Early Music Now

SUNDAYS @ 4PM

Early Music Now is a one-hour program showcasing music from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and early Baroque: from sonorous medieval chant and polyphony to delightful Renaissance madrigals, dances, and consort music, to magnificent Baroque cantatas and keyboard music. Host Sara Schneider brings knowledge, charm and passion to her presentation of seven hundred years of music history. From the latest recordings by today's vibrant young ensembles, to classics from the dawn of the early music revival, Early Music Now makes this repertoire accessible and enjoyable to a wide audience.

4/19

On the Ground: Whether you call it a passacaglia, chaconne or ground, the technique of virtuosic writing over a repeated theme in the bass seems to bring out the best in a composer. We'll hear favorites by Buxtehude, Bertali, Falconieri and more.

 

4/26

A Medieval Pilgrimage: This week, we'll hear a medieval music drama for the Easter season, the play of The Pilgrims to Emmaus. Ensemble Organum performs this twelfth century work from a Sicilian manuscript, which was created during the reign of King Roger the Second.

 

5/3

Cappella Sistina: In 1475, Pope Sixtus IV ordered the construction of a new chapel in Rome that would be named for him: the Sistine Chapel. On this week's Early Music Now, we'll hear music written for the chapel around 1490. Cut Circle performs music by Josquin, Gaspar van Weerbeke and Marbrianus de Orto.