April 23 is William Shakespeare’s 461st birthday. Or sometime around April 23. Record-keeping in the 16th century wasn’t quite as exacting as it is today. But the accepted date for Shakespeare’s birth is April 23, 1564.
Shakespeare’s plays were full of music. The songs were often used to heighten mood: “Full fathom five my father lies” from Tempest recounts the grisly (but erroneous) account of Alonso’s demise. “O mistress mine” from Twelfth Night lightens the mood with the promise of frolicsome romance. “Tell me where is fancie bred” from The Merchant of Venice ponders the mysteries of love as Portia ponders the riddle of the three caskets. “Blow, blow thou winter wind” in As You Like It highlights the treachery which the Duke has experienced at the hands of his younger brother. There are dozens more.
In Shakespeare’s time, a lutenist named Robert Johnson provided music for many of the song texts. Over the years, countless composers have set the texts to their own music. That trend continues to this day.
On April 23, we will hear many of Shakespeare’s songs, with music composed over 5 centuries. We will also hear selections from incidental music composed for Shakespeare’s plays and selections from ballets and operas inspired by the bard’s dramas and comedies.
We also celebrate Sergei Prokofiev’s birthday on April 23. He turns a youthful 134 this year. That’s another nebulous date; several dates over the third and fourth weeks of April have been listed as his birthday. But the commonly accepted date to celebrate Prokofiev’s birth is April 23. This April 23 we will certainly hear selections from one of the grandest and most dramatic works inspired by Shakespeare’s pen: Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet of Romeo and Juliet. There will be dancing, madrigals and boisterous knights as the Montagues and Capulets plot for and against our star-crossed lovers.
The game’s afoot on April 23 as WHRO-FM Midday Classics celebrates the histories, comedies and dramas of Shakespeare with music from Verdi, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Hector Berlioz, Sergei Prokofiev, Henry Purcell and many other of your favorite composers. Come and trip it with us!
