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When English soprano Emma Kirkby began her professional career in the mid-'70s, period performance practice was just beginning to make its way into the realm of vocal music. Kirkby, mentored by Jessica Cash, became a pioneer of period practice for Renaissance and Baroque vocal soloists. She studied classical literature at Oxford and took vocal lessons, but did not plan on becoming a singer. She joined the Taverner Choir in 1971, and a couple of years later, she began a long-lasting collaboration with the Consort of Musicke. She made her 1974 concert debut in London and her first tour of the United States in 1978. Tours to all of the major music capitals of the world have followed. Especially noteworthy was a tour of the Arabian states with lutenist Anthony Rooley, to whom she is married. In her collaborations with groups like those already mentioned, and others -- such as the Academy of Ancient Music, London Baroque, Fretwork, L'Orfeo, and the Purcell Quartet -- she increased the public awareness of correct Baroque performance practice while carefully avoiding pedantry. She brings a great deal of drama and musicianship to her performances. Besides the lute songs of the Renaissance era, Kirkby is well known for her performances of the cantatas and passions of Bach and the choral music of Monteverdi. Her voice is a very light, lyric soprano of unusual sweetness. She has excellent control of the voice and is able to sing without any vibrato, a quality that many practitioners of early music prefer.

Her hundreds of recordings give an excellent view of the range of her repertoire, at times even expanding on it, since she has recorded several operas that she has not sung on-stage, including Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Monteverdi's Orfeo, Handel's Orlando, and Hasse's Cleofide. Once in a while, she'll try something unexpected, such as the songs of Amy Beach or cantatas by little-known Baroque composers. Her early recordings were part of the Florilegium series from Decca. Since then she's recorded on Hyperion, Carus, CPO, Harmonia Mundi, BIS, and other labels. Kirkby was made a Dame of the British Empire in 2007. ~ Patsy Morita

Franz Joseph Haydn is the composer who, more than any other, epitomizes the aims and achievements of the Classical era. Perhaps his most important achievement was that he developed and evolved the most influential structural principle in the history of music: his perfection of the set of expectations known as sonata form made an epochal impact. In hundreds of instrumental sonatas, string quartets, and symphonies, Haydn both broke new ground and provided durable models; indeed, he was among the creators of these fundamental genres of classical music. He also wrote several masterful oratorios and masses, especially in his later years. His operas, too, have finally come to be regarded as well-crafted and deserving of far greater attention than they had historically received in the 20th century. His influence upon later composers is immeasurable; Haydn's most illustrious pupil, Beethoven, was the direct beneficiary of the elder master's musical imagination, and Haydn's shadow lurks within (and sometimes looms over) the music of composers like Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Part and parcel of Haydn's formal mastery was his famous sense of humor, his feeling for the unpredictable, elegant twist. By one estimate, Haydn produced some 340 hours of music, more than Bach or Handel, Mozart or Beethoven. Few of them lack some unexpected detail or clever solution to a formal problem. Haydn was prolific not just because he was a tireless worker with an inexhaustible musical imagination, but also because of the circumstances of his musical career: he was the last prominent beneficiary of the system of noble patronage that had nourished European musical composition since the Renaissance.

Born in the small Austrian village of Rohrau, he became a choirboy at St. Stephen's cathedral in Vienna when he was eight, later joined by his younger brother, Michael Haydn, also destined to be a composer. After Haydn's voice broke and he was turned out of the choir, he eked out a precarious living as a teenage freelance musician in Vienna. His fortunes began to turn in the late 1750s as members of Vienna's noble families became aware of his music, and on May 1, 1761, he went to work for the Esterházy family. He remained in their employ for the next 30 years, writing many of his instrumental compositions, which included dozens of keyboard sonatas and trios for the now forgotten instrument, the baryton, and operas for performance at their vast summer palace, Esterháza. Musical creativity may often, it is true, meet a tragic end, but Haydn lived long enough to reap the rewards of his own imagination and toil. The Esterházys curtailed their musical activities in 1790, but by that time Haydn was known all over Europe and widely considered the greatest living composer. (He himself deferred to Mozart in that regard, and the friendly competition between the two composers deepened the music of both.) Two trips to London during the 1790s resulted in two sets of six symphonies each (among them the "Surprise" symphony) that remain centerpieces of the orchestral repertoire. Five sets of string quartets were also published between 1790 and 1799. Haydn's final masterpieces included powerful and pictorial choral works: The Creation and The Seasons oratorios and a group of six masses. He stopped composing in 1803, after which he prefaced his correspondence with a little musical quotation (from one of his part-songs) bearing the text "Gone is all my strength; I am old and weak." He died in Vienna on May 31, 1809. ~ TiVo Staff

Samuel Arnold was a prolific composer for the opera, organist, harpsichord player, and musical editor who studied under Gates and Nares. Many of his works included operas such as "The Summer's Tale," "Love in a Village," and "The Maid of the Mill." The libretto of the latter was taken from Richardson's well-read novel "Pamela" and eight years later the oratorio "The Prodigal Son" was performed after some compositions of the same genre were left untouched. He received his doctorate in music (1773) and shortly thereafter composed strictly for a theatre in the Haymarket; this activity lasted for twenty-five years. Arnold was a conductor of the Academy of Ancient Music and associated with Haydn and others. As a philanthropist Arnold supported less fortunate musicians who were out of work. The genre of his compositions primarily consisted of operas and oratorios and his seminal contribution to musicology was the rewriting of the "Cathedral Music" of Boyce. The feature that best characterizes the volume of Arnold's work was his use of English folktunes that are filled with his energy; unfortunately, most of his music could not stand on its own. Other operas included "The Seraglio," "The Gipsies," "The Spanish Barber," "Macbeth," and the oratorio "Elisha." ~ Keith Johnson

William Jackson helped establish the group Ossian more than 25 years ago before moving on to a solo career as a composer and recording artist. He recorded half-a-dozen solo albums and contributed to another eight as a member of Ossian. Early in 1999, the noted Scottish multi-instrumentalist won a competition whose aim was to discover his country's new anthem. Jackson's "Land of Light" clinched it, and the song appeared on a CD a few months later. It was also featured during the Queen Mother's birthday celebration that summer, marking the 100th anniversary of her birth. His other compositions include "Inchcolm," "St. Mungo," and "The Wellpark Suite"; the commissioned "A Scottish Island" for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; and numerous works for television, including programs for the History Channel and the BBC. Jackson attended the London Guildhall School of Music and devotes himself to music therapy, aiding children afflicted with autism and cerebral palsy. Jackson also teaches at workshops in music therapy and he takes part in the International Harp Therapy Program. ~ Linda Seida

The violin was Shield's instrument of choice the playing of which he was quite accomplished. At the age of twenty five he was a member of the King's Haymarket Theatre as a member of the violins but became the leader of the violas. It was not until the age of thirty that he began publishing music. Shield composed approximately thirty operas the first of which was a pastiche, "The Flitch of Bacon," 1778. As in all of Shield's operas two thirds of the music was original but at least one third of the melodies were derived from folk songs, particularly Scottish and Irish folk melodies. Orchestration for his operas was unique and innovative so much so that he became the house composer at Covent Gardens for a period of fifteen years. A number of now familiar tunes were made famous by the works of Shield. In his opera, "Rosina," for example, what is known as "Auld lang syne" was popularized by Shield though not his own music. Likewise the melody for "All those endearing young charms" is found in "The Flitch of Bacon." Though John O'keefe failed to mention Shield in his own autobiography, they collaborated in a number of efforts including "The Poor Soldier" and a number of songs in Moore's compilation of "Irish Melodies." After leaving Covent Gardens, Shield traveled to the continent including the cities of Paris and Rome. On this foray, Shield collected a number of folk melodies contained in a later anthology which also included Bach's Prelude in D minor, the first time any of Bach's preludes from Book 1 had been published. ~ Keith Johnson

Hook was an applied musician who could teach guitar, harpsichord, spinet, violin, the German flute as well as the organ. In Norwich he performed at a variety of concerts and also advertised that he could tune keyboard instruments. At the age of 17 or 18 he went to London where he became the organist at White Conduit House and entertained guests daily. Vauxhall was a second home to him as he was its director. There he composed over 2,000 songs including "The Lass of Richmond Hill," "Lucy Gray of Allendale," and "Within a Mile of Edinboro' Town." Hook composed numerous stage works, cantatas, concertos, chamber pieces, and keyboard works. Much of Hook's music can be described as delightful and charming rather than pedantic and trite as occasions so many prolific song composers. The compositions display the influence of Lord Kelly and J.C. Bach, and later in life, the inlfuence of Haydn. Pedagogically he wrote the "Guida di musica" which demonstrates his ability and concern with teaching. It is a tribute to the merit of his keyboard and concert pieces that they bear revival. Hook's style was consistently up-to-date. ~ Keith Johnson

By 1758 this young German violinist was serving in the court of Bonn as a musician. By 1761 and 1762 Salomon went on tour probably in an attempt to obtain a position in the government seat. In 1764 he was the musical director for Prince Heinrich of Prussia during which time he met C.P.E. Bach. Through this encounter he was introduced to the violin music of J.S. Bach. He continued his travels going to London by way of Paris. Salomon remained and settled in London making an appearance at Covent Gardens in 1781. In England he spent most of his time promoting concerts and conducting music. While in England he may have had a hand in providing Haydn the text for his "Creation" and Haydn provided a number of musical compositions for the virtuoso violinist. Musically little attention was paid to Salomon's compositions but his melodies demonstrate an unique talent for sonorous melodic lines though they are lacking any developmental substance. ~ Keith Johnson