Copper
Something old / something new
Bach Cello Suites
In a thoroughly unscientific survey, I found over a dozen new recordings of Bach’s Cello Suites released just within the past 12 months. That’s a lot of unaccompanied cello! Not...
Haydn Symphonies
Talk about classical canon: conductors and record companies never seem to tire of the Haydn Symphonies. Not that I object—there’s plenty of material to delve into. Haydn wrote 104 of...
Clara Wieck Schumann
September 13, 2019, marks the 200th birthday of pianist and composer Clara Wieck Schumann. The bicentennial year has already seen a number of recordings of her works, both on their own...
Guillaume de Machaut
His poetry was admired by Geoffrey Chaucer, he survived the Black Death, and he wrote the most-recorded Mass of the 14th century. That’s a decent thumbnail bio of the multi-talented Guillaume...
Fanny Mendelssohn
If Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847) had lived at a time and place when a woman could reasonably pursue a career in composition, Felix might be known as “the younger brother of...
Archangelo Corelli
Archangelo Corelli (1653-1713) had a pretty sweet deal. As a violinist and composer, it seems he was beloved by everyone in Rome with the money and power to help him,...
Notre Dame Organum
On April 15, 2019, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was severely damaged in a fire. As it happens, that church has a special place in music history. Construction on Notre...
Handel Arias
In 1706, at the age of 21, Handel made the best of all possible contacts: the Medici family, who had massive amounts of money that they loved to spend on...
Johann Adolf Hasse
When your wife is a famous soprano and your best friend is Europe’s most sought-after librettist, you’re likely to have one heck of an opera-writing career. That certainly held true...
Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre
There was never a more promising time than the late 17th century to be a musician in France. King Louis XIV, after all, loved music and dance as much as he...
A Tale of Two Praetorius(es)
No, they’re not related, but Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) and Hieronymus Praetorius (1560-1629) co-existed in Germany, composing mainly Lutheran sacred music as the Renaissance was giving way to the Baroque. Each...
François Couperin
The Year of Couperin is drawing to a close. What, you haven’t celebrated François Couperin’s 350th birthday yet? There’s still time, and I’ve even got a playlist of new recordings for...
Mozart String Quartets
A classic recording of Mozart’s six so-called Haydn Quartets has been reissued as part of a box set, and that’s just one of a handful of 2018 releases focused on...
Medieval Spanish Chant
When I learned there was a new recording of music from the medieval manuscript called the Codex Las Huelgas, I thought it would be fun to compare it to a few...
Schubert Symphonies
The past 12 months have seen the release of several important new recordings of Schubert symphonies, two of which are part of series of all nine (yeah, I’m counting that...
G. B. Sammartini
When Giovanni Battista Sammartini (c. 1700-1775) shows up in music history textbooks, it’s as inventor of the symphony. Or at least as the first to the use of the word...
Orlando Gibbons
The rich, velveteen sound of the English classical tradition, exemplified in the 20th century by Ralph Vaughn Williams, has deep historical roots. One of the most significant and influential nodes in...
C.P.E. Bach Sonatas
Clavier-Sonaten für Kenner und Liebhaber (Keyboard Sonatas for Experts and Amateurs) is one of the most significant titles of any music book in history. This collection by J.S. Bach’s second surviving...
Tomás Luis de Victoria
Tomás Luis de Victoria (c. 1548-1611) is often referred to as “the most famous Spanish composer in Renaissance Rome” or the like. As that epithet suggests, he has been marginalized...
Die Schöne Müllerin
Music history textbooks love to point out that Schubert’s song cycle Die Schöne Müllerin (The Pretty Miller Girl) uses poetry by Wilhelm Müller, the same poet who supplied the text for Schubert’s Winterreise....
Schubert's Winterreise
When Franz Schubert first played his song cycle Winterreise (Winter Journey) for a few friends in 1828, they were amazed by how dark and grim it was, with most of the songs...
Unusual Madrigals
“Madrigal” is one of those words that showed up in European music under vague circumstances, then stuck around long enough to change its meaning a few times. Most of us...
Bach Violin Sonatas
J.S. Bach’s works for solo violin are compositional marvels that show off the instrument’s potential while allowing the musician to indulge in intellectual and emotional exploration. In three recent recordings,...
Mozart Chamber Music
Mozart’s string quartets and sonatas are deservedly adored members of the classical canon. But he wrote many other genres of chamber music as well. Three recent recordings remind us to...
Heinrich Isaac
On March 26, 1517, Heinrich Isaac died. Although the Netherlander was one of the most important composers of his day, he’s hardly a household word half a millennium later. Nevertheless,...
Dan’s 100 Best Albums of 2017!
[If you’re looking for yet another remaster of Kind Of Blue or SPLHCB 50—this is not your list. If, however, you’re looking for new music, maybe outrageous music—Dan is your guy. Agree, disagre,...
Flat Worms
From the scuzzy, fuzzy den of Castle Face Records comes the first full length LP of Flat Worms, called – wait for it… Flat Worms. It comes out spittin’ fast paced, gnarly, in your face...
LCD Soundsystem
American Dream is arguably James Murphy’s best album yet. It had to be: complete, expansive and from the heart. After touring for This Is Happening, LCD Soundsystem had the blow-out show to end all blow-outs in...
The Great 78 Project
There was a time, in the first half of the 20th century, when several-minute segments of music were served up on giant black platters. This was the era of the 78s,...
British & Irish Music
I want to talk about British and Irish folk music. And I’d like to start with Henry Purcell. Wait, what? If you look at the entire history of music, it’s...
Frescobaldi
For the majority of classical music fans, Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) might not rank among the pantheon of composer superstars, but he was one of the most influential composers in European...
Nilsson Sings Newman
Harry Nilsson Album: Nilsson Sings Newman LP, 8-track, Cassette Original Release: RCA Victor Records, February, 1970 I don’t know about you, but considering something that happened forty-seven years ago, and which I remember...
The King Lives!… and King Gizzard?
Elvis Presley DVD: Elvis Lives: The 25th Anniversary Concert “Live” From Memphis Single DVD Available from Amazon Occasionally there are performances that cause you to completely change your opinion about the artist....
Interpreting Purcell
Henry Purcell (1659-1695) lived at an expansive time in British music history, when artistic freedom had been restored after a generation of repressive Puritan control. Somehow this allowed Purcell to...
Benjamin Booker
Album: Witness Artist: Benjamin Booker 33 RPM – 1 LP Limited Blue Edition Release: ATO Records, June, 2017 Benjamin Booker’s Witness bursts open at the seams with“Right On You”, a PRIMUS– style garage punk jam full of...
Lute!
One of the defining factors of High Baroque music is the explosion in the number of instrumental pieces being composed. It’s easy to think of the 17th century and earlier as...
The Mountain Goats
Album: Goths Artist: The Mountain Goats 45 RPM – 3 LP Deluxe Edition Release: Merge records, May, 2017 Goths is the SIXTEENTH (!!) full-length studio album from the Durham, North Carolina...
Caldara
For a composer not celebrating a round-numbered anniversary of his birth or death, Antonio Caldara (1670-1736) sure is getting a lot of attention from recording studios in 2017. Recent releases...
Thurston Moore/ Father John Misty
Album: rock n roll consciousness Artist: Thurston Moore Release: Ecstatic Peace! Records, April, 2017 Within the first two minutes of the opening song “Exalted,” the ever-familiar rhythm of Thurston Moore’s guitar craft...
Damaged Bug/Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Album: Bunker Funk Artist: Damaged Bug Release: Castle Face Records, March, 2017 As the needle drops, Bunker Funk oozes through the speakers and brings me back right where Damaged Bug’s 2016 album Cold Hot Plumbs had left...
Chant: Sacred and Profane
Scholars help us understand what chant is. That’s been true for a long time. As musical tastes changed starting in the Renaissance, the old chant melodies were “corrected” by well-meaning...
Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free Akron/Family
Album: Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free Artist: Akron/Family Release: Deep Oceans Records, May, 2009 One minute into the six minute long, psychedelic-face-melting opener, “Everyone Is Guilty”, I was hooked. Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em...