The Early Music Podcast

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 n...

Why do you care so much about what sort of keyboard Johan Sebastian Bach used to play on? This fourth episode is devoted to the fifteenth-century Flemish composer Guillaume Dufay, but also to a work of art that is as mythical as it is mystical,  The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb  (1432, Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent) by the Van Eyck brothers. Catalina Vicens takes us on a journey of discove...

What happens when a piece by Monteverdi finds its way to its original concert hall? In the third episode of season 3 of the Early Music Podcast, Tim Carter introduces us to Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), an Italian composer and contemporary of Girolamo Frescobaldi, who is considered one of the creators of opera and, with Orfeo , the author of the first masterpiece of the genre. From Florence to V...

Why can’t you just read the score that you want to perform? Dedicated to the Italian genius composer Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643), this episode is an introduction to early music performance and textual sources. Francesco Corti, harpsichordist and conductor, explains the principles of musical improvisation and, above all, how composers told their contemporaries how to play their music. We will...

What is so special about Early Music that it makes people so passionate about it? What is it like to “rediscover” today a composer from 1000 years ago? What do you learn about a piece when you search for the ultimate grail of the original concert hall it was first performed in? How can you try to rebuild a long gone Renaissance instrument and not lose your sanity? And, more than everything, what i...

This episode of the Early Music Podcast takes you to Aix en Provence, on the occasion of the Rencontres Nationales d’Accord Majeur, for our last French Summer episode! This conference is organized every year in the frame of Aix en Provence Festival, and gathers members of various French networks for music (ensembles, operas, festivals…). This year’s theme was dedicated to how the professionals of...

Depuis quelques années, les préoccupations de transition sociale et écologique sont au premier plan des questions politiques et sociales ainsi que dans nos vies privées et professionnelles. De nombreuses organisations culturelles mettent en place des initiatives innovantes pour atteindre un avenir plus équitable et durable. Dans cette entreprise, il est toujours fructueux de partager nos difficult...

Cet épisode du Early Music Podcast fait suite à notre conférence REMAin Connected du 21 mai sur le tourisme culturel. Monument incontournable du patrimoine historique français, le Château de Versailles et son domaine accueillent chaque année environ 8 millions de visiteurs. C'est aussi un lieu important de l'histoire de la musique baroque française, ce qui se manifeste non seulement dans son archi...

Ireland is known for many things but one thing that keeps fascinating people all around the world is its culture and its traditional music that pervades any representation we have of the country. As an early music musician in Ireland, it is inevitable to be confronted to the many instrumental and performance traditions that have existed for centuries, from the jig to the fiddle and the harp. Inter...

When creating projects and programming concerts, concert organisers should always be aiming at satisfying their audiences’ needs or desires. But it is not only the role of programmers: composers and artists alike should also play an important role in the process of audience development. Interview with Constanze Wimmer , musicology professor at Graz University, specialised in audience engagement.&n...

For several years, museums have developed specific audience management strategies. In this episode, we will see how they can be applied to the Early Music field. But before that, in order to establish a strategy, one must know their audience: this is why audience surveys are essential in helping institutions to engage with the public. Interview with Stephanie Wintzerith , consultant in audience su...

We are very proud to welcome Margaret Bent as one of our keynote speakers for the Early Music Summit, our 100% online event. So proud that we are actually releasing her contribution in advance!

This episode will give an overview of the Early Music Summit that will take place from 20 to 22 November 2020 in BOZAR, Brussels on the occasion of the opening of registration. This major event for REMA is conceived as an opportunity for the whole early music sector to meet and work together towards a better future: taking a look back at the history of the Movement, embracing today’s practices, an...

The End of Early music is at the same time the title of the book published by Bruce Haynes in 2007, the title of a symposium organized in ZAMUS (Köln)  that was conceived as a follow-up on the book’s themes, and a deliberately controversial proposed approach to today’s Early music practice. In this episode, we gathered a few of the original guests...

Early Music is all about how we deal with our heritage. After an episode where we followed the path that goes from the music instruments kept in museums collections to the stage and live performance, let’s hear how the precious written sources kept in our libraries can be a tool and an inspiration for the artists. Here is the story of another love triangle, between the library curators, the musico...

CD recording has undergone major changes in the last few years, due, obviously, to the arrival of digital opportunities for distribution, and new habits for the listeners and CD buyers. How are the labels reacting and adapting? And what opportunity will performers see in recording their music in the future? What can we expect from the listeners’ side? And, more importantly, what happens in th...

Which came first, Early Music or Europe?  Whenever you choose a start date for Early Music, you will probably pick a period during which the idea of a common European culture was present. The music that marks us always carries a sense of belonging to a broader community, which made it relevant to so many people across the area. But it also gives a sense of divers...

What does it mean to study in the Early Music department of a prestigious conservatory? What would be different in a school designed to focus on Early repertoire? Or a Summer course? Or a more eclectic institution? Coming from a variety of backgrounds, our guests share how their teaching situation has shaped the curriculum and the pedagogy they can implement, and the repercussions for the stu...

Early Music performances, just like any music performances, come with certain rules and traditions: you will most probably sit in a darkened room and enjoy your concert in silence for one hour and a half. These are not perpetual laws, but merely constantly evolving standards. And the magic happens when performers, programmers, and audiences step out of their comfort zone… and experience the concer...

Interviews with Thierry Maniguet – Head of the curatorial team of Musée de la Musique -Paris Emanuele Marconi – Director of Musée des Instruments à vent - La Couture Boussey Geerten Verberkmoes - department of Musical Instrument Making University Ghent & School of Arts, Ghent Sebastian Kirsch - Musée de la musique, Paris & University of Leipzig Catalina Vicens - organist Interviews by Jasm...

Interviews with Jonathan Cohen - cellist and director of Arcangelo Daniel Bizeray – Director of Ambronay and founder of the Eeemerging programme Jonatan Alvarado and Nuno Atalaia – Seconda Prat!ca Ensemble Skip Sempe – harpsichordist and founder of Capriccio Stravagante Catalina Vicens – keyboards player and artistic director of Servir Antico   Music : Romerico florido, Mateo Romero...

An interview with Bernard Foccroulle, organist, composer, former director of Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, founder of Culture et Démocratie and RESEO Music: Nigra Sum, Bernard Foccroulle-Outhere music 2012 Recorded on the Picard organ (1741) of Beaufays