What is so special about Early Music that it makes people so passionate about it?

What is it like to “rediscover” today a composer from 1000 years ago? What do you learn about a piece when you search for the ultimate grail of the original concert hall it was first performed in? How can you try to rebuild a long gone Renaissance instrument and not lose your sanity? And, more than everything, what is so fascinating about it that you would want, today, in 2023, to dedicate your life to it? Let’s investigate, in 9 episodes, listening to the 9 speakers we picked for their reputation of being quite particular about one specific character of Early Music.

CREDITS

interview & editing Andrew Burn

production REMA

credits music

Platée, Act 1, Orage - Jean-Philippe Rameau

performed by Les Talens Lyriques, dir. Christophe Rousset

Camera Lucida 2014

All rights reserved - Courtesy of Les Talens Lyriques

design Doretta Rinaldi

original drawings Vincent Flückiger

music

Sanctus - Guillaume de Machaut

performed by Graindelavoix

Messe de Nostre Dame, Glossa 2016

Cello Duetto in G Major, ABV 47: I. Allegro Giuseppe Clemente Dall'Abaco

performed by Elinor Frey, Catherine Jones, Michele Pasotti, Federica Bianchi

The Cello According to Dall'Abaco, Passacaille 2022

Canzon La Lusignuola, OP. 1 No. 2

performed by Enrico Onofri, Imaginarium Ensemble

Into Nature. Vivaldi Seasons & Other Sounds from Mother Earth, Passacaille 2019