Dancing with R2-D2

One of the fun parts of talking about my new book, Votaries of Apollo, is telling people about the musical repertoire that was heard in Charleston between 1766 and 1820. During my public presentations on this topic, I usually play a few excerpts from recent recordings of some of this music. Many of the composers whose words were once heard in Charleston—such as Vaclav Pichl, Leopold Kozeluch, and Joseph Myslivececk—have been overlooked by musicologists and audiences for nearly two centuries. Fortunately, a number of historically-informed performers and orchestras have turned their attention to these obscure artists that once enjoyed some celebrity in their day and are now producing some excellent recordings. Many audiences have never heard these talented composers, whose music holds up well in comparison to that of their contemporaries, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Joseph Haydn. On a number of occasions I have been asked how to find these recordings, so in response I’ve put together a list of recommended recordings of music that would have been heard in Charleston during its “golden age” of concert life. If you’re interested, feel free to download the list here: Nic Butler’s Recommended Listening.doc.