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Soothing Stuff 3
If it ain't Baroque...
Relaxing music from the Baroque Era.
Baroque architecture, with its complex and intricate adornments, was 'grotesque' to later generations.
So too, baroque music (1600-1750) has been labelled as 'grotesque' when compared with the simpler,
more polished sounds that followed in the "classical" era
(music of Haydn and Mozart).
To our 21st century ears, it is not so much the grotesquery,
but the purity of the music that shines through.
We hear a grandeur and repose that scarcely inhabits the modern world.
Without doubt, it is some of the most enduring music of all time.
From this time of big wigs and garish make-up come some of the first of the
megastars composers.
Indeed, most of the foundations of 'modern' music
as we know it today were laid down in this time of kings, courts and churches.
Neglected for years, this music made a big comeback in the nineteenth century.
It has retained and built on its popularity into the twentieth century.
- Albinoni – Oboe Concerto in d minor, op.9 No.2 – 2. Adagio
- Bach – Concerto for Two Violins in d minor, BWV 1043 – 2. Largo, ma non tanto
- Bach – Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in f minor, BWV 1056 – 2. Largo
- Corelli – Concerto Grosso in g minor, op.6 no. 8, 'Fatto per la notte di Natale' (Christmas Concerto) – Adagio-Allegro-Adagio
- Handel – Water Music - Suite in F major, HWV 348 – Air
- Handel – Serse (Xerxes), HWV 40 – Largo (with voice, 'Ombra mai fu')
- Marcello – Oboe Concerto in d minor – 2. Andante
- Pergolesi – Stabat Mater – 1. Stabat Mater
- Purcell – Dido and Aeneas – 'When I am laid in earth'
- Vivaldi – Concerto for Lute (Guitar) and Two Violins in D major, RV93 – 2. Largo
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