Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we have somewhat of a special episode, based solely on opinions that are backed up by facts. As I mentioned in our last 3 episodes about Beethoven, he sits right on that historical fence between the Classical and Romantic periods, and musicologists love to argue about where he really belongs. So, today’s big question is: Is Ludwig van Beethoven a Classical era composer, or does he truly belong to the Romantic era?

Instagram Results:

classical 54%/romantic 46%

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! We have reached the final episode about Ludwig van Beethoven today. We’ve learned thus far that Beethoven’s career is often divided into three creative phases: the Early Period, inspired by Haydn and Mozart; the Middle Period, defined by heroic, bold works such as the Eroica Symphony; and finally, the Late Period, which is our focus today.

Music mentioned in this episode:

Late String Quartets Opuses 127, 130, 131, 132, 133, and 135: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YytQEjYRdUI&list=PLO6zBTEo45QhwK0K1NWmIDesKrduHficv

Piano Sonatas Opuses 109, 110, 111: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRX3TFLA67E

Symphony No. 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IqnVCc-Yqo

Missa Solemnis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Yy0gSt-JE

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry. I am really excited about this episode because we are going to highlight some key keyboard composers in the classical period as well as chat about the invention of the piano! Something we’ve learned this season is that the classical period was a time obsessed with clarity, balance, and expressive nuance—qualities the piano was born to deliver. And with this new invention of the piano, expressivity not just in taking time but also in articulation and dynamic was a HUGE change! Early champions of keyboard music during this time included C. P. E. Bach, Muzio Clementi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! We are going to focus on unpacking more genres from the classical era. We’ve talked a lot about sonata form this season, and if you wish to refresh yourself on what that form entails, go back to episode 6 on the sonata! Today, we are going to spend some time learning about binary forms and their relatives, variations, minuet and trio, and the rondo. As always, I will mention some pieces of music for each one of these forms. Let’s get started!

Music mentioned in this episode:

Beethoven Minuet in G Major, WoO 10, No. 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttHwuyJsZAI

C. P. E. Bach Solfeggietto in C Minor, H. 220, Wq. 117/2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rDGc69FQcY

Mozart 12 Variations "Ah, vous dirai-je, maman" KV 265: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO-ecxHEPqI

Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525 – III. Menuetto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZwnJ_wTlYg

Beethoven Rondo a capriccio Op. 129 ("Rage Over a Lost Penny"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vhk-cNwv4

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry. Today is our final installment of our instrumental classical era music discussion. The past two episodes on sonatas and symphonies helped us understand more about instrumental music in this period. Today, we are going to touch on the last big instrumental genre, and that is the concerto!

Music mentioned in this episode:

Haydn Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major: https://youtu.be/rO2L9Q06CTE?si=YvSfJju4BPbL4XYQ

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467: https://youtu.be/NgY0QcUjtYE?si=mVDNHnwYn92joBvj

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in d minor, K. 466: https://youtu.be/yM8CFR01KwQ?si=fQ8ljUnCQaYaRFmN

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 in c minor, Op. 37: https://youtu.be/D_iPsP8LXI0?si=NRRIpM45QggRw88f

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 37 "Emperor": https://youtu.be/m0evC5OMofs?si=h_SWQI8yoxVE5gOJ

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! We are just a few episodes into season 4! I hope you are enjoying learning about the classical era. If you are just joining me this season, I suggest that you go back to seasons 1-3 to learn about music all the way back from antiquity to the point which we will talk about today! On today’s episode, we are going to continue our chat about instrumental music of the early classical period by chatting about the symphony!

Music mentioned in this episode:

Sammartini Symphony in F Major: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ3dt0hMSFQ

Mozart Symphony No. 39: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clH-bMhvtAY

Mozart Symphony No. 40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTc1mDieQI8

Mozart Symphony No. 41 ("Jupiter"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsNk-7j9lpY

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Today, we are going to begin a 3-part series exploring the instrumental genres of the classical era. With that being said, today we’re diving into one of the most influential musical forms of the Classical period: the sonata. When we think of the sonata today, we often imagine Beethoven or Mozart, maybe a stormy piano piece or a graceful violin movement. But the story of the sonata goes back earlier—to the early Classical period, around the mid-18th century—when composers were beginning to move away from the complexity of the Baroque and toward clarity, contrast, and expressive balance.

Music mentioned in this episode:

C.P.E. Bach - Sonata in A Major, H.186: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtndLR9Ef_0

D. Scarlatti - Sonata in D Major, K119: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSj24ge6sew

Haydn - Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI: 52: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDVj_JzQCg8

J.C. Bach - Sonatas: https://youtu.be/XCGaldUh1G4

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host Dr. Maeve Berry! I am so excited for today’s episode because this is one of my favorite topics in all of music: the German Lied! When we talk about Lied—literally “song” in German—we’re often thinking of the rich 19th-century tradition: Schubert’s Erlkönig, Schumann’s Dichterliebe, or Brahms’ poignant settings of folk texts. But before these names set the gold standard for Romantic art song, Lied had a much humbler beginning.

Music mentioned in this epsiode:

Schubert - Erlkönig: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoBo8dlPcQo

Schumann - Dichterliebe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xFU0IJimX4

C.P.E. Bach - Oden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eexhWsYgbw

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! If you are enjoying season 4 so far, please rate and like the podcast on whatever platform you listen to and share it with a friend! Today, we’re diving into one of the most pivotal figures in 18th-century music — Christoph Willibald Gluck — and how his revolutionary ideas helped redefine what opera could be.

Music mentioned in this episode:

Orfeo ed Euridice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iakrY83yCv4

Alceste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDFnGqG7qt8

Iphigénie en Aulide and Iphigénie en Tauride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynWWcHC754I

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Today, we are headed to the opera house in the 18th century, a time when the world of opera was exploding with new forms, new stories, and new sounds. This was the golden age of opera seria, the rise of comic opera, and the beginning of Singspiel and other national operatic styles.

Some of the music mentioned in this episode:

Handel Giulio Cesare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qrcg2jlnqA

Pergolesi La serva padrona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsUeywPFEgQ

Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYOTeHL14uQ

John Gay The Beggar’s Opera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq7g_NRKHU0

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry. Today, we’re diving into the early Classical period to explore the musical styles that helped define a new era. If the Baroque period was all about grandeur, complexity, and dramatic contrast, the early Classical era brought with it a new vocabulary—one of elegance, clarity, and expressive nuance. Let’s talk about the galant style, the empfindsamer Stil, and a few others that formed the bridge between Baroque ornamentation and the Classical balance we know from Mozart and Haydn.

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Thank you for joining me for the 4th season of this podcast! This season, we are going to talk about the Classical era, focusing primarily on the new genres created as well as a few key composers. Today, we are going to talk about the early classical era and the Enlightenment.

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we continue our chat about Beethoven with a discussion on his middle period. This period, often called the “Heroic” period, stretches from about 1803 to 1814. It marks the time when Beethoven transformed from a Classical composer into a revolutionary artist who redefined what music could do.

Music mentioned in this episode:

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, "Eroica": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kSrLK7Eems

Symphony No. 5 in c minor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKl4T5BnhOA

Symphony No. 6 in F major, "Pastoral": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HbBURnt9f4

Sonata No. 17, Op. 31 No. 2 "Tempest": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXDWRm-PU1Q

Sonata No.21 in C major, "Waldstein": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbblMw6k1cU

Sonata No. 23 in f minor "Appassionata", Op. 57: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QImFm4Y_QPM&t=6s

Piano Concerto No. 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FxT-llXZfI

Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgYA8I92ykw

Violin Sonata No. 9 "Kreutzer": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8Yp3WqKN_I

Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjiIUOKUJpk

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! This is the final episode of season 3 - thank you for joining me to learn about the Baroque era! Today, we’re turning the spotlight on one of the most vibrant, dramatic, and influential composers of the 18th century—Antonio Vivaldi. You may know him as the composer of The Four Seasons, or as the “Red Priest” of Venice. But Vivaldi was more than a violin virtuoso or a master of Baroque flamboyance—he was also a pivotal figure in the evolution of musical style, someone whose innovations helped shape the language of the Classical era to come.

Music mentioned in this epsiode:

The Four Seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rgSzQwe5DQ

Concerto for Strings in G major ("alla rustica"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwe8ycrMX2w

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Today, we are in our second to last episode of season 3! We are going to be spending the next few minutes learning more about George Frideric Handel.

Music mentioned in today's episode:

Rinaldo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeCbbVS8z1s

Giulio Cesare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qrcg2jlnqA

Alcina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXdnmSZGxSQ

Messiah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR0cEOTpYSk

Samson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tua5wVlYmmo

Israel in Egypt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdU8k0bpY1Y

Judas Maccabeaus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq1gtPpxsts

Water Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAyiidg25uE

Music for the Royal Fireworks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEiyiZ6fhqY

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we are going to talk about the developement of music conservatories in the 1700s in Europe!

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! We are at the end of Bach Week, so if you haven’t taken a listen to the other 2 episodes, I suggest you go back and take a listen! Today to finish off Bach Week, I am going to spend today’s episode talking about Bach’s chamber works. This includes string works, concerti, and one surprise collection of pieces.

Music mentioned in episode:

Six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1014–1019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpMiqzkRDCY

Three Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord, BWV 1027–1029: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEcABwJuekw

Six Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTm2kEAfo8o

The Musical Offering, BWV 1079: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfMQ-AYiuJw

Trio Sonatas for Organ BWV 525–530: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTAg1A_IhF0

Welcome to Between the Barlines, I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! We are continuing today with our second episode of Bach Week! If you haven’t listened to the first episode, I highly suggest that you start there! Today, we are going to talk solely about Bach’s vocal works. I will highlight his cantatas, Passions, and Mass in B minor.

Music mentioned in today's episode:

BWV 82, Ich habe genug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_5DG9BD-SU

BWV 147, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h97JE4--p84

BWV 106, Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXMUpqSyJJo

St. John Passion, BWV 245: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMf9XDQBAaI

St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwVW1ttVhuQ

Mass in b minor, BWV 232: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FLbiDrn8IE

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am super excited for this week, because we are going to talk all about Johann Sebastian Bach and all about his works! If you haven’t already, please follow and rate this podcast on whatever platform you listen on. I would also love it if you shared this podcast with another person who might love to learn more about music history! In today’s episode, we are going to talk solely about the keyboard works of Bach.

Music mentioned in today's episode:

Prelude and Fugue in B-flat Minor, BWV 891: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv0PRAUrADU

Goldberg Variationen BWV 988 Víkingur Ólafsson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrY0k4yDgWA

Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor BWV 582: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzBXZ__LN_M

BWV 659 Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland (Bach/Busoni): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ANSfYZmiEc

BWV 659 Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2ANMpDoRow

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! We are more than halfway through season 3’s episodes! I am excited for the next few episodes because we are getting into one of our first musicians that everyone knows at least one thing about! Can you guess who that might be? I’ll let you think on that! Today’s episode will take us to German-speaking lands, where music wasn’t just a form of art—it was theology made audible. We’ll explore how Lutheran theology shaped musical practice, how the organ became the thunderous and sublime voice of the church, and how composers like Buxtehude and Scheidemann turned chorales into towering monuments of faith. In this episode, we address the North German Organ School, Dieterich Buxtehude, Heinrich Scheidemann, and chorale preludes/fantasias.

Music mentioned:

Buxtehude Works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUcdBz3LIuU

HEINRICH SCHEIDEMANN - SELECTION OF PRELUDES AND FUGUES FOR ORGAN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbI7AUUzsXQ

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry. Today we’re shining a spotlight on a remarkable composer, virtuoso harpsichordist, and trailblazing woman in music history: Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre. This is the story of talent, patronage, and persistence—a woman who stood at the intersection of genius and history during one of the most lavish cultural moments in France.

Pieces mentioned:

Pièces de Clavecin (1687): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9kJj0DnEGw

Céphale et Procris: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n-fKicx0s_u1BAvNXobUqFIIQZvuic7PI

Violin Sonata No. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlttRY_mN-g

Judith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voPJSI4tOzg

Esther: https://youtu.be/y5Sc_3wNNtk?si=PNsDWpxN2GWk01x3

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! And welcome to our first Music Theory Friday of the season! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Get ready for today’s episode, because we are going to spend some time dissecting the forms of several different instrumental pieces that were being composed in the 17th century! We’re going to explore three major musical forms that defined Baroque instrumental music: the ricercar, the fugue, and the dance suite. We’ve heard some of these terms thrown around earlier in this season, but I wanted to take a chance to explain each of them and break them down a little bit for you to understand better!

Music mentioned in episode:

Frescobaldi Ricercare after the Credo from Mass for the Madonna: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acjguX1mBOQ

Bach Prelude and Fugue in f minor WTC II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uHlE0AwhtY

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry. Today, we are going to talk about an important French composer in the mid-17th century named Jean-Baptiste Lully! We spoke briefly about him in the last episode when we discovered different new forms of instrumental music being composed in the 17th century. Let’s dive in a little deeper, and find out a little more about our friend Lully.

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we are going to start talking about a new composer, and it’ll be our final composer of the classical era. This composer is very interesting; I mentioned earlier in the season how up until I started studying for my DMA comprehensive exams last summer, I always thought of Beethoven as a classical composer. However, it seems that he is more likely to be grouped into an early romantic composer rather than a classical composer. Hopefully, in the next 3 episodes, we can figure out together why that exactly is! Today, we are going to look at the first of 3 periods in Beethoven's compositional output. This is the early period. Let’s get started!

Music mentioned in this episode:

Sonata No. 1, Op. 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te6GILsxcoQ

Sonata No. 2, Op. 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1g4tFxdsi8

Piano Concerto No. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY7PKtpistE

Piano Concerto No. 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxXtsRkTj-I

String Quartets Op. 18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbBmH9mj2R0

Symphony No. 1 in C Major: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A41fuD3dUA

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! I hope you have been enjoying the third season of this podcast! I am enjoying sharing this information with you! You might be wondering why we are all over the timeline this season, but there is a method for this madness! I felt that it was important to hear about the last two composers, Henry Purcell and François Couprin, albeit they were both composers in the late 17th century. We’ve spent so much time speaking about vocal music that we needed to hear about these composers in order to understand the innovations and profound impact that they have on the 17th century and for centuries to come in not only vocal, but also instrumental music - which is the topic of today’s episode!

Music mentioned/played in this episode:

Frescobaldi Toccate e partite d’intavolatura di cimbalo (1615): https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=7R2gc0IGg68&t=26s

Schmelzer Sonata II for two violins and basso continuo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFeojKUBpYY

Jenkins Pavan for 2 bass viols: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oEepNVefjc

Lawes Fantasia Suite #3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rVzcQQ3yzw

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Today, we are going to talk about Henry Purcell, an influential composer of opera and other dramatic works in the 17th century!

Music played/mentioned in this episode:

Purcell "Dido's Lament" from Dido and Aeneas: https://youtu.be/uGQq3HcOB0Y?si=2F48AHPmQP_W4cOG

Purcell Thou Knowest Lord The Secrets Of Our Hearts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf_84OQgZSg

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I’m your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Today, we are going to branch outside of France, Germany, and Italy and talk about trends occuring in the early 17th century in other countries! These countries include England, Spain, and Russia.

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! In today’s episode, I thought it would be a good idea to talk more in depth about an extremely important composer for the keyboard: François Couprin.

Music played and mentioned in today's podcast:

Couprin Les Baricades Mïstérieuses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzoFKG7ITRg

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry. I hope you are enjoying season 3 thus far! If this is your first dip into the Between the Barlines podcast, I suggest you go back to the very beginning so that you can continue to expand your historical music learning! Today, we are going to learn about the sacred music that was happening in the early 17th century. We are going to talk about a few composers who were monumental in creating music during this time.

Music metioned in this episode:

Monteverdi Vespro della Beata Vergine, Vespers of 1610: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FXECUmqBxQ

Schütz Psalms of David: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd-eqngmkDY

Gabrieli Sacrae Symphoniae: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBobif_00UA

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I’m your host, Dr. Maeve Berry, and today we’re opening the doors to the intimate world of 17th-century chamber music — a time when music was migrating from grand cathedrals and courts into salons and private homes. We haven’t had a chance to explore this type of music yet, so I’m very excited to dive into this with you! In today's episode we will talk about the rise of the basso continuo, type of instruments are typically involved in these chamber ensembles, the difference between the sonata da chiesa and the sonata da camera, and composers including Arcangelo Corelli, Dario Castello, Giovanni Battista Fontana, François Couperin, and Heinrich Biber.

Music played and mentioned in this episode:

Corelli 12 Trio Sonatas / Sonate da chiesa, Op. 3 No. 1-4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrg3uPORvV8

Corelli Trio Sonata in C major, Op. 2, No. 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTyl7PnL1PU

Couprin Ordre 18ème de clavecin (La Verneville): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EviPBozSOq4&t=51s

Biber Mystery Sonatas (Rosary Sonatas), no. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd2wYGeGsn4

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today, we are going back over 400 years to explore the birth of opera—how it came to be, what it meant in its early days, and how it evolved from a humanist experiment in Florence to one of the most enduring and powerful forms of storytelling in the Western world. If you aren’t familiar with the genre, you might be asking, what exactly is opera?

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry, and for the second episode of season 3, we are going to talk about stile antico and stile moderno—the “old style” and the “modern style”—and the dramatic shift between them during one of the most transformative periods in music history.

Music in this Episode:

Monteverdi Cruda Amarilli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKTQQ28sSNo&feature=youtu.be

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry, and I am thrilled that you are joining me for the first episode of season 3! If you haven’t listened to either seasons 1 or 2, please go back and give those a listen! The goal of this podcast is to provide learners and music-curious people with aural resources to study, learn, and review topics chronologically from music history!

In this episode, we’ll explore all of the defining traits of Baroque music—from its dramatic expression and rhythmic drive to the elegance of counterpoint and ornamentation. The Baroque period spans roughly from 1600 to 1750—beginning around the emergence of opera in Italy and concluding with the death of Johann Sebastian Bach. It was a time of transformation, with music moving from the modal, sacred chants of the Renaissance toward a more expressive, harmonically rich, and instrumentally varied style. The term Baroque comes from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning a misshapen pearl. Initially, it was used pejoratively, suggesting something overly ornate or convoluted. But today, we celebrate this music for those very qualities.

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I’m your host, Dr. Maeve Berry, and today is our final episode of season 2! The 17th century was a time of dramatic change and innovation in music. It was a bridge between the Renaissance and the Baroque, a century of experimentation, emotion, and new forms that would shape the sound of Western music for centuries to come.

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry. Today we are wrapping up our conversation talking about Mozart! We have already learned about the many keyboard works, chamber works, and symphonies that he has written. Today, we’ll explore Mozart’s deep connection to the human voice—through his operas, songs, and sacred music.

Music mentioned in this episode:

Mitridate, re di Ponto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UloG5_6qeE

Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OYtlGpApc0

Don Giovanni: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL2VdxseTvE

Così fan tutte: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egi7fxTEUCQ

Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om_qtZ-Hm7k

Das Veilchen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0UgDx3YqwI

Abendempfindung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9-GesedW-c

Als Luise die Briefe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eykliv0Y1O0

Missa brevis in D major: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7liw0vQFPI

Great Mass in C minor, K. 427: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez0kqVShFEs

Requiem in D minor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmttZ-BnwaI

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Today, we are going to tie up some loose ends that we still have in the Renaissance! We are going to address composers like Thomas Tallis and Tomás Luis de Victoria, as well as the instrument called the virginal.

Pieces mentioned/played in episode:

Tallis Spem in alium a 40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3LnkG2P2wM

Tallis Te lucis ante terminum (Festal Tone): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y75c3aIg3nI

Victoria O magnum mysterium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzVNkvXh6Qk

John Bull Galliarda FWV 17, vol. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWJRvzmzZ6c

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I’m your host, Dr. Maeve Berry, and today we’re diving into an often overlooked but deeply fascinating era in Western music history: the 16th century — a time when instrumental music began to step into its own spotlight. While vocal music still dominated, and composers like Palestrina and Josquin des Prez were household names in their time, the 16th century was a turning point for purely instrumental composition and performance. So today, we’ll explore the instruments, forms, social contexts, and innovations that shaped this transitional time — and paved the way for the Baroque explosion to come.

Suggested Music Listening:

Luys de Narváez Guárdame las vacas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYQpHXiko0s

Luis de Milán Pavana del I y II tono (played on vihuela by Eduardo Egüez!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIGIaxGpdBE

Andrea and Giovanni Gabrielli 2 Canzonas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEjj3Ud-ckk

William Byrd The Hunt's Up FVB 59 (Fitzwilliam Virginal Book Vol. 1 No. 59): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZRx-u94_5Q

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry, and I am thrilled that you are joining me for another episode in season 2! Today we are going to talk all about Palestrina, an extremely influential composer of choral music in the mid to late 16th century. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was born around 1525, in a small hill town just outside of Rome.

Snippet of Music played in episode:

Palestrina Missa Papae Marcelli (full): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRfF7W4El60

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I’m your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! Today, we’re talking about one of the most consequential religious gatherings in world history: The Council of Trent. It’s a response to the firestorm of the Protestant Reformation and a defining moment for the Catholic Church that still echoes through its walls today. A lot of today’s episode will focus on the changes that were occurring, and I will also rope music back into the picture later in the episode.

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today we are going to continue our talk about the Italian Madrigal, and I wanted to share a few composers and their music that are considered “later madrigalists” by historians. We learned a few episodes ago that the madrigal began in Italy in the early 16th century as a secular vocal form — a poetic, polyphonic setting of Italian verse, usually about love, loss, or pastoral life. But by the late 1500s and early 1600s, the madrigal had evolved into something far more experimental and expressive. Today, we’re going to look at three key figures of the later madrigal tradition: Luca Marenzio, Carlo Gesualdo, and Claudio Monteverdi — each of whom took the form in radically different directions.

Pieces mentioned in the episode:

Marenzio Solo e pensoso: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmGzve9E9t4

Gesualdo Moro, lasso, al mio duolo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dVPu71D8VI

Gesualdo O vos omnes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiIKbUI6Dio

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry. To continue our conversation from last episode, today, we are going to talk about the madrigal in England and some of its important composers. We’ve already learned so much about the madrigal, but this innovation in vocal music brought much change to England, as we will see. We already know that the madrigal was born in Italy in the early 16th century, with masters like Luca Marenzio and Carlo Gesualdo pushing the form into emotionally expressive and harmonically adventurous territory. However, in the 1580s, Italian madrigals were being translated and printed in London. English composers and poets then became fascinated with the form.

Snippets of Music within Podcast:

Morley Now is the Month of Maying: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NPFUz-kIu4

Weelkes As Vesta was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95DJ7oqTWK8

Gibbons The Silver Swan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYvZvAihBP0

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! I hope you are enjoying season 2, as we only have a couple episodes left talking about the Renaissance! We are going to talk about other 16th century European secular songs and composers today besides the ever popular secular form of the Italian madrigal. If you missed learning about the Italian madrigal, be sure to check out the last episode! There are several secular songs I would like to talk about today: villanella, canzonetta, balletto, lyric and narrative chansons, and consort songs.

Williaert Vecchie letrose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ypM7aNn7A0

Gastoldi Balletti per Cantare, Sonare e Ballare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow06ALB6rK8

Janequin Le chant des oiseaux: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtkvHYDbN2U

Janequin La Guerre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY2rLfhJLmY

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry, and today we’ll be talking about the Reformation, Martin Luther, his love of song, and a technique called contrafactum.

Luther Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott: https://youtu.be/uI7QMtXBLgY?si=uE4U_CMBAZSpyaZQ

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry, and I am thrilled that you are here today with me to learn more about the 16th century Italian madrigal! We’ve learned so much already this season -- it really seems like it has flown by! If you haven’t checked out the earlier episodes of the season or even season 1, I suggest you do so, so that you can see the progression of music take off! Today’s topic, the Italian madrigal, would not have come to fruition had it not been for the composers, techniques, and political and socio economic challenges that had come before.

Jacques Arcadelt Il bianco e dolce cigno: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juAw5n6rRUc

Cipriano de Rore Da le belle contrade d’oriente: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd5K2AQvOsg

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry, and today we are going to talk about a very important composer from the Renaissance era: Josquin Desprez! A true master of Renaissance polyphony, Josquin was celebrated for his expressive melodies, intricate counterpoint, and innovative techniques that changed the course of Western music.

Josquin Desprez's mentioned works

Missa L’homme Armé: ​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn0SF3O1raY

El Grillo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI-bQ0RkArA

Mille regretz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=107gP2moTKM

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry! This is our second episode on Mozart’s compositional output and impact on the classical period. If you didn’t take a listen to the first episode, I highly suggest it to learn more about Mozart’s background. Today, we’ll look at his symphonies and his chamber music.

Music mentioned in this episode:

Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4IXXpTHjok

Symphony No. 25 in G minor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNeirjA65Dk

Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clH-bMhvtAY

Symphony No. 40 in G minor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Iz-ah9ka3c

Symphony No. 41 in C major, “Jupiter”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsNk-7j9lpY

The Haydn Quartets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzzOzaWia90

Quintet in G minor, K. 516: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RWsgnZZrZQ

Piano Quartet in G minor, K. 478: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpK1tjbeeA0

Welcome back to another episode of Season 2 of Between the Barlines! Today is our first music theory Friday of the season! Today we are going to finish talking about masses for a while and address a specific foundational practice that was used during the Renaissance period: creating masses based off of borrowed materials. I began to mention a few of these several episodes ago, but I thought it would be good to have them all in one place where we could easily dissect the differences among the varying masses.

Ockeghem’s Missa Ecce Ancilla Domini: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ill8WzC9DHY

Pange Lingua Chant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-AsvDn87fo

Desprez’s Missa Pange Lingua: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlB1HR4BgUg

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! Today we are going to talk about a few more Franco-Flemish composers besides Guillaume Du Fay and Gilles Binchois that helped shape the Renaissance era in the 16th century. We will also dive into the political climate of the time and how it shaped the artistic landscape.

Ockeghem Missa Prolationum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWLsLAujZzI

Busnoys Missa L’Homme Armé https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM_e29li_qY

Obrecht Missa Fortuna desperata https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzLgQ4ixHxc

Isaac from Choralis Constantinus: Puer natus est nobishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLPPYNYWqZw

Welcome back to Between the Barlines, the podcast where we chat about important events, people, philosophies, and theories in music history! This season, we are focusing on the Renaissance era. If you’ve been listening along chronologically, you might notice that today we are taking a little bit of a step back in order to understand the evolutions of the Mass. Today, we are going to crack into the polyphonic mass.

Dufay Missa Se la face ay pale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DicJE1my1p8

Information taken from personal notes, Burkholder’s History of Western Music, and various aurally cited websites.

Welcome back to Between the Barlines! I am your host, Dr. Maeve Berry, and I hope you are enjoying the beginning of season 2 of this podcast! If you are, I would love it if you would rate the podcast on whatever platform you are listening on as well as share it with a friend! Thanks! Today, we are going to talk mostly about the Burgundian School and its main composers of the end of the 15th century. The Burgundian School was a defining force in 15th-century music, and at its heart were composers like Guillaume DuFay and Gilles Binchois.

Information taken from personal notes, Burkholder’s History of Western Music, and various aurally cited websites.

De plus en plus by Gilles Binchois: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8UTiR7nlVU

Missa Se la face ay pale by Guillaume Du Fay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VODbfs-LZA