If you’re in the mood for music, I’ve got a little for you — in the latest edition of Music for a While, here. (This is a podcast, BTW.) I begin with something I’m a little late for. On New Year’s Day, or thereabouts, I have the habit of reading “Ring out wild bells,” the Tennyson poem, from In Memoriam. In my book, it’s not only a great New Year’s poem — it’s a great poem, period.

By the way, shouldn’t there be a comma in that line? Shouldn’t it be, “Ring out, wild bells”? You would think so. I would think so. Apparently, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, did not. Maybe he wanted the line to go faster — more like “Ring-out-wild-bells.” Not sure.

Anyway, this poem has been set to music by Jonathan Dove, an English composer now in his mid-60s.

What else do I have on this podcast? A guitar concerto by Radamés Gnattali, a Brazilian composer (of Italian parentage). (They named him after a character in Aida.) A piano piece by Brahms, damn near the most beautiful thing ever written. An orchestral nocturne by Giuseppe Martucci.

Martucci? Yes, a Neapolitan composer who lived from 1856 to 1909. Riccardo Muti, the conductor, champions him. He likes to conduct this nocturne as an encore. He did so about a week ago, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall.

Lately, I’ve been writing about Maria Callas. But wasn’t her centennial in 2023? Yes, but there is a new movie about her, Maria, which I wrote about last week, here. The movie makes heavy use, and very good use, of the Ave Maria from Verdi’s Otello, sung by Callas. And I end my new podcast with this.

Again, if this is up your street, that podcast is here.