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Exploring Classical Music by Century: A Selection of Five Works from Each Era
…of classical music. 2. Perotin’s Organum Perotin was a French composer and a prominent figure in the Notre Dame school of polyphony. His organum compositions, such as “Viderunt Omnes” and…
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Handel’s Acis and Galatea – O Ruddier Than the Cherry – Performed by David van Asch
In 1717, Handel wrote the Chandos Galatea for the Duke of Chandos. It is a shepherd-meets-shepherdess story in which Acis is killed by Polyphemus and transformed into a stream. Polyphemus’…
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O Magnum Mysterium – Giovanni Gabrieli
…three times by each choir, leading to a climactic full polyphony. The second phrase uses triple rhythmic groups to describe the mystery of animals witnessing the Saviour’s birth. The third…
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Giovanni Gabrieli
…compositions led to the birth of the Venetian polychoral style, a hallmark of Gabrieli’s music. A Prolific Composer Despite his burgeoning reputation, Gabrieli was never as active as a madrigalist,…
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Erik Satie
…the way for future musical innovations. Only decades after his death was Satie’s genius recognized, and his work began to attract serious scrutiny. His unique use of bitonal or polytonal…
