Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, better known simply by his forename, Rembrandt, died on this day the 4th of October, 1669. During his life, the Dutch Republic, aka the United Provinces, was in its Golden Age (gouden Eeuw) and this region prospered not only economically, but culturally – with some of the most beautiful works of Baroque art being… Read on
Why did I decide to make a page for her? Well, I think she’s always overshadowed by her husband, William III of Orange, and whilst that’s understandable, she was too good a person for us to forget about. For Mary II, Princess of Orange and Queen of England, please go to: http://www.facebook.com/MaryStuartII
Antonio Cifra, Italian Baroque & Late Renaissance composer, died on this day the 2nd of October, 1629. Cifra is important in Early Music because he straddled the Late Renaissance and the Early Baroque movements and made beautiful music in both. So, in honour of Antonio Cifra, here is “Era la Notte:” Links about Antonio Cifra: http://www.hoasm.org/VG/Cifra.html http://www.last.fm/music/Antonio+Cifra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Cifra (I normally don’t like to link… Read on
I received this beautiful, luscious album for my birthday recently and it has blown me away! “Lamenti” performed by many of today’s greatest opera singers and Le Concert d`Astrée under the direction of harpsichordist Emmanuelle Haim is a moving compilation of various works of Baroque. I have been a big fan of Philippe Jaroussky‘s albums since I heard him… Read on
Today we mark the birth of one of the 17th century’s most influential French philosophers, François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac, who was born on this day, 15th of September, 1613 in Paris, France. My husband, who graduated from Durham University with a First in Philosophy (I’m not boasting, just proud of him) has a few very… Read on
I can’t believe it. We are almost at the end of the second summer of doing the Garden History Tours at Kensington Palace. It’s been exceptionally rewarding yet again. I have had the pleasure of meeting so many nice people from around the world and it’s been great fun to talk about the rich history of the palace’s… Read on
My lovely friend Matthew (famous on Twitter as @HistoryNeedsYou) asked if I’d come along and participate in a 2 day Bank Holiday living history event at Bolsover Castle. As Bolsover is in Derbyshire that was not too far away for me in Lancashire, so my husband very kindly drove me there. I was able to finally use the… Read on