Teacher appreciation: as we bid a fond farewell to Early Music Month, Vlad remembers that the foundations of music skill and appreciation often lie with teachers. Whether formal or informal introductions brought us into the wonderful world of musicking, those who brought us there are often unsung heroes. On today’s Vox Nostra, the curious case of a Belgian family who owed much not only to the parent-child lineage but also to the instruction of an older sibling: The Fiocco family. These musicians, with origins in Venice, were a formidable dynasty in the Austrian Netherlands and centred around Brussels. The paterfamilias of the group, Pietro Antonio, was succeeded by his children Jean-Joseph and Joseph Hector. The elder Jean-Joseph was responsible for his younger brother’s musical upbringing, and also taught other composers and violinists, as well as holding on to a full-time gig as choirmaster of Maria Elisabeth of Austria’s chapel-royal in Brussels. His own music, however, is lost to us today, but we remember him through the music of his family and students. We send off Early Music Month with a ‘chapeau’ to all those who labour in the shadows to teach us music, and who introduced us to new musical worlds.
RTÉ lyric fm, Sunday 30th March, 7am-10am
