East European Baroque

In today's edition of the Early Music Show, and as part of Radio 3's Baroque Spring season, Catherine Bott goes in search of the unknown baroque. Vivaldi, Handel, Bach and the Scarlattis are familiar names to us, composers synonymous with one of the richest periods in musical history. But Venice, Leipzig, and London weren't the only places experiencing the ear-shock of baroque music - Prague, Warsaw, and Ljubljana were home to composers whose names haven't had quite the same impact on posterity, but who were also playing a key part in shaping this musical revolution. So today familiar names give way to others such as Erlebach, Pekiel, Posch and Zarewutius, as Catherine Bott looks to eastern Europe in search some of the baroque's hidden musical riches. The programme includes an interview with Eamonn Dougan, Associate Conductor of the Sixteen, about the choir's new disc featuring the music of Bartlomiej Pekiel.