Early Music

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.

We're exploring how Renaissance musicians captured the sounds of animals in their music as we take a trip through a musical zoo. Along the way, we’ll hear the beautiful calls of the Nightingale, see the mighty crocodile, and hear a choir of all the animals singing together.

We’re exploring the sounds of our musical bird friends. Hold on to your cats and open your windows as we listen to music inspired by the cuckoo, a bird whose simple call has been recognized as the onset of spring and summer from the medieval period onwards. This summery bird’s unusual behaviors are also the subject of songs about human relationships.

We're taking a journey across Europe to explore the many types of dances that inspired music from the 16th to 18th centuries. Along the way, we’ll hear stately pavanes, lilting allemandes, and playful polonaises.

There’s an antiphon that features in the masses for Easter Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Its words begin: “This is the day the Lord has made,” and ends with a joyous Alleluya. This hour, exultant music for Easter.

For hundreds of years, the goddess Fortune and her wheel have offered us a way to comprehend the unpredictability of life. This hour on Harmonia, we’ll look back to the fourteenth century and explore the appearances of Fortune in music as people try to make sense of famine, plague, political and religious strife. Join us!

If you’ve spent any time in the early European wing at your local art museum, you might have noticed just how musical religious art can be. This hour on Harmonia, join us for harmonies both heavenly and terrestrial as we imagine the soundscapes of angel concerts in medieval and Renaissance art.

Put on a sweater because this hour we’re touring the Nordic countries! Often left out of the discussion when it comes to early music, the regions of modern-day Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland have fascinating musical pasts. We’ll hear from bards and religious reformers, local musicians and imported celebrities.