Baroque Period

Handel’s “Semele,” “Endless Pleasure”: The Music of Elation

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Handel’s Semele, first performed at Covent Garden Theater in 1744, falls somewhere between an opera and a three-part oratorio. It is based on a mythological story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses which centers around Semele, the mother of Bacchus. At the end of the first act, Semele expresses delight in her role as the new mistress of the god, Jupiter. Her elation is expressed in the aria, Endless pleasure, endless love. Dancing accompaniment lines swirl …

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Shunske Sato Plays Vivaldi: “Winter” from “The Four Seasons”

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Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni) is one of the earliest and most iconic examples of programmatic music. Vivaldi composed the collection of four violin concerti, each depicting a season of the year, during his tenure as music director at the court chapel of Mantua. Along with eight additional concerti, the works were published in Amsterdam in 1725 under the enticing title, Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione (“The Contest Between Harmony and …

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Handel’s Violin Sonata No. 3 in A Major, HWV 361: Ariadne Daskalakis and Ensemble Vintage Köln

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George Frederick Handel composed violin sonatas from his youth (Sonata in G Major, HWV 358) into old age (Sonata in D Major, HWV 371), over a 40 year timespan which took him from Rome to London. Among the nine violin sonatas attributed to Handel, a few are the works of other unknown composers, mislabeled by greedy publishers. Among the authentic works is the Sonata No. 3 in A Major, HWV 361, composed …

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Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F Major, BWV 1046: Festive Horn Calls

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Festive horn calls ring out from the opening measures of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F Major. Rousing and raucous, this is joyful music of the hunt. As the Netherlands Bach Society observes, On turning over the impressive title page of the ‘Brandenburg’ Concertos, two hunting horns immediately blare through the rest of the music – calling everyone to gather together! Bach deliberately lets the persistent horns disturb his music. …

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Shunske Sato Plays Vivaldi: “Autumn” from “The Four Seasons”

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Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni) is one of the earliest and most iconic examples of programmatic music. Vivaldi composed the collection of four violin concerti, each depicting a season of the year, during his tenure as music director at the court chapel of Mantua. Together with eight additional concerti, the works were published in Amsterdam in 1725 under the enticing title, Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione (“The Contest Between Harmony and …

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Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: James Ehnes at Home

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J.S. Bach’s six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin are technical and musical marvels. They transform the violin, an instrument usually associated with a single melodic line, into a vehicle of dazzling polyphony. The collection begins with the purity and resonance of G minor, a key which is centered on the open fifths of the violin’s lowest two strings. The Adagio which opens the Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV …

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Handel’s Sinfonia in B-flat Major, HWV 339: Ensemble Diderot

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The Sinfonia in B-flat Major, HWV 339 is music of the young George Frideric Handel. It was probably composed in Hamburg between 1704 and 1706, in the years before Handel’s move to London. No autograph manuscript exists, and it remained unpublished until 1979. The Sinfonia unfolds in three movements (fast-slow-fast). As a composer, Handel was skillful at borrowing and adapting existing music. The Sinfonia’s opening movement (Allegro) was taken from the composer’s …

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