Early Music

This hour, music from 15th-century Milan from the court of the powerful Sforza family, whose lavish productions sometimes bordered on the spectacular, including staging machinery designed by da Vinci. Join us!

“Two households, both alike in dignity (In fair Verona, where we lay our scene).” So begins Shakespeare’s well-loved tragedy Romeo and Juliet. On Harmonia this week, music from Verona — from clever frottolas to masterfully set sacred texts to strange sonatas.

This hour we’re all about that bass — the chaconne, to be specific. This harmonic-bass formula has had us singing, dancing, and strumming for more than four centuries. We’ll trace the chaconne from its mythical island origins through many delightful variations as it passed from musician to musician.

We're exploring medieval and Renaissance songs and dances collected by 18th-century “early music” aficionados in Britain. Plus, our featured recording by The Curious Bards explores Irish and Scottish identities through traditional music.

While incarcerated at Fleet Prison, English composer William Cornysh wrote a long poem, "A Treatise between Information and Truth," which drew upon many musical metaphors to explain how and why he was falsely imprisoned. This week on Harmonia, we’ll explore the life and music of William Cornysh II, 500 years after his death.

Sometimes we need a good cry. Music can provide a space for mourning and lament for both personal sadness and religious observation. This week on Harmonia, we’ll be exploring musical settings of the Book of Lamentations. We’ll hear uses of this text in traditions from Tisha b’Av to Tenebrae.

Join us on a bohemian escapade of sorts, as we explore baroque music composed by violinist Philipp Jakob Rittler and trumpet virtuoso Pavel Josef Vejvanovský. Plus, festive Baroque music for trumpets and strings on our featured recording by Ars Antiqua Austria.

When Christian IV of Denmark visited his brother-in-law James Stuart in England, they threw some raucous, wild parties . . . so, it’s no surprise that King Christian’s fondness for the British Isles informed his musical patronage. This week on Harmonia: renaissance music from the court at Copenhagen.

This week on Harmonia: music associated with coffee and coffeehouses. Grab a cup of your favorite brew as we travel from Constantinople to Leipzig, London, Paris, and back again, hearing sounds of different coffeehouses from the 16th to the 18th centuries.

Now is the month of Maying, and English madrigalists weren’t the only ones singing about it! This week on Harmonia, we’ve got music for that marvelous time when winter is long gone but the hottest days have yet to chase us back indoors. Join us for a wide range of May songs, tunes on spring flowers and gentle breezes, and a seasonal feature from Fretwork and The Sixteen.