by Daniel Hathaway
TODAY’S MILESTONES IN CLASSICAL MUSIC:
Medieval French poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut died in April of 1377, presumably on this day. He ably straddled the worlds of sacred and secular music, as shown by two selections from local ensembles. Click here to listen to the Kyrie from his Messe de Nostre Dame sung by Quire Cleveland directed by Jay White in November, 2018. And Les Délice’s artistic director Debra Nagy channeled Machaut to create her Estampie Dame, vostre dous viaire for a live performance in January, 2018. Watch here.
Although Handel’s great oratorio Messiah is inextricably linked to the Christmas season in many parts of the world, it was actually composed for an Eastertime performance in Dublin on this day in 1742. Perhaps when it’s possible to hold public performances again, presenters can suggest that attendees practice social distancing by reviving the wearing of swords and hoop skirts that the Dublin management advised patrons to leave at home — in order to save space. To remind us of the Easter theme in Messiah, here’s an Apollo’s Fire performance of “The Trumpet Shall Sound” by baritone Jeffrey Strauss and Baroque trumpeter Josh Cohen. Jeannette Sorrell conducts.
And on April 13, 1959, conductor Eduard van Beinum died of a heart attack while rehearsing Mahler’s Third Symphony with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. What a way to make your exit! Here’s a performance of the Bell Chorus from Mahler 3, which celebrates St. Peter’s entrance into heaven (and maybe van Beinum’s as well), in a performance by the Vienna Philharmonic, contralto Christa Ludwig, the women of the Vienna State Opera Choir and the Vienna Boy’s Choir, Leonard Bernstein conducting.
NEW OBERLIN SERIES LAUNCHES ON TUESDAY:
Beginning this week, Oberlin Conservatory will offer “Oberlin Stage Left,” featuring performances by faculty and students, as well as guests from around the globe. New programs will be broadcast on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons. The inaugural performance at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, April 14, will feature Harp Professor Yolanda Kondonassis and the Oberlin Orchestra, Raphael Jiménez, conducting, in Ginastera’s Harp Concerto, preceded by an interview with Kondonassis by Conservatory Dean William Quillen.
TWO ZOOM LECTURES THIS WEEK:
Former Oberlin English Professor Nicholas Jones, one of the inaugural contributors to ClevelandClassical.com, is enjoying a busy retirement in Berkeley, California. In addition to playing and singing in early music groups with his wife Sue, he’s continuing to engage in various scholarly pursuits.
This week, Nick is offering two Zoom lectures. Today (Monday, April 13) at 4:00 pm EDT, he talks about “Texting with Madrigals” — what we can learn from the cool little poems that composers set to music in Elizabethan England.” Register here for the talk, offered through Early Music America (of which Nick is a board member).
On Wednesday, April 15 at 1:30 pm EDT, Jones will present “Ode to a Nightingale in our time” — about Keats’s great poem, about sickness, creativity, and hope. The talk is sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State University, where Nick has been teaching. You’ll need to create an account when you register.
And you can take profit of a special offer during the pandemic by downloading a free electronic version of Nick’s book of contemporary translations of Italian madrigals. A Poetry Precise & Free: Selected Madrigals of Guarini, is being made available by the University of Michigan Press through June. Click here.
