An hour of Mozart and some heavenly voices!

This Friday on Vivace!, we have several special treats for you.

The first hour is devoted to a magnificent performance of a single Mozart piece: his Divertimento No. 17 in D Major. If you'd enjoy over 51 minutes of uninterrupted Mozart, you'll find it at 6 am on Vivace this week!

At 7 am, we have a remarkable piece of music for you: the Suite du Triomphe de la République by Francois Gossec, a leading royalist, who quickly switched sides and became the favored composer of the French revolution.

Just after 7:30 am, be prepared with a nice refreshing drink and some agreeable munchies for half an hour of heavenly choral music. No more details now, as it's something of a surprise!

And after 8 o'clock, as well as a sonata by Rossini and a Haydn symphony, we'll hear from my co-host, Andrew O'Shanick, who has been wowing the audiences in Austria this summer with his singing.  He'll be singing songs from Mozart's Don Giovanni and from the musical Camelot. Here's a sample of Andrew in action a few days ago in Graz, Austria:

All in all, this week's Vivace is a program you won't want to miss!  I hope you'll join me on Friday, 6-9 am, right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

You can also replay the program anytime from the WTJU archives. The program will be available for replay through 8/22/13

Tasmin Little: British Violin Sonatas, Vol. 1

British Violin Sonatas, Vol. 1
Britten, Ferguson, Walton
Tasmin Little, violin
Piers Lane, piano
Chandos

Tasmin Little's off to a great start with her survey of British violin sonatas. Volume One features Howard Ferguson's quintessentially British Violin Sonata No. 2, Benjamin Britten's cosmopolitan Suite for Violin and Piano, and three works by William Walton that fall stylistically somewhere between. Tasmin Little plays them all with an expressive yet precise manner, letting the merits of the compositions speak for themselves.

Howard Ferguson was a somewhat conservative composer, writing in the English pastoral style after it had passed out of favor. His Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 10 is an elegantly crafted piece of music, sounding akin to Vaughan Williams' early string works.

The Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6 is an early work by Benjamin Britten. Written two years before his Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge, the suite shares the same sophisticated musical language. The angular melodic leaps, complex harmonies and sometimes frantic energy give the suite an international flavor.

William Walton's 1947 Sonata for Violin and Piano begins lyrically, seeming at times to look back to the English pastoral school that Ferguson never left. In the second movement, Walton shows he was quite familiar with atonality and serialism -- even if he didn't fully embrace them. Two short violin pieces by Walton round out the album, each a delightful vignette.

While each of the three major works has its own character, they compliment each other with their differences, and make a coherent program with their similarities. The result is a listening experience that is a pleasure from first to last. I look forward to volume two!

Zephyrus in Scotland

Zephyrus, Central Virginia's Early Music Vocal Ensemble™™ recently returned from an exciting experience. The ensemble -- which includes WTJU's own volunteer announcer Sandy Snyder -- sang as the choir in residence at St. Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland, July 8 - 14, 2013.

Below is a video clip of a few of the pieces the group performed. As you can see, their repertoire is quite extensive.

Missa Io son ferito ahi lasso by Orlando di Lasso
Magnificat in G minor by Henry Purcell
Beati quorum via by Charles Stanford
Psalm 42, setting by Wesley
And I Saw a New Heaven by Malcolm Archer
Sanctus from the Missa Brevis by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Psalm 47, setting by Davy
Nunc Dimittis in G Minor by Henry Purcell



Our announcers aren't just music lovers. Some of them, like Sandy, are top-notch performers as well!