Welcome to Week 68 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores, opera synopsis, song texts, and other helpful information. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 68.

Dmitri Shostakovich
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District - score [not public domain in some countries] - synopsis
     recommended audio recording: conducted by Rostropovich
     video recommendation: unknown - maybe on YouTube

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Missa “Ut re mi fa so la” [Hexachord Mass] - score
     recommended recording: Montreal Studio of Ancient Music

Thomas Weelkes
selected madrigals:
     As Vesta was from Latmos hill descending - score - text
     Like two proud armies - score - text
     Death hath deprived me - score - text
     Cease sorrows now - score - text
     Hark all ye lovely saints - score - text
     What have the gods - score
     To shorten winter's sadness - score - text
     O care, thou wilt despatch me - score - text
     Thule, the period of cosmography - score - text
recommended recordings: I Fagiolini; Consort of Musicke; Deller Consort

Gabriel Faure
Piano Quartet No. 1 - score
      recommended recordings: Collard et al; Domus; Eymar et al

Michael Tippett
Piano Sonata No. 3
     recommended recording: Crossley

Lennon/McCartney
Selected songs recorded by others:
     The Applejacks: Like Dreamers Do
     Cilla Black: Love of the Loved
     Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas: I'll Be On My Way
     The Remo Four: Tip of My Tongue
     Peter and Gordon: A World Without Love
See also this compilation

Various Artists
Selected early British rock & roll and British Invasion songs:
     Cliff Richards & the Drifters: Move It
     Johnny Kidd & the Pirates: Shakin' All Over
     Freddie & The Dreamers: I'm Telling You Now
     Manfred Mann: Do Wah Diddy Diddy
     Herman's Hermits: I'm Into Something Good; Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter
     Petula Clark: Downtown
     Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders: The Game of Love

The Dave Clark Five
Selected songs

It's Week 9 of The Works! Start with this week's episode of the Listening to the Works podcast, then find the pieces for this week on the Spotify playlist.

Here are the pieces for this week, including links to the scores, texts, and other information.

Georg Frideric Handel
Dixit Dominus (recording: Westminster Abbey/Preston; alternate: Monteverdi Choir/English Baroque Soloists/Gardiner)
 - text and translation

Hugo Wolf
String Quartet in D minor (I didn't find any recommendations for recordings of this piece. The Spotify playlist has recordings by Quartetto Prometeo and the Fine Arts Quartet)

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 1 (recording: St. Petersburg Philharmonic/Janssons; alternate: Russian National Orchestra/Pletnev)

Gaetano Donizetti
Lucia di Lammermoor (recording: Callas/Karajan; video: Sutherland/Bonynge)
 - Libretto
 - Synopsis

Bill Haley and His Comets
Selections

Buddy Holly (and the Crickets)
Selections, including the entire album The “Chirping” Crickets

Welcome to Week 8 of The Works! Start with this week's episode of the Listening to the Works podcast, then find the pieces for this week on the Spotify playlist.

Here are the pieces for this week, including links to the scores, texts, and alternate recordings.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Magnificats (these are 3 of Palestrina's 35 settings of this text):
Magnificat primi toni a 8 (recorded by the Westminster Cathedral Choir)
Magnificat primi toni from Book 3 (recorded by the Westminster Cathedral Choir)
Magnificat septimi toni from Book 3 (recorded by Camerata Nova. NOTE: this doesn't seem to be titled correctly. Details in podcast episode 9)

Georges Bizet
Suite 1 and Suite 2 from L'Arlésienne (recommended recording: London Symphony/Abbado; alternates: New Philharmonia/Munch; Royal Philharmonic/Beecham)

Karlheinz Stockhausen
Stimmung (recorded by Singcircle and Theater of Voices)

Jelly Roll Morton
Listen to selections from the following:
- Complete Victor Recordings
- Complete Library of Congress Recordings (not available on Spotify; link is to a playlist of 8 YouTube videos)

It's Week 6 of The Works! Start with episode 6 of the Listening to the Works podcast, including a review of the pieces from Week 5 and a discussion of musical texture.

Here's the Spotify playlist for the coming week.

Here are the works on the list for Week 6:

Giacomo Puccini
Tosca - score; synopsis and libretto with translation
recommended recording: Maria Callas as Tosca at La Scala, conducted by de Sabata
recommended video: Hildegard Behrens as Tosca at the Met, conducted by Sinopoli

Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphonies 6 (Le Matin), 7 (Le Midi), and 8 (Le Soir)
(recommended recording: Northern Chamber Orchestra/Ward; Hanover Band/Goodman)

Mily Balakirev
Islamey for solo piano (and version orchestrated by Casella)
(recommended recordings: Boris Berezovsky; Simon Barere; Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy)

Dmitry Shostakovich
Sonata for Violin and Piano
(recommended recordings: Oleg Kagan; Rostislav Dubinsky)

Fats Domino
Selected early recordings

Little Richard
Selected early recordings

Bonus listening selection: Tamara by Balakirev

Week 5 of The Works begins with episode 5 of Listening to the Works, on your favorite podcast platform. We talk about how film music fits into the project and the difference between recordings of piano music and programming for actual recitals and concerts.

Here's the Spotify playlist for the coming week.

Here are the works on the list for Week 5:

Aaron Copland
Fanfare for the Common Man
(recommended recordings: Boston Pops/Williams; US Air Force Band; London Symphony/Copland; Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy)
Symphony No. 3
(recommended recordings: New York Philharmonic/Bernstein; Philharmonia Orchestra/Copland)

Leos Janacek
Glagolitic Mass
(recommended recordings: Czech Philharmonic/Mackerras; London Symphony/Tilson Thomas)

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Stanzas to the Blessed Virgin (consists of 8 madrigals)
1. Vergine bella (score; text)
2. Vergine saggia (score; text)
3. Vergine pura (score; text)
4. Vergine santa (score; text)
5. Vergine sola al mondo (score; text)
6. Vergine chiara (score; text)
7. Vergine quante lagrime (score; text)
8. Vergine tale è terra (score; text)
(recommended recordings: Hilliard Ensemble; Akademia)

Original Dixieland Jazz Band
Selected early recordings

New Orleans Rhythm Kings
Selected early recordings

Week 4 of The Works! Here's the new podcast episode, in which I review last week's pieces, talk about listening to music in other languages, and preview the works coming up this week.

Here is the Spotify playlist containing the recordings for Week 4.

Here are the works on this week's list, including some links to the scores (and other relevant information) where available:

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Album: On the Boardwalk (read the liner notes here)

Eubie Blake
I wanted to listen to his appearance on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, but I don't have access to it. If you do, listen to it this week! Here's information about the album, and here's one piece from it.

Dmitri Shostakovich
Music (Op. 116) from the film Hamlet (not to be confused with the incidental music he wrote for the play)
Watch the film or listen to the recording of the suite (Op. 116a) conducted by Yablonsky (alternate recording conducted by Sinaisky)

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 2
This symphony includes vocal parts. The texts and translations can be found here.
Recommended recording: Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Klemperer (alternates: City of Birmingham Symphony/Rattle; New York Philharmonic/Bernstein; NYPO/Walter)

J. S. Bach
15 Two-Part Inventions
15 Three-Part Sinfonias (or Inventions)
Recommended recording on piano: Angela Hewitt (alternates: Glenn Gould; Andras Schiff) and on harpsichord: Ton Koopman

Week 3 of The Works begins with the new podcast episode, in which I review last week's pieces, share a little bit about my experience with opera as a non-opera-buff, and preview the works coming up this week.

Here is the Spotify playlist containing the recordings for Week 3.

Here are pieces on this week's list, including some links to the scores where available:

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Missa Papae Marcelli
Missa Inviolata - this video is the only performance I could find.

Franz Liszt
Transcendental Études

Aaron Copland
Dance Symphony
Short Symphony

Giuseppe Verdi
Rigoletto - here is the libretto with an English translation, and here is a synopsis of the opera.