MusiLLection

Eighteenth-century engraving depicting the temporary architectural structure erected in Green Park for the 1749 fireworks celebration. Nearly three decades after the Water Music , Handel returned to the genre of ceremonial outdoor composition with a work inseparably linked to Britain’s political stage. Music for the Royal Fireworks was written in 1749 to celebrate the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the War of the Austrian Succession. King George II envisioned a grand spectacle in London’s Green Park; Handel was entrusted with providing music worthy of royal authority and public display. The choice of D major was anything but incidental. It was the quintessential key for natural trumpets and horns in the eighteenth century, closely associated with brilliance and martial splendour. At the king’s explicit request, the original scoring excluded strings and relied on an expanded wind band—oboes, bassoons, horns, trumpets and timpani. Handel later added strings for concert perform...

Telemann played a key role in shaping musical professionalism, encouraging public performance and cultivated listening. Telemann’s Double Concerto for Two Horns and Orchestra in E-flat Major belongs to the third production of his Musique de Table ( Tafelmusik , 1733), one of the most ambitious and representative publishing ventures of his career. Far from serving merely as refined background entertainment, this “Table Music” was intended for attentive listening among cultivated audiences—a context that explains the high degree of formal craftsmanship and structural variety found throughout the collection. The concerto’s instrumentation is particularly noteworthy. Telemann designates the two solo instruments as tromba selvatica , a term that has long intrigued musicological research. It most likely refers not to the modern trumpet, but to an early natural brass instrument akin to the horn, without valves and limited in chromatic flexibility. This ambiguity reflects the fluidity of in...

Claudio Monteverdi in early adulthood. Only one other authentic portrait of the composer survives, dating from his later years. Claudio Giovanni Monteverdi was born on May 15, 1567, in Cremona, a northern Italian city famed for its violin-making tradition and situated on the banks of the river Po. His father, Baldassare, worked initially as an apothecary and later trained as a physician, though financial stability always remained elusive. Monteverdi lost his mother at a young age, and his father remarried for a third time—an early encounter with loss and instability that would later resonate deeply in his music. Encouraged by his teacher, the music director of Cremona Cathedral, Monteverdi published his first work while still a child: a collection of sacred music for three voices. He remained in Cremona for several years, composing and publishing the madrigals that would establish his early reputation. In 1592, his life changed decisively when he moved to Mantua, ruled by the powerfu...

George Frideric Handel ’s  Water Music , one of the composer’s most celebrated and enduring works, was first performed on the evening of Wednesday, July 17, 1717. Fifty musicians sailed alongside King George I and his entourage as the royal yacht led a grand flotilla along the Thames from Lambeth to Chelsea. Captivated by Handel’s compositions, the King famously ordered the orchestra to repeat the performance  three times , with the musicians finally allowed to stop at 2 a.m. Suite I in F major (HWV 348) A page from the score of Handel's Water Music written in 1717. This work is the most popular and most beloved of all his numerous compositions. Overture (Largo – Allegro) Adagio e staccato Allegro – Andante – Allegro da capo Passepied Air Minuet Bourrée Hornpipe Andante Allegro Hornpipe Handel’s masterful use of the French horn in this suite reflects the grandeur of the royal Thames procession. The Overture (Largo – Allegro) opens with a s...

Portrait of Georg Philipp Telemann , one of the most influential and widely admired composers of the Baroque era. In his own lifetime, the German composer Georg Philipp Telemann enjoyed even greater popularity than his contemporary and fellow townsman Johann Sebastian Bach . A telling example of his stature is the fact that Telemann was first offered the prestigious post of Kantor at the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig. Only his refusal—prompted by Hamburg’s efforts to retain him—ultimately led to Bach’s appointment to the position. Baroque music found in Telemann a composer of remarkable originality and freedom. Inspired, versatile, and exceptionally accomplished, he possessed an enviable ability to engage creatively with every musical genre of his time. Sacred and secular, instrumental and vocal music held no secrets for him. The works that have survived bear undeniable witness to this breadth, inspiring admiration both for their stylistic variety and their sheer abundance. Telem...

A richly decorated harpsichord, reflecting the instrument’s historical role as both a musical and visual centerpiece of early European music. The harpsichord has been heard for more than six centuries and stands as one of the most characteristic keyboard instruments in the history of Western music. Although it belongs to the keyboard family, its sound is produced not by hammers—as in the piano—but by plucking the strings. This mechanism gives the harpsichord its bright, distinctive tone, which is immediately recognizable. From the moment of its appearance, the harpsichord was warmly received, and its use spread rapidly throughout Europe. By the beginning of the 16th century , it had become immensely popular, and composers employed it in almost every instrumental combination. Its primary role was that of accompaniment , providing harmonic support—particularly in continuo playing—rather than functioning as a solo instrument. The body of the harpsichord typically resembles the shape o...

“Autumn” by Nicolas Poussin, reflecting the rural imagery and seasonal symbolism echoed in Vivaldi’s concerto. The Sonnet I. Allegro The peasants celebrate with songs and dances The pleasure of a rich harvest; And, fired by Bacchus’ liquor, Many end their revelry in sleep. II. Adagio molto All are made to forget their cares and to sing and dance By the gentle air, tempered with pleasure, And by the season which invites so many To enjoy sweet slumber. III. Allegro At dawn the hunters set out, With horns and dogs and guns. The beast flees, and they follow its trail; Terrified and weary of the great noise Of guns and dogs, wounded, it struggles And, harried, dies. The Four Seasons is a cycle of four violin concertos , each offering a vivid musical portrayal of a season of the year. Autumn ( L’autunno ) is the third concerto , written in F major and published in 1725 as part of Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione , Op. 8. In this concerto, Antonio Vivaldi depic...

Portrait of Domenico Scarlatti, whose groundbreaking keyboard sonatas transformed the expressive possibilities of the harpsichord. To fully realize his extraordinary gifts, Domenico Scarlatti had to free himself from paternal authority and emigrate. Only through distance and independence was his creative imagination able to unfold—ultimately to the great benefit of music itself. In his search for the new, Scarlatti focused almost exclusively on keyboard composition, particularly for the harpsichord, an instrument that was rapidly evolving and gaining an increasingly central place in the musical life of his time. The 555 keyboard sonatas that emerged from his creative mind are far more than technical studies or mere esercizi , as he modestly called them. Rather, they form an imaginative and remarkably varied collection of short works that introduce bold new playing techniques and anticipate the mature tripartite sonata form. These compositions reveal an exceptional reservoir of harm...

Georg Philipp Telemann  composed only one concerto for solo trumpet—a fact that may seem surprising, given the instrument’s great popularity during the Baroque period. The trumpet most commonly used in Telemann’s time was the high trumpet in D, prized for its brilliant and penetrating sound. Although he employed the trumpet in various orchestral contexts and even wrote a concerto for three trumpets, this work remains his sole concerto for a single trumpet soloist. The Trumpet Concerto in D major showcases both the ceremonial brilliance and the lyrical potential of the instrument, framed within a clear and balanced four-movement structure. Μovements : Ι. Adagio The concerto opens unusually without an orchestral introduction. The solo trumpet enters immediately, unfolding a long, flowing melody. Beneath it, the strings and harpsichord establish a steady, almost hymn-like rhythmic foundation, lending the movement a restrained and dignified character. ΙΙ. Allegro The second movement ...

A richly detailed Baroque-era painting capturing the musical atmosphere of Handel ’s time, reflecting the grandeur of his festive works and operas. Orchestral: Water Music: Suite No.1, Suite No.2, Suite No3 Music for the Royal Fireworks in D Major, HWV 351 Oratorios: Esther Athalia Alexander Balus Saul Israel in Egypt Messiah Samson Semele Belshazzar Judas Maccabaeus Solomon Jephtha Concertos: Organ Concerto No. 13 in F Major, HWV 295, ("The Cuckoo and the Nightingale" ) Organ Concerto No. 14 in A Major Oboe Concerto No. 3 in G minor Chamber music: Two oboe sonatas Twelve flute sonatas Six Concerti Grossi for strings, woodwinds and continuo, Opus 3 Six organ sonatas, Opus 4 Seven Trio Sonatas, Opus 5 Operas: Almira Rodrigo Rinaldo Giulio Cesare Rodelinda Orlando Ariodante Alcina Serse (Xerxes)

Portrait of Antonio Vivaldi, the Venetian composer who transformed the Baroque concerto. The music of Antonio Vivaldi radiates vitality and physical presence. Its sounds breathe the air of the Mediterranean, capturing an exuberant joy of life that erupts in spontaneous excitement and pure aesthetic pleasure. Listening to Vivaldi reveals a richness of color that seems closer to painting than to abstract musical construction. His output—astonishing both in scale and variety—impresses through the inexhaustible freshness of its inspiration. Even when working within the dominant formal framework of his time, the tripartite concerto structure of allegro–adagio–allegro , Vivaldi never sounds constrained. On the contrary, he reinvigorates the form from within. The traditional concerto grosso became, in his hands, something entirely new. Vivaldi reshaped it into a forward-looking model that anticipated the symphonic idiom, allowing for the clear emergence of the soloist’s personality. He ima...

In this Organ Concerto, Handel famously imitates birdsong, a rare and charming example of musical pictorialism in his instrumental output. The characteristic calls of the cuckoo and the nightingale give the work its enduring subtitle and contribute to its immediate appeal. Like Handel’s other organ concertos, Concerto No. 13 was composed to be performed during the intervals of his oratorios. It was first presented on April 4, 1739, at the Royal Theatre in London, just two days after its completion, alongside the oratorio Israel in Egypt . Many of these concertos—including this one—contain extensive ad libitum passages. During these sections, the organist was expected to improvise freely, using the written material merely as a framework. Handel himself was a superb organist and astonished audiences with the brilliance and inventiveness of his improvisations. Movements: - Larghetto The concerto opens with a brief orchestral introduction presenting a gentle, expressive theme. The orga...

During the Baroque era, European musical language gradually shifted from the equal polyphonic weave of the Renaissance toward a system grounded in tonal hierarchy and structural clarity. The establishment of basso continuo and the increasing emphasis on contrast did not merely represent technical developments; they signaled a new conception of musical architecture, in which tension unfolds through departure and return. Within this evolving aesthetic, the concerto became a field of formal precision. Antonio Vivaldi played a decisive role in shaping the three-movement fast–slow–fast structure and in consolidating the ritornello principle as an architectural foundation. Dramatic momentum arises not from thematic complexity, but from the alternation between stable recurring sections and episodes that explore new tonal areas. The Concerto for Strings in A Major, RV 158 is a characteristic concerto ripieno . There is no soloist; intensity emerges from the collective force of the string e...

  Cremona proudly reflects its musical heritage, welcoming visitors drawn to the city’s legendary violin-making tradition. During the Baroque era, the violin emerged as one of the most exciting and transformative instruments of European music. Compared to the violas of the Renaissance, violins offered a brighter tone, greater agility, and unprecedented technical flexibility, allowing composers and performers to explore new expressive and virtuosic possibilities. The finest violins were crafted in the small northern Italian town of Cremona, near Milan. Within this remarkable center of craftsmanship, master luthiers such as Nicola Amati , Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri , and Antonio Stradivari lived and worked—often in the same neighborhood. Their instruments quickly gained legendary status, setting standards of sound quality and construction that have never been surpassed. One of the enduring mysteries of Cremonese violin making lies in the varnish used to finish these instruments. I...

Although Messiah remains George Frideric Handel ’s most celebrated oratorio, Israel in Egypt stands among his most vivid and dramatically charged creations. Composed in 1739, the work recounts the biblical journey of a people from suffering and oppression to deliverance and victory, drawing primarily on texts from the Book of Exodus and the Psalms. Handel was a deeply religious composer, yet his spiritual outlook differed markedly from that of his contemporary Johann Sebastian Bach . Rather than addressing theological abstraction or inward devotion, Handel spoke directly to the emotions of ordinary listeners. His sacred music seeks immediacy and impact, appealing to shared human experience through clarity, gesture, and dramatic force. From its premiere, Israel in Egypt proved controversial. On one hand, it drew criticism for Handel’s well-known practice of reworking material by other composers—most famously the chorus Egypt was glad , adapted from an organ piece by Johann Kaspar K...

The term Anglaise derives from the French word meaning “English” and refers to a group of dances of English origin that gained widespread popularity across Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These dances were embraced particularly in France, where they were absorbed into courtly and social dance traditions, often undergoing stylistic refinement in the process. Characterized by lively and energetic rhythms, the anglaise typically required dancers to arrange themselves in chains or long lines. The emphasis on continuous motion and rhythmic drive gave the dance a spirited and communal character, distinguishing it from more stately or formally structured court dances. During the eighteenth century, the term anglaise began to appear sporadically in purely instrumental music, detached from its original choreographic function. In this context, it referred less to a specific dance form and more to a general stylistic gesture—suggesting brightness, rhythmic vitality, a...

Vivaldi’s Summer evokes suffocating heat and the sudden violence of storms, where nature turns oppressive and destructive. Among the four concertos of The Four Seasons , Summer stands as the most intense and dramatic. In this work, Antonio Vivaldi transforms nature into a living force, oppressive and threatening rather than benign. The concerto follows an accompanying sonnet—traditionally attributed to the composer himself—which guides the listener through heat, exhaustion, fear, and finally devastation. I. Allegro non molto "Under a hard season, fired up by the sun Languishes man, languishes the flock and burns the pine We hear the cuckoo’s voice; then sweet songs of the turtle dove and finch are heard. Soft breezes stir the air but threatening the North Wind sweeps them suddenly aside. The shepherd trembles, fearing violent storms and his fate." The opening movement unfolds beneath a merciless sun. The music conveys heaviness and fatigue through restrained motion and har...

In the Baroque era, the term “sinfonia” referred to a short instrumental composition, typically functioning as an introduction to an opera, cantata, or suite. Rather than an autonomous concert work, it served as a prelude to drama , preparing the listener’s ear and attention. During the 18th century, this form gradually evolved into what would later become the classical orchestral symphony. Antonio Vivaldi adopts the term sinfonia to describe a concise work for string orchestra, structured in three loosely connected movements . Though modest in scale, the piece reveals Vivaldi’s instinctive sense of contrast, gesture, and theatrical effect. Movements: I. Allegro molto The opening Allegro molto bursts forth with vigorous string writing , immediately commanding attention. The assertive violin figures and driving rhythm create a sense of urgency and brilliance. This bold opening may well have been a deliberate strategy by Vivaldi—to silence the audience and assert control over the mu...

George Frideric Handel was, by temperament, a theatrical composer. He preferred the passionate acclaim of a full opera house to the restrained applause of aristocratic salons. Chamber music, with its intimacy and balance, never occupied a central place in his creative output—yet when he turned to it, the results were anything but secondary. The Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 , published in 1734, consist of six concertos , of which the first four are presented here. These works were not conceived as a unified cycle in the modern sense, but rather assembled from earlier compositions written between 1711 and 1734 . Their publication coincided with the wedding celebrations of Princess Anne , daughter of King George II , Handel’s royal patron. At the time, Handel was experiencing a difficult period as an opera impresario. Public interest in Italian opera was declining, competition was fierce, and several profitable contracts had collapsed. It is very likely that the publication of the Op. 3 conc...

A dynamic visual evocation of Don Quixote’s battle with the windmills, reflecting the humor and narrative energy of Telemann’s orchestral suite. Georg Philipp Telemann provoked strong reactions during his lifetime—particularly from conservative circles—by composing works that combined intellectual seriousness with wit and narrative imagination. Among these was his celebrated orchestral suite Don Quixote , a work that challenged the prevailing belief that a composer of sacred music should not engage in so-called “light” or descriptive instrumental genres. For Telemann’s more traditional contemporaries, such compositions were considered frivolous and incompatible with religious devotion. Telemann, however, saw no contradiction. His sacred works possess depth and gravity, while his secular instrumental music— Don Quixote included—communicates meaning with equal clarity, intelligence, and artistic conviction. Completed late in his life, the suite demonstrates that Telemann’s melodic in...