Friends and colleagues have shared with me, and I know from experience, that vocalists with exclusively “classical” training can sometimes be blind to the richness of other music. We tend to minimize our efforts when approaching different or less “formal” genres, or even avoid them completely.

Berkeley-born harpsichordist Lillian Gordis’ powerful new Bach recording dwells on sixes: the Partita No. 6 and English Suite No. 6, separated by six preludes and fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier. With a unique voice and confrontational attitude, Gordis is a master of this repertoire.

At EMA, we often hear versions of a basic question: How do I get my ensemble and concerts previewed, reviewed, mentioned in the press? Artists run their own social media but, in truth, you want someone else talking up your projects and performances. That attention, in turn, helps ticket sales and fundraising. It puts the organization on an upward spiral.

An imaginative new album is devoted to music by Heinrich von Meissen, a minstrel poet from Saxony, known as Frauenlob for his praise of the Virgin Mary. Harpist and soprano Anna O’Connell and friends offer his spiritual, often mystical works alongside religious music from other German sources including Hildegard and Oswald von Wolkenstein.