For the second week in a row, we have some pretty weak musical choices. I’m not sure whether it’s solely the music or my mood, but this week felt like it was dedicated to boredom. There were no interesting works in it except for this Violin Concerto by Felix Mendelssohn, and we’re talking about skipping compositions by Mozart, Debussy and Schubert.… Read more
We start the week with a comical work, a madrigal by Claudio Monteverdi set after a poem by Ottavio Rinuccini, an Italian 16th century poet considered to be the first opera librettist. In this sonnet we hear a plea to Zephyrus, the bringer of spring in Greek mythology, to come and enliven the air, the branches, the mountains and valleys, everything around our hero who goes back and forth between singing and crying, being tormented by love .… Read more
We’re going to start with the honourable mention of “Toccata Arpeggiata” by Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger, a composer from the early Baroque, best remembered for his lute music, being an important contributor to the development of plucked string instruments. This is a beautiful short piece, with a calming effect, that I could listen to over and over again.… Read more