Mstislav Rostropovich plays the Prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007. Filmed at the Basilique Sainte Madeleine, Vézelay, Yvonne, France in 1991.
Jordi Savall leads Le Concert des Nations and La Capella Reial de Catalunya in a performance of Claudio Monteverdi's opera L'Orfeo. The concert opens with a Toccata and continues with a Ritornello, and Montserrat Figueras, as La Musica, singing "Dal mio Permesso amato." The venue is the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona.
John Eliot Gardiner leads the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists in "Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage," the opening chorus of the first cantata in Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248).
Lynne Dawson sings from Handel's Messiah: 16 Rejoice greatly, o daughter of Zion - 17 Then shall the eyes of the blind - 18 He shall feed his flock. Stephen Cleobury conducts the Brandenburg Consort.
Mstislav Rostropovich plays the Sarabande from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007. Filmed at the Basilique Sainte Madeleine, Vézelay, Yvonne, France in 1991.
Richard Dawkins and Lalla Ward read excerpts from Dawkins's "The God Delusion": The Argument from Beauty.
Klaus Mertens sings the bass aria "Mache dich, mein Herze, rein" from Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Ton Koopman leads the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.
Kishori Amonkar sings "Rang So Rang Milaaye," a drut khyal composition in Raag Bhimpalasi and Taal Ektaal. From a live performance in Kensington Town Hall, London, April 2000.
Barbara Bonney (Sophie) and Anne Howells (Octavian) sing "Ist ein Traum" from the Finale of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. Georg Solti conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Joan Sutherland sings "Let the bright Seraphim" from Handel's oratorio Samson.
"Let the bright Seraphim in burning row
Their loud uplifted angel trumpets blow . . ."
Was the above the source of Alex's line "Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones" in A Clockwork Orange, by the author and composer Anthony Burgess?
Dietrich Henschel sings "Großer Herr, o starker Ko?nig" from the first cantata in Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248). John Eliot Gardiner leads the English Baroque Soloists.
Harry Christophers leads The Sixteen in the 6-part motet "Verbum caro factum est" by the Tudor composer John Sheppard.
The paintings are by the English landscape artist John Constable.
Lisa Larsson and Klaus Mertens sing "Mein Freund ist mein" from Bach's Cantata "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (BWV 140). Marcel Ponseele is the oboe soloist. Ton Koopman conducts the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.
Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer plays a percussion solo (tani avartanam) on the mridangam, a South Indian double-headed barrel-shaped drum.
An audio clip of Mani Iyer playing the mridangam is among the Sounds of the Earth on the gold records aboard the Voyager spacecrafts:
http://www.jpl.na sa.gov/multimedia/vo yager_record
Lynne Dawson, as La Musica, sings "Dal mio Permesso amato" from Claudio Monteverdi's opera L'Orfeo. John Eliot Gardiner leads the English Baroque Soloists in the Ritornello.
Compare this interpretation with that by Montserrat Figueras ( http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=EdHFxkd7s 0s ) and let us know which you prefer.
The year 2007 is the quadricentennial of L'Orfeo.
Barbara Schlick sings the soprano aria "Öffne dich, mein ganzes Herze" from Johann Sebastian Bach's Advent cantata "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" (BWV 61). Ton Koopman leads the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.
Leonard Rose and Glenn Gould play the third movement (Adagio cantabile - Allegro vivace) of Ludwig van Beethoven's Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69. From 1960.
Leonard Rose and Glenn Gould play the first movement (Allegro ma non tanto) of Ludwig van Beethoven's Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69. From 1960.
The late Douglas Adams introduces, in a manner of speaking, the soprano chorale "Ach, bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ" from Bach's Easter cantata "Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden" (BWV 6). The soloist on the piccolo cello is Christophe Coin. The golden-throated warbler is Barbara Schlick.