Oh Wonder

"As a piece from an opera" was the intention of the Protestant theologian and poet Erdmann Neumeister (1671-1756) in his Geistliche Cantaten (Sacred Cantatas), which he first published in 1702. No wonder that several composers of sacred music jumped at the chance to use his texts to fulfil their duties. The varied structure of the poetry, some of which rhymes quite drastically, lends itself well to musical settings, in which recitatives, arias, choruses and chorales alternate quite easily. As such, devout congregations could be presented with theological subjects in a non-ascetic manner.

Singular blues journeyman Lonnie Holley returns, flanked by acolytes Moor Mother, Michael Stipe, Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etten, Rokia Koné, and Jeff Parker for a significant new album.

The fate of summer 2020 may be up in the air due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Kygo still wants the world to dance — whether it’s on a beach or at home. On his splendid third album, Golden Hour (out now), the 28-year-old Norwegian DJ soars to new heights with 18 songs that pack a punch, all while staying true to his signature tropical house sound.

Unlike today, neither George Frideric Handel nor Antonio Vivaldi was the most famous and most performed opera composer in the first third of the 18th century, but rather Leonardo Vinci (ca. 1696-1730). Educated in Naples, he was successful there from 1719, initially with several operas buffe before he turned to the more prestigious opera seria in 1722 with immediate success. As one of the most important representatives of the Neapolitan School, he left his mark on the Italian and soon also the European opera scene. Even Handel in faraway London could not avoid his music: in order to satisfy the public's taste, he put several pasticcios with their arias on the repertoire of his failing opera company. In 1730 Vinci died suddenly after colicky pains, and it was soon rumored that he had been the victim of a poison attack.