Juan del Encina: King of the Cancioneros - This week on Harmonia, we'll explore the music of 15th-century Spanish composer Juan del Encina, known for his magnificent villancicos and romanzas. We'll continue with more Spanish music by Francisco Guerrero in our featured release from El Leon de Oro, directed by Peter Phillips and Marco Antonio Garcia de Paz.
Valentine's Day is coming up and this weekend you'll hear music about love and lovers there are some cheery English madrigals and there's a suite from a mythological opera about a couple who need Cupid's help to smooth over a misunderstanding between and a recorder sonata subtitled THE LOVER. It's all on Sunday Baroque this week.
Dvořák traveled to America in the 1890s, and this wild, new country thrilled him. He admired the beauty of African American spirituals and was fascinated by Native American traditions. When describing his "New World" symphony, he said, "I tried to write only in the spirit of those national American melodies," but his Ninth is clearly an expression of both the Old World and the new. It is joined by Eastman's Second Symphony, and the world premiere of a new concerto by Wynton Marsalis, written for principal trumpet Michael Sachs.
Richard Kozen is the Organist-Choirmaster at St. John's Episcopal Church, Youngstown, Ohio, where he has served since 2003 and is the music director for the annual Boar's Head Festival. He was a member of the faculty at Grove City College, Grove City, Pa, for 25 years and taught organ, music theory, and directed the college orchestra for 19 years. On July 31, 2022 he played at St. Paul's Cathedral in a program of Bach, Bohm, and Franck.