I love the way Handel depicted the rain, fire, and hailstones in this movement from "Israel in Egypt", even if it does sound like a pretty happy weather event!
Frescobaldi on Kantele
I'm not usually a fan of pieces being performed on instruments for which they weren't intended, but this Frescobaldi on Finnish kantele was too beautiful to keep to myself!
He sent a thick darkness...
Handel's "Israel in Egypt" doesn't explicitly talk about an eclipse, but there is a mention of darkness over all the land. Here's a soundtrack for the eclipse watching today!
Regina coeli - Agricola
How about a sublime Regina coeli setting for Easter Monday? I came across this version by Agricola this week and it was the 3 minutes of beauty that my weekend needed!
Scarlatti Stabat Mater
Domenico Scarlatti's keyboard music gets more attention but he also wrote vocal music, including this beautiful 10-voice setting of the "Stabat Mater" which I learned for the first time this past week!
Israel in Egypt
Did you miss Handel and Haydn Society's "Israel in Egypt" this past October? You can listen to the performance here!
Tallis - Videte miraculum
Most singers first encounter Thomas Tallis through one of his English anthems (often "If ye love me"), but it's his Latin polyphony that I enjoy the most - like this piece which I sang last weekend for Candlemas.
Leonarda - Ave Regina Coelorum
Research about Isabella Leonarda led me to this amazing piece!
Blessed are those that be undefiled
THIS PIECE. Somehow I've never shared this as part of my Early Music Monday series, and it's time. This is the piece that started my love of polyphony. Eighteen-year-old me nearly drove off the road when the "Gloria" began and I had to pull over and finish listening.
Blessed are those that be undefiled in the way and walk with the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies and seek him with their whole heart, for they that do no wickedness walk in his ways. Thou has charged us, O Lord, that we should diligently keep thy commandments. O that our ways were made so direct that we might keep thy statutes. So shall we not be confounded while we have respect unto all thy commandments. - Psalm 119:1-6
Domine quis habitabit
Is anything by Robert Parsons NOT amazing? This beautiful piece has been stuck in my head for over a week now.