonderful aria based on the Folia theme: Unser trefflicher. The original aria … Continue reading The Fun in Bach →

Monteverdi’s Zefiro torna and Syncopation

Zefiro torna e di soavi accenti Claudio Monteverdi lived at the beginning of the Baroque period. Zefiro torna e di soavi accenti is a concerted madrigal - a form of music with a combination of voices and instruments that helped to define the beginning of the Baroque style. Simple chord progressions (like the one dominating … Continue reading Monteverdi’s Zefiro torna and Syncopation →