Join us as we celebrate the Christmas season. We’ll hear music that offers us warmth and light in the cold and dark of winter, focusing on pieces that portray the joy and wonder of new birth. Plus, music from RIAS Kammerchor Berlin’s recent recording of Bach’s Christmas Magnificat.

When it comes to the early music of Britain, Tudor England tends to dominate the historical imagination. But there was plenty going on north of the border, as we’ll hear this hour. We’re exploring over five centuries of music in and about Scotland, so tune in for rarely heard gems from Celtic chant to heartfelt ballads and snappy dance tunes. Click title for playlist.

We're sampling music of Thanksgiving in early America. From Spanish settlers in Florida to Moravians in North Carolina to the father of American Choral music, join us for Songs of Thanks and Praise. Plus, our featured release showcases music brought to the new world by the passengers on the Mayflower.

In December 2024, Paris and the world celebrated the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral de Paris, five years after it was severely damaged by fire in 2019. Click title for playlist.

We’re celebrating the harvest season on Harmonia. From pumpkins and cool breezes to the more spiritual aspects of remembrance and mortality, we’ve got bushels of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century tunes to put you in an autumn mood.

It’s witching hour as we explore the relationship between music and witchcraft in the historical imagination. We’ll hear depictions of witches singing and dancing, music connected to famous witch trials, and tunes that transmit witchy folklore.

Gather around, because we’re listening to folktales and fables! Musical storytelling has a long history beyond the dramatic stage, so follow along for tales of Aesop’s animals, magical beings, Robin Hood, and more.

We’re hitting all the right notes—as we explore the world of tuning systems from Pythagorean to the first temperaments of the Renaissance, which allowed musicians to go beyond the limitations of a single mode. Plus, our featured recording is A Monk’s Life by the Brabant Ensemble.

We often think of disguise as a deception of the eye, but this week on Harmonia, we’re exploring deception of the ear. For centuries, musicians have experimented with sonic trickery: to tell a story, to emphasize meaning, or just for fun. We’ll hear voices pretending to be instruments, instruments pretending to be each other, and more.

We're delving into the wealth of music based on mythological stories and legendary figures, from the earliest Italian operatic tragedies to playful cantatas and madrigals.