Sunday Baroque

Do you remember the 1988 Bobby McFerrin song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”? The extraordinarily talented and versatile musician’s parents were opera singers – Robert McFerrin Sr. was a regular at the Metropolitan Opera, and his baritone voice was dubbed in for Sidney Poitier in the film version of Porgy and Bess. You can hear Bobby McFerrin Jr. leading the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra while singing one of the cello parts for a Double Concerto by Antonio Vivaldi on Sunday Baroque this week.

We know Braille as a system of writing for the blind, but it was created for music, too.Louis Braille was a musician as well as a scholar, and his system made it possible to read and write music by touch. This weekend on Sunday Baroque, hear music by Baroque-era composers who were blind or visually impaired. Sunday Baroque, starting at 7 a.m. on 91.1, 107.5, and our music stream.

From a free youth orchestra in southern Brazil to international stages, recorder player Vladimir Soares has a remarkable musical journey.With help from translator Jessica Oliveria, Vladimir sat down with Suzanne Bona to talk about his life in music.

Breaking Barriers is a 2022 album featuring Carlos Bastidas leading Ontario Pops Orchestra in concertos played by several outstanding young soloists. One of them is a Cuban violinist who has performed and competed all over the world, and is now based in Canada. You’ll hear her remarkable artistry on Sunday Baroque this weekend.

If one of your new year’s resolutions was to spend less time stressing out and more time relaxing and doing things you enjoy with people you care about, you’ll appreciate the music on Sunday Baroque. It’s soothing and refined, and sets just the right mood whether you’re kicking back with the Sunday newspaper, enjoying a leisurely brunch, or heading off to church.

Sunday Baroque is celebrating this season in a joyful way, with sparkling baroque Christmas carols... a baroque Christmas Concerto for a newborn baby… and chipper music inspired by Winter Flowers from Scotland. Pour yourself some eggnog, and let the music transport you to a calmer time on Sunday Baroque, starting at 7 am on 91.1, 107.5, and our music stream.

The holiday season can be stressful … so this weekend, unplug from all that and treat yourself to some musical stress relief! You can recharge by listening to some of your FAVORITE music from the baroque – greatest hits to draw you in, put a smile on your face, and a song in your heart.

Music is its own kind of gift — something that comforts, uplifts, and connects us — and Sunday Baroque listeners know that well. This year’s selections for our annual Holiday Gift List offer beauty, variety, and a mix of familiar and fresh voices.

Halloween is next week -- and it’s commonly celebrated with kids trick-or-treating door-to-door, haunted houses and costume parades. But in ancient times, the occasion was observed as the eve of the new year – a time when the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped.

This Sunday, on the eve of Canada’s National Holiday, you’ll hear some brilliant performances by Tafelmusik, Infusion Baroque, and Ensemble Caprice. It’s on Sunday Baroque.