Charming and surprisingly great fun, Allan Ramsay’s The Gentle Shepherd (1725) is perhaps the first ‘ballad opera’ ever assembled. The lively group Makaris has done the research and delivers an unknown treasure, seamlessly melding folk and Italianate styles.
Scotland’s First Opera: ‘The Gentle Shepherd’ Read More »
Retelling her ancestry as a series of musical stories, the author starts with a very great grandmother, Pa I Sha. She walked the Trail of Tears, the forced removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from their homelands to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. The Chickasaws called this dark chapter “the Removal.” She tells a musical story both harrowing and hopeful, about both hardship and love.
An Indigenous Family Tale, in Music Read More »
The latest Bach recording from Cantata Collective, led by Nicholas McGegan, is highlighted by a spirited (and rapturously sung) ‘Easter Oratorio.’ All the components are in place, with four outstanding vocal soloists, compelling instrumentalists, and a top-notch chorus. This is another must-have recording from one of the Bay Area’s premiere ensembles.
Cantata Collective’s Easter Oratorio & Magnificat Read More »
The Oklahoma Baroque Orchestra, founded in 2022, has rapidly blossomed under artistic director Dylan Madoux. His goal is to create a self-sustaining early-music community for Oklahoma City and the region. People around the country are starting to take notice.
Putting Down Roots in the Oklahoma Soil Read More »
Charles Avison is best known as a theorist and for his 1752 ‘Essay on Musical Expression.’ But he was also a composer whose attitudes — learn the rules of harmony; break them to be expressive — reached far beyond Georgian England.
The Expressive Charms of Charles Avison Read More »
