Valentine's Day brings out the romantic in all of us.  Cards, roses, and champagne are the more traditional items, along with an intimate dinner for two.  Add special music to the mix and you have a truly romantic day.

A new release from WFIU Public Radio brings you the perfect music to celebrate the occasion.  Entitled Beautiful Baroque, the recording is designed for both weddings and special moments.  Works of G. P. Telemann, J.S. Bach, and G.P. Handel are performed by the ensemble L'AURA, featuring Allison Edberg, violin, Teddie Hwang, baroque flute, Nathan Whittaker, cello, and Bernard Gordillo, organ.

For those of you who think that romance is reserved for connoisseurs of chick flicks, well, you probably haven't heard of Georg Philipp Telemann's Heroic Music, a twelve-part portrait of a virtuous hero.  With titles like "Grace," "Love," and "Tenderness" alongside "Courage" and "Security," you might settle into a slightly different picture.  Heroic Music is featured on the new CD release from ensemble L'AURA, Beautiful Baroque.

Who better expresses the complex art of romance than the French?  We move on to a couple composers known for their small-scale yet ravishing music.  Two French baroque pieces by Jacques-Martin Hotteterre and François Couperin are featured on Beautiful Baroque, along with the French inspired Let us Dance by Henry Purcell with tenor Christopher Freeze as the soloist.

Our new release this week features Rebel on the San Dorian/Sono Luminus label.  The CD Corellisante features music of Georg Philipp Telemann.