The Early Music Podcast REMA-European Early Music Network

Does music get suddenly better when it’s linked to the Borgia family, or are we ok with anonymously composed pieces?In this final episode of the season, musicologist Laurie Stras introduces us to an enigmatic composer: Suor Maria Celeste (1600-1634), illegitimate daughter of the Italian scientist Galileo, and a Florentine nun of the early 17th century. She was the illegitimate daughter of the Italian scientist Galileo and a Florentine nun in the early 17th century. She wrote some magnificent polyphonic compositions, found by the researcher in the Biffoli-Sostegni Manuscript and performed by her all-female ensemble, Musica Secreta: discover the story of this crazy adventure in the search for these lost scores! To go further >CREDITSguest Laurie Stras, musicologist and performerinterview & editing Andrew Burnproduction REMAcredits music Platée, Act 1, Orage - Jean-Philippe Rameauperformed by Les Talens Lyriques, dir. Christophe RoussetCamera Lucida 2014All rights reserved - Courtesy of Les Talens Lyriquesdesign Doretta Rinaldioriginal drawings Vincent Flückigercover score Folio, Biffoli-Sostegni Manuscript, 1560 (Bibliothèque du Conservatoire Royal, Bruxelles, MS 27766)musicSelection from Mother Sister Daughterperformed by Musica Secreta, Laurie StrasLucky Music 2022

Probably a XIXth century woman couldn’t contribute significantly as an artist, composer or concert organizer, right?And if we apply the critical eye of early music to more recent times, what do we get? Here we take a step aside to discover the work of Clara Wieck-Schumann (1819-1896), a genius pianist and talented composer, overshadowed by a composer husband at a time when married women were kept out of the public sphere. Natasha Loges, professor of musicology, tells us about her career as a pianist after her husband's death and how concerts were scheduled in the 19th century, at the height of the Romantic period.To go further >CREDITSguest Natasha Loges, musicologistinterview & editing Andrew Burnproduction REMAcredits music Platée, Act 1, Orage - Jean-Philippe Rameauperformed by Les Talens Lyriques, dir. Christophe RoussetCamera Lucida 2014All rights reserved - Courtesy of Les Talens Lyriquesdesign Doretta Rinaldioriginal drawings Vincent Flückigercover score Folio, An einem lichten Morgen, op. 23, 1872 (Library of Congress, ML96.S4148)musicPiano Sonata in G Minor 2. : Adagio, Scherzo & Rondo - Robert Schumannperformed by Franz VorraberHommage à Schumann, Thorofon 2012Romanze, Leidenschaftlich schnell - Clara Schumannperformed by Flóra Fábri, Martin Jantzenlive recording, 2021Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K.331. I. Tema con variazione - Wolfgang Amadeus MozartImprovisation 3Moments musicaux Op. 94 D. 780: III. Allegro moderato in F Minor - Franz Schubertcomposed and performed by Josep ColomMoments musicaux, MarchVivo 2022

How are you an artist when you are just following a tradition and reading a score?With this eighth episode, Björn Schmelzer takes us on a journey of discovery of medieval sacred music and the oral tradition. This episode a dive into the revival of early music in the XXᵉ century and is dedicated to the French composer and writer Guillaume de Machaut from the XIVᵉ century, whose famous Messe de Nostre Dame performed by the ensemble Graindelavoix will musically illustrate the speaker's point.To go further >CREDITSguest Björn Schmelzer, founder and artistic director of Graindelavoixinterview & editing Andrew Burnproduction REMAcredits music Platée, Act 1, Orage - Jean-Philippe Rameauperformed by Les Talens Lyriques, dir. Christophe RoussetCamera Lucida 2014All rights reserved - Courtesy of Les Talens Lyriquesdesign Doretta Rinaldioriginal drawings Vincent Flückigercover score Folio, Lais, motets, ballades, rondeaux et virelais, ca. 1350-1355 (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 1584) musicSalve sancta parens [Introitus], Agnus Dei & Ite missa est - Guillaume de MachautPerformed by Björn Schmelzer, GraindelavoixMesse de Nostre Dame, Glossa 2016Miserere - Coro della Confraternita di Santa Croce Live recording, 2014

How could we possibly top the perfection that is a masterpiece like Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas?In this seventh episode, composer Errollyn Wallen presents her opera Dido's Ghost, a sequel to Henry Purcell's (1659-1695) semi-opera Dido and Æneas. At a time when the Baroque and the performing arts were flourishing in England, Purcell's work offered his contemporaries a delightful spectacle that continues to inspire artists and musicians today. Prepare to be immersed in the world of this incredible baroque opera and the tumultuous story of these two lovers, taken straight from Virgil's Aeneid.To go further >CREDITSguest Errollyn Wallen, composerinterview & editing Andrew Burnproduction REMAcredits music Platée, Act 1, Orage - Jean-Philippe Rameauperformed by Les Talens Lyriques, dir. Christophe RoussetCamera Lucida 2014All rights reserved - Courtesy of Les Talens Lyriquesdesign Doretta Rinaldioriginal drawings Vincent Flückigercover score Folio, When on my sick bed I languish Z.144, 1678 (British Library, Add MS 30930)musicWayward sisters, you that fright…, The Witches' Dance, Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me With drooping wings ye Cupids come - Henry PurcellPerformed by Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé NiquetDido and Aeneas, Glossa 2001Dido’s Ghost - Errollyn Wallenperformed by Dunedin ConsortLive recording Courtesy of the Barbican, 2021

What is so fascinating about some medieval nun’s songs?Better known for her important work as a naturalist and physician, Abbess Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) also composed more than one hundred and fifty liturgical songs and melodies, which were rediscovered in the late 1970s by the ensemble Sequentia and its two directors, Barbara Thornton and Benjamin Bagby. In this sixth episode, Bagby tells us about the rediscovery of early music in the second half of the twentieth century, a movement to which he and his ensemble contributed greatly. To go further >CREDITSguest Benjamin Bagby, founder of Ensemble Sequentiainterview & editing Andrew Burnproduction REMAcredits music Platée, Act 1, Orage - Jean-Philippe Rameauperformed by Les Talens Lyriques, dir. Christophe RoussetCamera Lucida 2014All rights reserved - Courtesy of Les Talens Lyriquesdesign Doretta Rinaldioriginal drawings Vincent Flückigercover score Folio, Riesencodex, 1175–1190 (Landesbibliothek Wiesbaden, BM 3600 FY 29451)musicInstrumental dance I & II & Instrumental lament - Hildegard von Bingenperformed by Ensemble SequentiaOrdo Virtutum, Sony 1998Instrumental piece II - Hildegard von Bingenperformed by Ensemble SequentiaO Jerusalem, Sony 1997 Instrumental piece II - Hildegard von Bingenperformed by Ensemble SequentiaGeistliche Gesänge, BMG 1985 

Don’t you sometimes wish you could just ask Beethoven what he meant in that peculiar passage?This fifth episode is devoted to one of the most famous composers in classical music: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), presented by Olga Pashchenko. While this one is not obviously early music, it does allow us to look back at the history of the piano, the instrument of choice of the great composer. Do not hesitate to consult the resources below to discover more about the mechanism of the piano and its ancestors. To go further >CREDITSguest Olga Pashchenko, historical keyboardistinterview & editing Andrew Burnproduction REMAcredits music Platée, Act 1, Orage - Jean-Philippe Rameauperformed by Les Talens Lyriques, dir. Christophe RoussetCamera Lucida 2014All rights reserved - Courtesy of Les Talens Lyriquesdesign Doretta Rinaldioriginal drawings Vincent Flückigercover score Folio, Sonatas for piano no. 30, op 109, E Major, 1820 (Library of Congress - Gertrude Clarke Whittall Foundation, 87752609)musicPiano Sonata No. 26 in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a "Les adieux": III. Das Wiedersehen. Vivacissimamente, Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 "Waldstein": I. Allegro con brio, Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata": II. Andante con moto & Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata": III. Allegro ma non troppo - Presto - Ludwig van Beethovenperformed by Olga PashchenkoBeethoven: Appassionata, Les Adieux & Waldstein, Alpha Classics 2017Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich, BWV 605, Wir Christenleut, BWV 612 - Johann Sebastian Bachperformed by Ton KoopmanOrgan works, vol. 8 & 9, Warner Classics 2022Concerto in D Major, BWW 972 - Johann Sebastian Bachperformed by Jovanka MarvilleKeyboard works, Passacaille 2012Suite in G Major: X. Chaconne rondeau - Jean-Henry d’Anglebert performed by Céline Frisch, Pièces de clavecin & airs d’ après M. de Lully, Alpha Classics 2005