Living Composers
This course focuses on the contemporary composers that are currently forging the new musical paths: from the well established names of Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt, Ned Rorem, John Adams and Max Richter, to the new generation, including James MacMillan, Roxana Panufnick and Thomas Ades, among others.
Selected Discography:
Glass: Violin Concerto/Bernstein: Serenade/Rorem: Violin Concerto
Philip Glass: Akhnaten-Complete Opera
Songs of Ned Rorem: Susan Graham, mezzo/Malcolm Matineau, piano
American Songs: Barbara Bonney/André Previn
Ren̩e Fleming РI Want Magic
Arvo Pärt: Alina/Spiegel im Spiegel
Arvo Pärt: Arbos/Stabat Mater
James MacMillan: Stabat Mater
Thomas Adès: Asyla/Chamber and Orchestral Works
John Adams: Century Rolls/Lollapalooza
John Adams: Nixon in China
Music of Hikari Oe, Vol.1
Sir John Tavener/Roxanna Panufnik: 99 Words
Roxana Panufnik: Angels Sing/Westminster Mass 
A Song More Silent: Beamish/McDowall/O’Regan/Plowman
The Very Best of John Rutter
Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man – A Mass For Peace
Great Movie Themes: John Williams, Hans Zimmer, etc
The Lion King: Music & Lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice, score by Hans Zimmer
Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
Gabriela Montero : Baroque
Sonic Philosophy: Hugo Ticciati, violin & Henrik MÃ¥we, piano
Opera stravagante: the Neapolitan School
Explore the life and works of the 18th-century composers that form the Neapolitan School, and their legacy in the operas of the bel canto composers. Discover the masterpieces of Alessandro Scarlatti, Pergolesi and Jommelli, as well as the operas composed for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples by Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti.
The Two Barbers
2016 marks the 200th anniversary of the premiere of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Discover why the opening night was a fiasco, and compare and contrast this most beloved bel canto masterpiece with the previous – and at the time greatly revered – Barber by Giovanni Paisiello.
A Selected Bibliography:
Rossini: His Life and Works. Richard Osborne
The Golden Century of Italian Opera from Rossini to Puccini. W Weaver
A Selected Discography:
Paisiello: Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Fasano, cond.
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia. Humburg, cond.
Rossini: Colbran, The Muse. Joyce DiDonato, mezzo.
Rossini Arias. Juan Diego Flórez, tenor.
Rossini: La cenerentola. Ferro, cond.
MUSIC in TIME
Explore Music History from antiquity until the present day. Enjoy the unfolding of western art music through the lives and works of the great composers and discover many a hidden musical gem en route!
Ancient & Medieval up to 1450
Renaissance 1450–1600
Baroque 1600–1750
Classical 1750–1825
Romantic 1825–1900
Modern 1900 onwards
A Selected Bibliography:
Ancient & Medieval
The Story of Music: from Antiquity to the Present. Maria Lord
Music (DK Eyewitness Books). Neil Ardley
Source Readings in Music History: Antiquity and the Middle Ages v. 1
Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Man & Music Series. James McKinnon
Man & His Music: Mediaeval and Early Renaissance Music. Alec Harman
The Music of the Spheres by Jamie James
Knights at Court by Aldo Scaglione
A Distant Mirror: the Calamitous 14Th Century by Barbara Tuchman
Renaissance
Companion To Medieval And Renaissance Music
Source Readings in Music History: The Renaissance Vol 2
Baroque
Source Readings in Music History: The Baroque Era v. 3
Music in the Baroque Era
Monteverdi: His Life and Works, by Henry Prunieres
The Letters of Claudio Monteverdi ~ Denis Stevens
A Performer’s Guide to Music of the Baroque Period (ABRSM)
Sounds and Sweet Airs: The Forgotten Women of Classical Music. Anna Beer
The Sun King (Vintage Classics) ~ Nancy Mitford
Purcell Remembered ~ Michael Burden
The English Pleasure Garden: 1660-1860 (Shire Library). Sarah Jane Downing
Tosi’s Observations on the Florid Song (Facsimile of 1743 English Edition)
On Playing the Flute by Johann Joachim Quantz
The Faber Pocket Guide to Bach ~ Nicholas Kenyon
Music in the Castle of Heaven: A Portrait of J S Bach ~ John Eliot Gardiner
Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great ~ James Gaines
The Faber Pocket Guide to Handel ~ Edward Blakeman
Handel ~ Christopher Hogwood
The Lives of Haydn, Mozart and Metastasio ~ Stendhal
Classical
The Lives Of The Great Composers: Third Edition
The Complete Classical Music Guide (Eyewitness Companions)
A Performer’s Guide to Music of the Classical Period (ABRSM)
Source readings in music history from antiquity through the romantic era
Gluck and the Opera – Scholar’s Choice Edition
Gluck and the French Theatre in Vienna
Form in Music by Stewart Macpherson
The Classical Era: From the 1740s to the end of the 18th Century (Man & Music)
The Classical Style: Haydn, Beethoven & Mozart, by Charles Rosen
The Faber Pocket Guide to Mozart, by Sir Nicholas Kenyon
The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven (Antony Hopkins)
Schubert (Masters of Music) ~ Percy M. Young
Schubert’s Songs ~ Richard Capell
Rossini: His Life and Works (Master Musicians Series) ~ Richard Osborne
Romantic
A Performer’s Guide to Music of the Romantic Period (ABRSM)
Niccolo Paganini: Supreme Violinist or Devil’s Fiddler? (Great Performers Series)
The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz (translated by David Cairns)
Berlioz: Servitude and Greatness 1832-1869 (by David Cairns)
Source Readings in Music History: The Romantic Era v. 5
“Sounds and Sweet Airs: The Forgotten Women of Classical Music” by Anna Beer
‘The Romantic Generation’ by Charles Rosen
‘The Gilded Stage: A Social History of Opera’ by Daniel Snowman
Verdi (Master Musicians Series)
The Faber Pocket Guide to Wagner
The Last Waltz: The Strauss Dynasty and Vienna by John Suchet
Modern
Why Mahler?: How One Man and Ten Symphonies Changed the World. Lebrecht
Alma Mahler-Werfel: Diaries 1898-1902. Edited by Antony Beaumont
Stravinsky’s Piano: Genesis of a Musical Language (Music since 1900)
Francis Poulenc: Selected Correspondence, 1915-63
Pierre Bernac: The Interpretation of French Song
‘Messiaen’ by Robert Sherlaw Johnson
The Faber Pocket Guide to Britten
The Operas of Benjamin Britten
A Selected Discography:
Ancient & Medieval
Music of Ancient Greece. Atrium de Madrid. Gregorio Paniagua
Byzantine Hymns: Kassia of Constantinople
Music of the Middle Ages. David Munrow
Chants of the Milanese Church. Ensemble Organum · Pérès
Music and Poetry at Saint Gall. Ensemble Gilles Binchois · Vellard
Mozarabic Chant. Ensemble Organum. Marcel Peres
Hildegard von Bingen: O Jerusalem. Sequentia
Hildegard von Bingen: A Feather on the Breath of God. Gothic Voices
Codex Calixtinus, 12th century /Ensemble Organum · Pérès
Llibre Vermell de Montserrat / Hesperion XX. Jordi Savall
Leonin: Magister Leoninus Vol.2 Sacred Music from 12th-Century Paris
Perotin. The Hilliard Ensemble
The Lily and the Lamb: chant & polyphony from medieval England
Alfonso X El Sabio: Cantigas de Santa Maria ~ Hesperion XX
Love Songs of the Middle Ages ~ Sequentia
Music of the Crusades: 12 & 13 Century Music. David Munrow
Sepharad: Songs of the Spanish Jews ~ Ensemble Sarband
Sumer is icumen in: English Medieval Chants ~ The Hilliard Ensemble
Carmina Burana, Vol. 2 ~ New London Consort. Philip Pickett, cond.
The Century of Ars Nova (14th Century)
Machaut: Messe De Notre Dame. Andrew Parrott, cond.
Codex Faenza-15c.Italy manuscript (14th-century keyboard music)
John Dunstable – Sweet Harmony (Masses and Motets)
Renaissance
Ars Subtilior ~ Dawn of the Renaissance
The Garden of Zephirus: Courtly songs of the early 15th Century
Oswald von Wolkenstein: Songs of Myself – Andreas Scholl
El Cancionero de la Colombina 1451-1506
El Cancionero de Palacio 1474-1516. Hesperion XX
Josquin Desprez: Missa Pange lingua /Ensemble Clément Janequin
Josquin Desprez: Adieu mes amours, Chansons.
Renaissance – Music For Inner Peace. The Sixteen
Taverner: Missa Mater Christi Sanctissima
Tallis: Spem in Alium /The Tallis Scholars · Phillips
16th Century Music for Viols. Fretwork & Rose Consort of Viols
Byrd: Mass for Five Voices ~ Christ Church Cathedral Choir/Darlington
Frottole: Songs from the courts of Rennaisance Italy
Luys Milan: El Maestro. Montserrat Figueras & Hopkinson Smith
Cipriano de Rore: Missa Praeter rerum seriem, Motets & Madrigals
Concerto Delle Donne. Consort of Musicke
Gesualdo: Quinto Libro di Madrigali. Consort of Musicke
English Madrigals. The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips, cond.
Musica Della Cappella Sistina: Allegri, Josquin, Morales, Palestrina
Orlande de Lassus: Mass ‘Tout les Regretz’ and Motets
A New Venetian Coronation 1595. Gabrieli Consort & Players. McCreesh
Gabrieli: Music for San Rocco 1608 ~ Gabrieli Consort & Players
Mateo Flecha: Ensaladas. Hesperion XX, Jordi Savall, cond.
Guerrero: Sacrae Cantiones. Hesperion XX, Jordi Savall, cond.
El Cancionero de Medinaceli. Hesperion XX, Jordi Savall, cond.
Dowland: Second Booke of Songs. The Consort of Musicke
Baroque
Intermedi (1589) La Pellegrina. Taverner Consort, Andrew Parrott
Monteverdi: L’Orfeo. Gardiner, cond.
Monteverdi: Eighth Book of Madrigals, Vol 1 /Concerto Italiano · Alessandrini
Monteverdi: L’incoronazione di Poppea. René Jacobs, cond.
Monteverdi: Vespers 1610. Monteverdi Choir & Orchestra · Gardiner
Carissimi: Jephthah, Jonah. Gabrieli Consort & Players · McCreesh
Tous les matins du monde: Lully, Marais, Couperin. Jordi Savall, cond.
Lully: Atys (Les Arts Florissants/William Christie)
José MarÃn – Tonos Humanos. Montserrat Figueras, sop./Rolf Lislevand, guitar.
Dame Janet Baker, mezzo: Bach, Purcell, Rameau, Cavalli
Christmas Music ~ Scarlatti, Corelli, Bach. Emma Kirkby, sop/London Baroque
F Couperin: L’Apothéose de Lully; harpsichord works
Purcell: The Fairy Queen
Per un bacio – 17th Century Italian Cantatas & Madrigals. Marta Almajano, sop.
Domenico Scarlatti: Sonatas for Harpsichord/Trevor Pinnock
Miserere. Westminster Abbey Choir: Allegri, Lotti, Gesualdo, Gabrieli, Monteverdi
Vivaldi: Opera Arias
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater; Salve Regina (Kirkby/Bowman))
Pergolesi – La Serva Padrona
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto RV581, Salve Regina. Il Seminario Musicale
J S Bach: The Vivaldi Concerti/Franz Hauk, organ
J S Bach: Harpsichord Concertos Vol. 2 – Aapo Hakkinen, harpsichord
J S Bach: Brandenburg Concertos 4-6. The English Concert/Trevor Pinnock
A Vauxhall Gardens Entertainment: Handel, Abel, Arne, Boyce/London Baroque
Handel: Samson. Concentus Musicus Wien/Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Telemann: Recorder Duos-Volume. 1
Handel: Messiah/Trevor Pinnock, cond.
Vivaldi – Gloria & Magnificat/Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini, cond.
J S Bach: Magnificat & Cantata BWV51/John Eliot Gardiner, cond.
J.S. Bach: Cello Suites ~ David Watkin, baroque cello
Bach: Goldberg Variations ~ Steven Devine, harpsichord
Bach: Mass in B Minor. Collegium Vocale Gent/Philippe Herreweghe, cond.
Charpentier: Te Deum. Les Arts Florissants/William Christie, cond.
Rameau: Pygmalion. Les Talens Lyriques/Christophe Rousset, cond.
John Gay & Christopher Pepusch: The Beggar’s Opera
Handel: As Steals the Morn ~ arias & scenes for tenor. Mark Padmore, tenor
Classical
Bach: Musikalisches Opfer (The Musical Offering), BWV 1079
CPE Bach: Instrumental Chamber Music
Drama Queens: Joyce DiDonato, mezzo
Baroque Opera Arias: Purcell, Handel, Gluck. Carolyn Watkinson, contralto
Gluck: Iphigénie en Tauride
Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 76, No. 4 (Sunrise), No. 5, No. 6
O Tuneful Voice: Songs from C18 London. Kirkby/Müller
Haydn: Stabat Mater
Haydn: Paukenmesse
Haydn: Die Schöpfung (The Creation)
Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Serenata Notturna, A Musical Joke
Diana Damrau ~ Arie di Bravura (Mozart, Salieri, Righini)
Edita Gruberova ~ Mozart: Concert Arias
Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte
Mozart: Mass in C minor/Philippe Herreweghe, cond.
Mozart: Horn Concertos
Mozart: Symphonies 40 & 41 (Jupiter). Vienna Philharmonic/Karajan, cond.
Beethoven: String Quartets Op.18, 1-6 ~ Jerusalem Quartet
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis/Philippe Herreweghe, cond.
Beethoven: Symphony No.9. The Academy of Ancient Music/Hogwood, cond.
Beethoven : Fidelio [Highlights] – Harnoncourt, cond.
Beethoven, Meyerbeer & Spohr: Lieder Melodies ~ Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo
Schubert: Trout Quintet
Schubert/Schumann:Songs ~ Elly Ameling, sop. & Jörg Demus, piano
Schubert: Lieder ~ Dietrich Fischer-Diskau, baritone & Gerald Moore, piano
Schubert: Lieder ~ Christoph Prégardien, tenor & Tilman Hoppstock, guitar
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia
Rossini: Mosè in Egitto
Romantic
Weber : Der Freischütz
Paganini: 24 Capricci, Op.1. Salvatore Accardo, violin.
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique / Lélio
Berlioz: Les Nuits d’été. Susan Graham, mezzo
Norwegian Violin Favourites (Ole Bull, Grieg, etc)
Songs to Shakespeare (Henry Bishop, etc). Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor
Mendelssohn: Elias/Paulus/A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Herreweghe, cond.
Mendelssohn- Piano Trios Nos 1 & 2 (Gould Piano Trio)
Fanny Mendelssohn / Clara Schumann: Piano Trios (The Dartington Piano Trio)
A Romantic Songbook. Thomas Quasthoff, bass-bariton; Justus Zeyen, piano
Chopin: Piano Concerto 1/Preludes/Barcarolle/Scherzo. Martha Argerich, piano
Chopin: Works for Piano and Orchestra. Emanuel Ax, piano/OAE
Liszt’s Petrarch Sonnets. Bruce Ford, tenor. Il primo dolce affanno/Opera Rara
Schumann: Piano Concerto; Symphony No2. Staier, piano/Herreweghe, cond.
Clara Schumann: Songs
Thomas Hampson Lieder Recital (Schumann, Beethoven etc)
Brahms: Symphonies 1-4
Brahms – Volkslieder; Zigeunerlieder
Twilight Of The Gods – The Ultimate Wagner Ring Collection
Maria Callas: Verdi Arias, Vol. 1
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Highlights)
Offenbach: Orpheus in Der Unterwelt
Natalie Dessay ~ Miracle of the Voice
Golden Operetta
René Kollo: Dunkelrote Rosen
Johann Strauss: Die Fledermaus
Gilbert & Sullivan – The Mikado
Bruckner: Choral Works. La Chapelle Royale/Philippe Herreweghe
The Best of Grieg
Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade
Dvorak: Rusalka (Highlights)
The Ultimate Elgar Collection
A Portrait of Frederica von Stade
Fauré Mélodies. Barbara Hendricks, sop.
Granados songs and tonadillas. The Art of Pilar Lorengar, sop.
Canteloube: Songs of the Auvergne. Frederica von Stade, mezzo
Hugo Wolf – Goethe-Lieder
Vaughan Williams: Songs of Travel. Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor
Modern
Mahler: Symphony No.1/Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. Fischer-Diskau, bar.
Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Thomas Hampson, baritone
Mahler: Rückert-Lieder. Janet Baker, mezzo/John Barbirolli, cond.
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Chamber version arr. Schoenberg)
Songs by Schubert, Mahler and R. Strauss (Margaret Price/Geoffrey Parsons)
Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony)
Strauss: Elektra
R Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (highlights)
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
Romantic French Songs: Debussy’s Chansons de Bilitis (Sarah Walker, mezzo)
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No.5./Canteloube. Kiri Te Kanawa, sop.
The Best of Sibelius
Sibelius Songs. Anne Sophie von Otter, mezzo
Puccini: Tosca
Montserrat Caballé: Diva (Puccini arias)
French Chamber Classics РRavel: Gaspard De La Nuit. C̩dric Tiberghien, piano
Ravel: L’enfant et les sortilèges – Ma mère l’oye
Ravel: Mélodies
Songs by Reynaldo Hahn
Schoenberg / Berg / Webern
Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire (Boulez)
Schoenberg – Moses und Aron
Berg: Lulu 
Berg / Korngold / Strauss: Lieder
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
Speak Low: Kurt Weill Songs. Anne Sophie von Otter, mezzo
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps; L’Oiseau de feu. Antal Dorati, cond.
Stravinsky: Le Rossignol
Stravinsky: The Rake’s Progress
Stravinsky/Gesualdo: Choral Works
Composers in Person: Poulenc/Bernac & Britten/Pears
Voyage A Paris: The Mélodies of Francis Poulen. Felicity Lott, soprano
Poulenc: Mass In G/Motets
Poulenc: Les Mamelles de Tirésias/Le Bal Masqué
Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmélites
American Songs (Barber, Copland, etc): Barbara Bonney, sop./André Previn, piano
Samuel Barber: Vanessa
Messiaen: Poemes Pour Mi/Chants De Terre
Messiaen: Turangalila Symphony – Quatour pour la fin du temps
Britten – English Choral Music
Britten: Peter Grimes
Britten: Gloriana
Britten: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Tippett: King Priam
Bernstein: West Side Story
Bernstein: Candide
Anniversary Composers 2016
In this course we explore the life and works of a group of composers whose music is perhaps not at the centre of the standard concert repertoire. All of the selected composers share either a birth anniversary or a death commemoration in 2016, and their works range from Renaissance madrigals and Classical opera to French art songs and early 20th-century Modernism. The six featured composers are: Cipriano de Rore, Sebastián Durón, Giovanni Paisiello, Erik Satie, Francesco Paolo Tosti and Max Reger.
A Selected Discography:
The Best of Erik Satie
Satie: French Song Cycles. Hugues Cuenod, tenor
Max Reger – Sinfonietta Op.90, An Die Hoffnung Op.124
Tosti – Canzone. Carlo Bergonzi, tenor
Canzoni ~ Ramon Vargas, tenor
Pavarotti – Mattinata
Arie Amorose: Janet Baker, mezzo
Las Mujeres y Cuerdas – Songs and Guitar Music
Paisiello: Nina, o sia la pazza per amore
Paisiello: Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Barroco Español, Vol.2. Sebastián Durón
Barroco Español, Vol.3
A Batallar Estrellas РAl Ayre Espa̱ol
Cipriano de Rore: Missa Praeter rerum seriem, Motets & Madrigals
Opera in the New World
Starting in Lima at the dawn of the 18th Century, this course explores some highlights of the operatic repertoire created in the Americas. Our musical journey will take us from baroque Peru to modern day USA with works by Torrejón y Velasco, Barber, Bernstein and Glass, among others, and back to South America with Piazzolla’s tango opera!
A Selected Discography:
Torrejón y Velasco ~ La Púrpura de la Rosa
Piazzolla ~ MarÃa De Buenos Aires
Thomson ~ Four Saints in Three Acts
Gershwin ~ Porgy and Bess
Barber ~ Vanessa
Ren̩e Fleming РI Want Magic
Menotti ~ The Medium/The Telephone
Bernstein ~ Candide
Adams ~ Nixon in China
Glass ~ Akhnaten
J S Bach: The Musician’s Musician
J S Bach is often regarded as the musician’s musician, a composer whose music can be regarded as profoundly moving and daunting at the same time. In this course we explore the life and work of one of the most influential baroque composers and one of the cornerstones of the classical repertoire.
A Selected Bibliography:
Harmony and Discord, The Real Life of J S Bach ~ Julian Shuckburgh
The Faber Pocket Guide to Bach ~ Nicholas Kenyon
Music in the Castle of Heaven: A Portrait of J S Bach ~ J E Gardiner
Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment ~ James Gaines
A Selected Discography:
Bach – Violin and Voice
Organ Masterworks by Bach: The Vivaldi Concerti. Franz Hauk, organ
J S Bach Arias & Choruses. John Eliot Gardiner, cond.
Telemann & the Leipzig Opera
Christmas Music. Emma Kirkby & London Baroque
Domenico Scarlatti Sonatas – Trevor Pinnock, harpsichord
Bach: The Well-tempered Clavier. Angela Hewitt, piano
Bach: Orchestral Suites / Ensemble Sonnerie
Enchantment. Magdalena Kozena, mezzo-soprano
Harpsichord Concertos Vol. 2 – Aapo Häkkinen, harpsichord
Brandenburg Concertos, Nos 4, 5, 6 / The English Concert. Pinnock
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos 1-6. Christopher Hogwood, cond.
Bach Violin Concertos. Henryk Szeryng and Maurice Hasson
Janet Baker. Grandi voci
Bach: Coffee/Peasant Cantatas, Nos 211 & 212
Bach: Christmas Oratorio. Karl Richter, cond.
Bach: Christmas Oratorio. René Jacobs, cond.
Bach: Magnificat BWV243 / Kantate BWV51. J E Gardiner, cond.
J.S. Bach: Cello Suites. David Watkin, cello
JS Bach: Motets BWV 225-230
Armonia Di Flauti. Bach ~ Vivaldi. Flanders Recorder Quartet
Morimur. J S Bach ~ The Hilliard Ensemble & Christoph Poppen, violin
Bach: St John Passion. J E Gardiner, cond.
Bach: St Matthew Passion. John Butt, cond.
Bach: The Musical Offering BWV 1079 /Ensemble Sonnerie
Bach: Mass in B minor. Andrew Parrott, cond.
Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988; Trevor Pinnock, harpsichord
Bach: Mass in B Minor BWV 232. Philippe Herreweghe, cond.
Beyond Aïda: the land of the pharaohs in opera
Discover the fascination that Ancient Egypt has had on opera composers and librettists from the 17th century. We trace the story of pharaohs in opera from Cesti’s Orontea, Queen of Egypt (1656) to the High Baroque operatic fashion of Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Hasse’s Antonio e Cleopatra, as well as Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Then Rossini’s Mose in Egitto, Verdi’s Aïda and Massenet’s Thaïs in the 19th century, and explore the atonal world of Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron and the minimalist output of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten.
A Selected Discography:
Cantate. Cesti (Jacobs, Concerto Vocale)
Arie Amorose. Janet Baker, mezzo
Handel – Opera Arias & Cantatas. MarÃa Bayo, sop.
Diana Damrau ~ Arie di Bravura (Mozart, Salieri, Righini)
Drama Queens. Joyce DiDonato, mezzo.
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte. Roger Norrington, cond.
Rossini: Mosè in Egitto
Verdi: Aida
Massenet: Thaïs
Schoenberg – Moses und Aron
Glass: Akhnaten
The Songs of Richard Strauss
The Operas of Gluck
Gluck enjoyed one of the most significant careers in the operatic world of the 18th Century, and his influence would be felt in the Romantic operas of Berlioz and Wagner. In this course we explore Gluck’s output, ranging from his early baroque Italian operas, through to the ‘reform’ operas for Vienna – including the groundbreaking Orfeo ed Euridice – and the breathtakingly dramatic works he created for the Paris Opéra.
A Selected Bibliography:
The Lives Of The Great Composers (Harold Schonberg)
Gluck and the French Theatre in Vienna (Bruce Alan Brown)
The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Opera
A Selected Discography:
Gluck: Le Cinesi
Carolyn Watkinson: Baroque Opera Arias by Purcell, Handel & Gluck
Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice
Les Introuvables de Nicolai Gedda
Enchantment. Magdalena Kozena, mezzo
Gluck: Iphigénie en Tauride
The Operas of Rossini
The undisputed king of bel canto, Rossini created some of the most beloved operas of the Italian repertoire. In this course we explore his enduring comedies – from The Barber of Seville to La Cenerentola – while also discovering the dramatic operas he created for Naples, and his final works for Paris. We follow Rossini through his career and enjoy the most virtuosic vocal displays in the opera world.
A Selected Bibliography:
Rossini (Master Musician). Richard Osborne
The Golden Century of Italian Opera from Rossini to Puccini
The Lives Of The Great Composers: Third Edition
Bel Canto Principles and Practices. Cornelius Reid
A Selected Discography:
Rossini: La cambiale di matrimonio
Rossini Operatic Arias: Raul Gimenez, tenor
Las Mujeres y Cuerdas – Songs and Guitar Music
Rossini: Tancredi
Rossini: L’italiana in Algeri (highlights)
The Age of Bel Canto /Jerry Hadley,Richard Bonynge
Rossini: Colbran, the Muse (opera arias). Joyce DiDonato, mezzo
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia
Rossini Three Tenors – Bruce Ford, William Matteuzzi, Paul Austin Kelly
Rossini: La Cenerentola
Juan Diego Flórez – Rossini Arias
Rossini: Mosè in Egitto
The Heroic Bel Canto Tenor. Chirs Merritt
Coloratura Spectacular. Joan Sutherland, Sumi Jo, Marilyn Horne
100 Years of Italian Opera (1810-1820)
A Hundred Years of Italian Opera (1820-1830)
Bravissimo – Best of Bel Canto
The Art of the Prima Donna: Joan Sutherland
The Operas of Richard Strauss
At the start of the 20th Century, Strauss broke all the rules of Romantic opera with his modernistic works: Salome and Elektra. A few years later, he created Der Rosenkavalier, one of the most endurably successful German operas, full of waltzes and exquisite vocal ensembles. In this course we explore Strauss’s extraordinary operatic career, from the Wagnerian influences in Guntram to the intellectual depth of Capriccio and the posthumous Die Liebe der Danae.
A Selected Discography:
R Strauss: Famous Scenes
Strauss – Elektra. Polaski/Palmer/Schwanewilms
Strauss, R; Wagner – Arias & Scenes. Deborah Voigt, sop
R Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (highlights)
Edita Gruberova: Famous Operatic Arias
R Strauss: Capriccio
Too Clever to be Empress: Kassia of Constantinople & the Bizantine Chant
Discover the fascinating life and work of the 9th-century composer and abbess Kassia of Constantinople, the earliest composer with extant music.
Sounds of the Ottoman Empire: Music & the Sublime Porte
Discover the fascinating musical heritage of the Ottoman Empire, including their exotic instruments and their different musical forms. Listen to examples of the music performed at one of the most sophisticated court palaces during the Renaissance and the Baroque: the Sublime Porte, the seat of Ottoman political life in Istanbul.
A Monk’s Life
Explore the daily life of a monk and the different musical forms that dominated medieval sacred music. Learn about the four dialects of plainchant, and listen to some of the most beautiful music of the medieval era.
The Songs of Poulenc & Britten
Explore the songs for voice and piano of Francis Poulenc and Benjamin Britten, two of the most influential composers of the 20th century.
The Songs of Verdi & Wagner
Explore the other side of these two giant figures of Romantic Italian and German opera: their songs for voice & piano. Both Verdi and Wagner composed a number of pieces to be performed in the most intimate atmosphere of the musical salon, and both showed their musical genius in the creation of these chamber music gems.
The Operas of Verdi & Wagner
Church Music in Reformation England
The turbulent decades following Henry VIII’s rupture with Rome, and the subsequent changes under Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, prompted dramatic changes in the musical landscape of the 16th century. Through listening to excerpts from the sacred music of Taverner, Tallis and Byrd, among others, discover how Tudor composers adapted their works and literally ‘changed their tunes’ to suit the rapidly moving political and religious climate.
A Selected Discography
The Lily and the Lamb/Anonymous 4
Taverner: Missa Mater Christi Sanctissima/The Sixteen
Tallis: Spem in Alium /The Tallis Scholars · Phillips
Byrd: Mass for Five Voices/Christ Church Cathedral Choir
Renaissance – Music For Inner Peace/The Sixteen
Music of the Sistine Chapel: Allegri, Palestrina, Morales, Desprez
English Madrigals/The Tallis Scholars
The Operas of Benjamin Britten
2013 commemorates the centenary of Benjamin Britten’s birth. After the success of Peter Grimes in 1945, Britten became the most influential opera composer in post-war England. Discover the great stage works of this Suffolk-born composer by focusing on some of the best operatic works in the English language.
A Selected Bibliography:
The Operas of Benjamin Britten. Edited by David Herbert
The Faber Pocket Guide to Britten; by John Bridcut
A Selected Discography:
Britten: Peter Grimes
Britten: The Rape of Lucretia
Britten: Albert Herring (Bedford, Northern Sinfonia, Gillett, Palmer)
Britten: Billy Budd
Britten: Gloriana – Box Set
Britten: The Turn of the Screw
Britten: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
