This Saturday, the Church will celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation. Then on Sunday, we enter the two-week period of Passiontide. Given the dramatic character and theological significance of both points of reference in the Church calendar, it is not surprising that there is an abundance of music tied to both commemorations.
The following pages on this site may thus be of interest:
On this page, you can hear an interview with baroque violinist Fiona Hughes about a remarkable set of violin sonatas inspired by the fifteen mysteries in the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Together, the works — composed by Heinrich Biber (1644–1704) — are known as the Rosary Sonatas or the Mystery Sonatas. The page with that interview also includes an embedded recording of Fiona playing the first of these works: “The Annunciation.”
This post from last year includes introductions to a number of musical works inspired by the shocking conversation between a young Virgin and an awesome angel.
This page includes links to eighteen other pages on this site, each of which includes commentary and recordings of music for Passiontide, including some of the great Passion settings and the Responsories traditionally sung during Holy Week.