We all know the Allegri Miserere often heard today isn't what he originally wrote, but check out this video from The Sixteen which walks through all the evolutions it went through!
Mozart and Handel
There's no better way to learn than to study the work of those who came before you - it's one reason I love making editions (especially of Renaissance polyphony)!
Vincenzo Galilei and word painting
Frightening children, a lame ox, unintelligible words - clearly the sky was falling! At least, that was what Vincenzo Galilei thought about polyphonic word painting... More in this fantastic video from Early Music Sources!
Map of Women Composers
Check out this incredible resource of women composers throughout history!
Early Music or "Early" Music?
What makes a piece "early"? Is it the date of composition? What about pieces like this one that are written in the current era in an earlier style?
Ave Maria - Jean Guyot
There are many Ave Maria settings, but this one by Jean Guyot is my new favorite!
Palestrina Assumpta est Maria a5
How about a gorgeous motet by Palestrina for the Feast of the Assumption (yesterday)?
Caccini and his opinions
Strong Opinions... Caccini definitely had them! And perhaps we give him more credit than he deserves... Learn more in this fantastic video from Early Music Sources!
Banbury Ale Preview!
What are you doing Wednesday evening? Check out the preview video below and then join Seven Times Salt, Matthew Leese, and I for a romp through 17th-century drinking songs, presented by SoHIP Boston: Society for Historically Informed Performance. Pickpockets, vices, creepy suitors - Early Music isn't all stuffy and serious!
Queen Christina of Sweden
A woman who defied social and cultural norms, gave up the religion of her family and her people, abdicated her throne, moved to Rome (one of only three women buried in the Vatican), and became a patron of philosophers, mathematicians, artists, and musicians (including Stradella, Pasquini, Carissimi, and Corelli).
Meet Queen Christina of Sweden!