Today I’m very pleased to present you The Seventeenth Century Lady Interview with Baroque ensemble Armonia Celeste! This increasingly popular group is comprised of three singers: sopranos Sarah Abigail Griffiths and Rebecca Choate Beasley, and mezzo-soprano Dianna Grabowski. Lyle Nordstrom accompanies on lute, theorbo, and Baroque guitar, and Paula Fagerberg plays the Baroque triple harp. SCL: What was it about the music… Read on
Australian-American lyric soprano Danielle de Niese is a name that has been cropping up for several years now on the Early Music scene. About a decade ago or so, Baroque music was quite a niche type of music, but I have noticed a growing trend that seems to indicate it is becoming more mainstream. Even though it was… Read on
Most of the readers of The Seventeenth Century Lady are not only fans of 17th-century history, but also of the Baroque music of that time. It is therefore my pleasure to have DM Denton here with a guest post about Alessandro Stradella – a commonly (and sadly!) overlooked composer of wonderful Italian Baroque music. Alessandro Stradella: Fascinating, Flawed, Forgiven,… Read on
Being that the Ashmolean Museum is one of the finest in the world and that it happens to have been created in the 17th-century, I was thrilled to have been able to finally visit last Wednesday. One can live in a country for years and sadly miss out on some of the gems. I met up with my… Read on
It is with great honour that I welcome our last Guest Post of the month – this by harpsichordist Christopher Bucknall of the Academy of Ancient Music. I have long been a fan of theirs, and I was more thrilled than I can say when they agreed to contribute. Please welcome Christopher and the AAM to The Seventeenth… Read on
Today’s Guest Post comes from one of my absolute favourite Baroque groups: London Baroque. I was thrilled when they agreed to participate in our month of guest posts! So, please welcome London Baroque to The Seventeenth Century Lady! London Baroque is a professional chamber group consisting of three or four musicians and keyboard, to which we very often… Read on
Sunday Baroque is a gem of a radio programme in the United States. This show has a very special place in my heart; in fact, it was Sunday Baroque that first made me fall in love with Baroque music. I’m 27, and Sunday Baroque is now entering its twenty-seventh year as well. I remember the first time I… Read on
Francesco Saverio Geminiani, Italian Baroque composer, was born on this day the 5th of December, 1687. This makes him today’s second Baroque Birthday Boy! Geminiani was a talented youth who excelled at the violin and was tutored by two great Baroque composers, Alessandro Scarlatti (who, funnily enough, was related to yet another Baroque composer born on this day… Read on