Jeannette Sorrell’s adaptation of Handel’s popular ‘Israel in Egypt’ cuts, re-orders, restores, and replaces music and text throughout the oratorio. But Handel didn’t leave us with a ‘definitive’ edition, and Sorrell’s version is so artistically logical that someone new to the work might not know anything is missing. Apollo’s Fire and the outstanding vocal and instrumental soloists make a compelling case.
Handel’s ‘Israel in Egypt’ Rework’d Read More »
A Q&A with Music Before 1800’s new artistic director Bill Barclay: ‘If people are going to take a risk of coming to a concert for the first time, they need something to hold on to’… it’s ‘sadly a bit of an exclusionary pleasure — you have to know a little bit to get a lot out of it, unless there’s something that resonates and makes people understand that early musicians are arbiters of ancient insights into human performance.’
Music Before 1800’s Bill Barclay and Historically Informed ‘Experience’ Read More »
People who love Wagner operas can separate his music from his toxic beliefs. Yet J.S. Bach’s ‘superlative ability to move listeners’ and status as ‘a pinnacle of Western art’ brushes aside the composer’s harsh theology and often intolerant personal philosophy. In this collection of essays, Bach scholar Michael Marissen warns us to ‘not soften or assimilate this figure to our own preferences, no matter how much we find inspiration, solace, or transcendence in his art.’
Bach Worship? It’s Complicated. Read More »
Congratulations to this year’s Annual Awards recipients selected by the EMA Board of Directors based on nominations submitted by colleagues throughout the early-music community.
EMA Announces 2023 Annual Award Winners Read More »
The latest essay in EMA’s ‘Early Music: the Americas’ series looks into the private notebooks of two women who preserved music of Latin American and European composers — music that in some cases is found nowhere else.
The Women Who Preserved Music in Latin America Read More »
