Audio for this episode will be available on Friday.

This hour, we’re hitting all the right notes—as we explore the world of tuning systems from Pythagorean to the first temperaments of the Renaissance, which allowed musicians to go beyond the limitations of a single mode. The Renaissance was a time of musical discovery where musicians were experimenting with harmonic lines as well as instrumental tunings and temperaments, and we’ll hear works by Guillaume de Machaut, Claudio Monteverdi, Orlando Gibbons, and J.S. Bach. Plus, we’ll explore the monastic lifestyle with the Brabant Ensemble’s recording A Monk's Life, directed by Stephen Rice.

PLAYLIST

Perotin
The Hilliard Ensemble
ECM Records 1989 \ 00042283775121
Anonymous
Track 4: O maria virginei [Conductus, France, 13th Century] (4:50)

Segment A:

Messe de Notre Dame
The Hilliard Ensemble
Hyperion 1989
Guillaume de Machaut
T.1 Kyrie (05:46)
T.2 Gloria (04:11)

Parthenia
Alina Rotaru
Sono Luminus 2016 / DSL-92208
Orlando Gibbons
T.18: Pavan (05:57)
T.19: Galliard (02:18)

:59 Midpoint Break Music Bed:

Parthenia
Alina Rotaru
Sono Luminus 2016 / DSL-92208
Orlando Gibbons
T.17: Fantasia a 4 (excerpt of 05:58)

Segment B:

L'Orfeo
Taverner Consort and Players
Avie Records / AV2278 / Naxos 2013
Claudio Monteverdi
T.2: Prologo: Dal mio Permesso amato a voi ne vengo (La Musica) (06:12)

J.S. Bach: Keyboard Works, Vol. 15: Toccatas, BWV 910-916
Mart Galling [correction: Martin Galling]
VOX 2024 / VOX-NX-2586
T.1: Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846 (02:20)
T.2: Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846 (01:57)

J. S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
Matthew Dirst, harpsichord
Acis 2024 / APL: 54117
D.1 Tr. 17 Prelude No. 9 in E Major, BWV 854 (1:29)
D.1 Tr. 18 Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV 854 (1:31)

Featured Release:

A Monk’s Life
The Brabant Ensemble
Hyperion Records 2024
Track 1: Lassus: Sponsa Dei: I. Sponsa Dei (3:30)
Track 13:Ammon: Sacrificate sacrificium iustitiae: I. (1:51)
Track 25:Reiner: Veni Creator Spiritus (2:26)
Track 28:Clemens non Papa: In te Domine speravi (5:47)