Baroque&Before with Candice Agree

06/03/2026

And a love story! Join me tonight 10CT on WFMT

The legend of Saint Vitus, with a cruel Roman emperor, exorcism, miracles, and martyrdom in the Colosseum, was not enough drama for 17th-century Roman nobility; it needed a love story too!

05/06/2026

Twelfth-century mystic, writer, philosopher, and composer Hildegard von Bingen used all her gifts in the service of her unfaltering Christian faith, channeling those gifts through her music in the morality play Ordo Virtutum (Order of the Virtues). Comprising 82 songs in rhyme, Hildegard lays out the battle between good and evil; the Devil tempting the Soul to give in to worldly pleasures. Tonight’s program is presented by vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire under the direction of artistic director Patrick Dupré Quigley. We’re listening to the first complete recording, released in esrly 2021, of St. Hildegard’s 12th-century masterpiece. Join me tonight, 10CT for Baroque&Before with Candice Agree on WFMT

Twelfth-century mystic, writer, philosopher, and composer Hildegard channeled her unfaltering Christian faith through her music in the morality play Ordo Virtutum (Order of the Virtues).

04/29/2026

The salterio or psaltery was the Baroque era’s hammered dulcimer. Franziska Fleischanderl plays a baroque salterio that has survived to this day. She’s joined by soprano Chelsea Zurflüh and Basel’s La Cetra Baroque Orchestra, bringing us works by Corelli, Porpora, Vivaldi, Vinci, Locatelli, a...

04/15/2026

Since the ninth century, the routes to Santiago de Compostela leading to the sanctuary of St. James have attracted countless pilgrims and exercised a potent mystique. What has achieved less attention is the music originally sung during the services in honor of the saint. Marcel Pérès’s in-depth study of the Codex Calixtinus, preserved at the Cathedral of Santiago, has led to a reconstruction of the musical gems contained in the rare twelfth-century manuscript. This recording attests to the multiple stylistic influences encountered on the pilgrimage. Join me tonight, 10CT for Baroque&Before with Candice Agree on WFMT for Compostela: Ad vesperas Sancti Iacobi.

04/08/2026

13th-century Persian poet Jalal al-Din Rumi described Jerusalem as “the place where everything is music … and brothers and strangers are one.” Jeannette Sorrell directs Apollo’s Fire in a musical exploration of the four quarters of Old Jerusalem (Jewish, Christian, Arab, and Armenian/Byzantine,) and the cross-cultural influences of the city’s inhabitants. The rhythms of daily life — love, song, dance, and prayer -– culminate in a joyous celebration of brotherhood and sisterhood. Join me tonight, 10CT for Baroque&Before with Candice Agree on WFMT

Tonight’s program was recorded live in concert on March 12, 2020 at Northwestern University’s Galvin Recital Hall. A stream of tonight’s program will be available for 30 days following the broadcast via wfmt.com/listen. https://www.wfmt.com/2026/04/08/apollos-fire-o-jerusalem-crossroads-of-three-faiths

Apollo’s Fire, under the direction of Jeannette Sorrell, presents an exploration of the four quarters of Old Jerusalem (Jewish, Christian, Arab, and Armenian/Byzantine).

04/01/2026

In a program of sacred music capturing the depth of Holy Week, Václav Luks conducts Collegium 1704 and Collegium Vocale 1704. Performed on period instruments, this outstanding ensemble offers an intense and contemplative musical journey offering reflection and timeless beauty. Along with Jan Dismas Zelenka’s “Miserere” in C minor and selections from “Responsoria pro hebdomada sancta,” we’ll hear Antonio Caldara’s expressive “Stabat Mater” and the “Miserere mei” of Francesco Durante. Recorded live in concert March 23, 2026 in Dvořák Hall in Prague’s Rudolfinum. Join me tonight, 10Central for Baroque&Before with Candice Agree on WFMT.

Thanks to WFMT’s association with the European Broadcasting Union - EBU, we’re able to offer this program as a stream for thirty days following the broadcast. Find it on wfmt.com/listen.
https://www.wfmt.com/2026/04/01/music-of-lamentation-hope-for-holy-week

Václav Luks conducts Collegium 1704 and Collegium Vocale 1704 in a program of sacred music capturing the depth of Holy Week. Performed on period instruments, this outstanding ensemble offers an intense and contemplative musical journey offering reflection and timeless beauty. Along with Jan Dismas ...

03/25/2026

The Tallis Scholars under the direction of Peter Phillips celebrated in 2024 its 50th anniversary with a world tour. Tonight’s program, recorded live in concert July 5, 2024 in Tokyo’s Opera City Concert Hall, featured sacred works by Renaissance masters Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Cristóbal de Morales, Gregorio Allegri, Costanzo Festa, Elzéar Genet Carpentras, and Josquin des Prez. Join us tonight, 10CT for Baroque&Before with Candice Agree.

Thanks to WFMT’s association with the European Broadcasting Union - EBU, we’re able to bring you tonight’s program as a non-downloadable stream for thirty days following the broadcast. You’ll find it, when accessible, at https://www.wfmt.com/listen/
https://www.wfmt.com/2026/03/25/the-tallis-scholars-in-tokyo

As part of its fiftieth anniversary world tour, The Tallis Scholars under the direction of Peter Phillips brought to Japan sacred works by Renaissance masters Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Cristóbal de Morales, Gregorio Allegri, Costanzo Festa, Elzéar Genet Carpentras, and Josquin des Prez. Re...

03/19/2026

Missed the broadcast? The Great Eighteen available now as a 30-day stream at https://www.wfmt.com/listen/

Written in the last decade of his life, Bach’s chorale preludes for organ mark the pinnacle of his sacred works for organ. Daniel Gauss, organist at the Bern Cathedral, plays the Gottlieb Leuw organ, built in 1729. Recorded live in concert June 11, 2019, as part of the series Evening Music at Bern...

03/18/2026

Written in the last decade of his life, Bach’s Leipzig chorale preludes mark the pinnacle of his sacred works for organ. Recorded live in concert June 11, 2019, Daniel Gauss, organist at the Bern Cathedral, plays the Cathedral’s Gottlieb Leuw organ, built in 1729. Join us tonight, 10CT for Baroque&Before with Candice Agree on WFMT, celebrating Early Music Month & commemorating the birth anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach March 31 (March 21 Julian/OS) 1685.

Written in the last decade of his life, Bach’s chorale preludes for organ mark the pinnacle of his sacred works for organ. Daniel Gauss, organist at the Bern Cathedral, plays the Gottlieb Leuw organ, built in 1729. Recorded live in concert June 11, 2019, as part of the series Evening Music at Bern...

03/11/2026

German Baroque wedding festivities combined solemn ceremony and joyful celebration, the latter often spread over several days. Vox Luminis and Freiburg Baroque Consort unite to perform wedding music spanning more than a century, including enchanting wedding cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and his older cousin, Johann Christoph Bach, plus Heinrich Schütz’s 1619 setting of Psalm 133: “How good and pleasant it is when G-d’s people live together in unity!” Recorded live in concert January 19, 2026 in London’s Wigmore Hall. Join me tonight, 10 CT for Baroque&Before with Candice Agree on WFMT

German Baroque wedding festivities combined solemn ceremony and joyful celebration, the latter often spread over several days. Vox Luminis and the Freiburg Baroque Consort unite to perform wedding music spanning more than a century, including enchanting wedding cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and....