This episode ends with “Embraceable You,” the Gershwin song—but in a piano arrangement by Earl Wild. An extraordinary thing. The episode begins with some Bach—the same piece, more or less, two different ways. Jay also has some music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, known by some as “the African Mahler.” There is a story, too, about French horn playing. Does your pulse race when you have a big solo? You bet it does. Much to savor here.

Bach, Prelude in E minor from Book I of “The Well-Tempered Clavier”
Bach-Siloti, Prelude in B minor
Coleridge-Taylor, Clarinet Quintet in F-sharp minor, Op. 10, first movement
Dove, “Departure,” from “Airport Scenes”
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5, slow movement
Gershwin-Wild, “Embraceable You”

Jay begins with a toast from “La rondine,” Puccini’s opera; he ends with “The Lord’s Prayer,” sung by Leontyne Price on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Lots in between, of course: including tributes to the jazz pianist and composer Claude Bolling; the jazz guitarist Pat Metheny; and the organist John Weaver. A delicious program.

Puccini, “Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso,” from “La rondine”
Fauré, “Reflets dans l’eau”
Bolling, “Baroque and Blue,” from Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano
Prokofiev, Piano Sonata No. 7
Metheny, “Have You Heard”
Weaver, Variation on “Sine Nomine”
Malotte, “The Lord’s Prayer”

What a strange title. What could it mean? That Jay addresses “The Well-Tempered Clavier” (both books), that masterpiece by Bach. And that he addresses music by Catalan composers. A successful mixture, we think you will find.

Bach, Prelude and Fugue in C major, “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” Book II
Montsalvatge, two songs from “Cinco canciones negras”
Mompou, “Secreto,” from “Impresiones íntimas”
Mompou, “Damunt de tu només les flors,” from “Combat del somni”
Fábregas, Elisenda, “Pluja brodada,” from “Imitació del foc”
Bach, Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor, “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” Book I
Bach, “Gigue” Fugue in G major

In 1913, Vachel Lindsay wrote “General William Booth Enters into Heaven.” It speaks of the founder of the Salvation Army. Peggy Noonan cited this poem in a recent column. In 1914, Charles Ives set the poem to music. You will hear it in this episode. Also a Beatles concerto (yes), a rag by an early Metropolitan Opera soprano (yes), some American standards, and, at the end, transcendent Mahler. Jay plays off a good amount of reader mail. An amazingly eclectic, interesting episode.

Shchedrin, Piano Concerto No. 1
Robison, “Think Well of Me”
Rutter, “Beatles Concerto,” first movement
Pinkard-Alexander-Mitchell, “Sugar”
Ives, “General William Booth Enters into Heaven”
Pinkard-Bernie-Casey, “Sweet Georgia Brown”
Case, “Metropolitan Rag”
Handel, “Rejoice greatly,” from “Messiah”
Mahler, Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection”

Jay has an assortment for you—some Bach, some jazz, some Russian, some French, a spiritual . . . It all ends with a thrilling “First Nowell.”

Bach, “Jauchzet, frohlocket,” Christmas Oratorio
Berlin, “White Christmas”
Bach, “Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen,” Christmas Oratorio
Gauntlett, “Once in Royal David’s City”
Trad., “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”
Chesnokov, “Gabriel Appeared”
Trad., “Il est né, le divin Enfant”
Trad., “Somebody Talkin’ ’bout Jesus”
Trad., “The First Nowell”

This episode is a real smorgasbord—works, mainly short, by Domenico Scarlatti, Rachmaninoff, Duparc, Stravinsky, Jonathan Dove, and Jerome Kern, among others. A tasty, diverse spread. You may well want it all.

Scarlatti, D., Sonata in G, K. 14
Rachmaninoff, Andante, Cello Sonata
Duparc, Lento, Cello Sonata
Lachenmann, “Five Variations on a Theme by Franz Schubert”
Stravinsky, Piece for Solo Clarinet
Shostakovich, Impromptu (for viola and piano)
Dove, “Fair Ship,” from “Under Alter’d Skies”
Kern-Tatum, “The Way You Look Tonight”

In honor of the recent “blue moon,” Jay plays four songs about the moon—two classical, two popular. He also has some Quincy Jones, some Cannibal Corpse (yup), some Villa-Lobos, and some Bruckner. Complain if you will, but not about a lack of variety.

Rodgers & Hart, “Blue Moon”
Bellini, “Vaga luna, che inargenti”
Dvořák, “Song to the Moon,” from “Rusalka”
Howard, “Fly Me to the Moon”
Jones, “The Streetbeater”
Cannibal Corpse, “Frantic Disembowelment”
Villa-Lobos, “Punch,” from “The Baby’s Family”
Villa-Lobos, “Lullaby” from “The Baby’s Family”
Bruckner, Symphony No. 4

That’s what Dido sings in Purcell’s opera, about her and Aeneas: “Remember me!” Jay is reminded of this when filling out forms on the Internet. In this episode, he plays Dido, plus Charlie Parker, Franz Schmidt, Leonard Bernstein, Lyle Lovett, and others. An unusually eclectic show—which also brings the Op. 1 by a young woman from Las Vegas: a “quarantine rag.”

Trad., “The Parting Glass”
Parker or Davis, “Donna Lee”
Verdi, “Parmi veder le lagrime,” from Verdi’s “Rigoletto”
“Glow-Worm”
Schmidt, Adagio from Quintet in A major
Mosca, Kristen, “Quarantine Rag”
Bernstein, “I Am Easily Assimilated,” from “Candide”
Lovett, “If I Had a Boat”
Purcell, “Dido’s Lament,” from “Dido and Aeneas”

That’s a lot to promise in one humble music podcast, isn’t it? Greatness, consolation, and transcendence? But it is truth in advertising.

Handel, “Dopo notte atra e funesta,” from Handel’s “Ariodante”
Pärt, “Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten”
Mozart, Clarinet Concerto
Trad., “Shenandoah”
Brahms, Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8
Bach, “Mache dich, mein Herze, rein,” from St. Matthew Passion

Mozart wrote his “Orphanage Mass” when he was twelve. Pretty good. Mendelssohn wrote his Octet in E flat when he was sixteen. Really good. Jay provides excerpts from these works, and also presents Chopin and Argerich, Strauss and Davidsen, and more. As the episode begins with Mozart, it ends with Mozart: a heavenly soprano aria from some vespers. You could well nigh ascend.

Mozart, Mass in C minor (“Waisenhausmesse”), K. 139
Mendelssohn, Octet in E flat
Chopin, Largo, Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
Strauss, “Cäcilie”
Strauss, “Ruhe, meine Seele!”
Mozart, “Laudate Dominum omnes gentes,” from “Vesperae solennes de confessore”

That is a line from a hymn. Jay says it must apply to Bach’s Cello Suites, which players of that instrument get to live with all life long — through good times and (maybe most important) bad. Of course, all of the pieces on this program may be called “great companions”: from the pens of composers famous and obscure. An appetizing, companionable episode.

Bach, Allegro assai, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2
Bach-Rachmaninoff, Preludio, Violin Partita in E major
Tchaikovsky-Wild, Pas de quatre, “Swan Lake”
Bach, Sarabande, Cello Suite in C minor
Mancini, “Quanto dolce è quell’ardore”
Dalza, “Calata ala spagnola”
Monteverdi, “Quel sguardo sdegnosetto”
Price, F., “Down a Southern Lane”
Trad., arr. F. Price, “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord”

Jay begins with a gigue, a jig, by Leclair. We also have Haydn, Brahms, and Penderecki. (The Brahms is played by Leon Fleisher, the great American pianist who has died in recent days.) There are also two items from the American Songbook — one of them sung by Jack Teagarden, the other by Frank Sinatra. This episode ends with a spiritual, a powerhouse.

Leclair, Jean-Marie the Elder, Gigue from the Violin Concerto in B flat, Op. 10, No. 1

The title of this episode pretty much tells the story: Jay discusses, plays, and celebrates piano duets.

Schubert, “Marche militaire” No. 1 in D major, Op. 51, No. 1

This episode begins with a shout — “a shout of joy on the organ,” Jay says. It also has a poem, written and recited by Langston Hughes. And a song, setting that same poem. The episode includes a little Broadway — and other curiosities, finds, and wonders. Enjoy “music for a while.“

Hughes-Manz, “God of Grace and God of Glory”
Langston Hughes, “I, Too”
Margaret Bonds, “I, Too”
Frederic Rzewski, “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!”
Coleman-Stewart, “Thank God I’m Old”
Herbert Murrill, “Carillon”
Handel, “O Lord, whose mercies numberless,” from “Saul”
Trad., arr. Bonds, “This Little Light o’ Mine”

“Got a real smorgasbord for you,” says Jay—“even more than usual. An almost wacky variety.” He begins with Rachmaninoff, turns to Satie, then to a classic American song, then to Satie again, then to Penderecki, and on to Fauré and Busoni (no, not Bach-Busoni). Some interesting issues, points, personalities, and, of course, music.

Rachmaninoff, “Spring Waters”

Jay begins with some festive music: specifically, the “Festive Overture” of Shostakovich. He has a showtune: “Some Other Time.” He has an Aretha Franklin hit, about zoomin’. He has a spiritual: “Ain’t Got Time to Die.” Some French organ music. And more. He ends with Karel Ančerl, the great Czech conductor who endured horror and produced much beauty and brilliance.

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Jay plays some music by a Bach son. There is also Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, and other composers. The episode ends with a tribute to Rosalind Elias, the late American mezzo-soprano: the thirteenth and last child of Lebanese immigrants.

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Jay’s previous episode was devoted to music of spring. As he points out, it’s still spring—and there’s a lot of spring music out there. So he goes a second round. This round serves up Schubert, Mahler, Copland, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and more. A colorful, happy bouquet.

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