Better known for his dramatic oratorios, e.g. the Messiah, his instrumental music is no less inspired. The set of Concerti Grossi, Op.6, was written in September and October 1739, all 12 being completed in less than a month’s time. Remarkably, there is no sign of hasty work. Indeed, it is said that Handel’s Concerti Grossi number among the most powerful and important works of their kind in the entire Baroque era. The concertante instruments ar...
This sublime ‘Lacrimosa’ from Mozart’s setting of the Requiem Mass is one of the finest choir works ever composed. On the day that he died December the 5th 1791 some of his friends sung the Requiem round his bed. When they reached the first bars of the ‘Lacrimosa’, Mozart was overcome by anguished sobs and weeping.
