The Early Music Show

Mar 20 2025 359 ep. 23 mins 13k
The Early Music Show Podcast artwork

An exploration of early music, looking at early developments in musical performance and composition in Britain and abroad. UK only: please note that not all episodes are podcast.

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The Four Seasons: Winter

Mar 20 2025 27 mins  
In the first of four programmes across 2025 marking the 300th anniversary of the publication of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Hannah French explores the Violin Concerto in F minor, RV297 - better known as Winter.From the trembling, teeth-chattering cold of the first movement to the fireside warmth of the second and the slippery ice and chill winds of the last, in this concerto Vivald

Radio 3's European Road Trip: Early Music in Iceland

Jan 30 2025 33 mins  
As part of Radio 3's European Road Trip, Hannah French is joined by musicologist and conductor Árni Heimir Ingólfsson to explore early Icelandic music - from the 13th-century poems known as “Eddas” to the influence of mainland Europe that shaped Iceland’s rich sacred choral traditions, which still continue today.To listen to this programme using most smart speakers just say

The Music of Wolf Hall

Jan 30 2025 31 mins  
Hannah French visits Claire van Kampen - the Tudor music advisor & arranger for both Wolf Hall TV series - to explore the music associated with many of the main characters, including King Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn and Lady Mary, as well as some of the musicians at court: Mark Smeaton, John Taverner and John Blanke.

Ton Koopman at 80

Jan 30 2025 26 mins  
Hannah is joined in the studio by organist and director of Amsterdam Baroque as he celebrates his 80th birthday this year. They'll chat about his incredible 60-year career and choose some of his favourite recordings.To listen to this programme using most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play [The Early Music Show".

The Notre-Dame School and its musical legacy

Dec 08 2024 26 mins  
As the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris reopens its doors to the public after more than five years since fire caused its closure, Hannah French examines the early musical history of this extraordinary building.With the help of Antony Pitts, founder-conductor of the choral group Tonus Peregrinus, Hannah explores the influential Notre-Dame school of polyphony - musician-priests like

Gold

Sep 08 2024 27 mins  
In honour of the Paris Olympics, Hannah French explores medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music associated with gold, silver and bronze across three episodes of The Early Music Show.As the Games draw to a close, Hannah reaches the top spot on the podium, focusing on gold and its allure over composers and musicians across the centuries. Golden apples, the golden fleece, golden tress

London International Festival of Early Music

Sep 03 2024 59 mins  
Hannah French presents the second of two programmes of highlights from the 2023 London International Festival of Early Music, today focusing on their support of young, up-and-coming artists. The OAE Experience Ensemble offers students the chance to play alongside seasoned professionals, and you can hear them playing music by Haydn and Mozart, as well as students from Chethams Schoo

London International Festival of Early Music

Sep 03 2024 59 mins  
Hannah French presents the first of two programmes of highlights from the 2023 London International Festival of Early Music, including performances from harpsichordist Jane Chapman, recorder player Erik Bosgraaf, the Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra and Ensemble Pampinea.

Hannah French marks the 450th anniversary of the birth of madrigalist John Wilbye

Sep 03 2024 25 mins  
Hannah French marks the 450th anniversary of the birth of John Wilbye, the most famous of the English madrigalists. Wilbye's fame rests almost entirely on the 64 works contained in two books of madrigals which were published in 1598 and 1608.

Ensemble Augelletti - A Curious MInd

Sep 03 2024 22 mins  
For their first visit to the Beverley and East Riding Early Music Festival, Ensemble Augelletti - the newly appointed BBC New Generation Baroque Ensemble focus their musical lens on a curious and well-connected local clergyman and musician – Edward Finch. Specialising in making musical arrangements of the most popular music of his time, including Henry Purcell’s wonderful ‘Go