From Tom Kelly’s Musings column: ‘I can’t wait to see what early music will be programmed, and in what context, to commemorate America’s 250th… We must engage with cultural history more than ever — and we pick which slice of that history suits our ensemble and community.’

A rewarding new biography on Henry Purcell brings the composer’s life and times into one slender volume. At the book’s center is an up-to-date dictionary — accessible to non-specialists — that mentions well-known collaborators and a range of musicians, political events, performance practices, relevant musical terms, and more.

From the Executive Director: ‘We’re at a critical turning point for cultural institutions. Federal funding for arts and culture is rapidly diminishing, and there’s a real fear that foundations, corporations, and individual donors won’t pick up the slack (and might even give less if economic uncertainty continues)…’

In a splendid new recording, soprano Hannah De Priest and period-instrument ensemble Les Délices offer pastoral dreams of Arcadia in cantatas and instrumental works by Rameau, Handel, Louis Lefebvre and others.