I grew up in New England in the 80′s, and my first exposure to classical music was listening to WGBH on the radio. My favorite classical music show was Robert J. Lurtsema’s Morning Pro Musica.
Listening to Morning Pro Musica as a kid was what first kindled my deep love of classical music, and my clock radio was always set to go off at the exact start of the show. It began with the sounds of birds for about 5 minutes, then a slow crossfade into a specific piece of classical music. I remember there was different music for each day of the week, but the piece I loved the most was Handel’s “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.”
For years, I happily woke to the sounds of birds and Handel. And last night as I was fiddling with my alarm app on my tablet, I suddenly remembered those sounds and longed to wake up to them again.
I searched online but couldn’t find any digital copy of the show’s intro. Happily, I found a recording of the exact bird sounds that Robert J. used for his show (from the LP “Dawn Chorus: The Birds of Morning Pro Musica”). From there it was easy enough to take one of those tracks and crossfade it into Handel.
Enjoy!
Download: morning pro musica intro birds and music (mp3)
Robert J. Lurtsema passed away years ago, but I will never forget how he inspired me each morning and opened my eyes to a new world of music. Thank you, Robert J.
During part of the time that Robt J was in reign at GBH, I was assistant to the general manager at WFCR in Amherst. We would (mostly fondly, I hope!) refer to him as Mr Toad (from Wind in the Willows). He had a face and stature made for radio — a very short man, with a scrunched up face.
One might suspect that many people attracted to the “virtual” world of radio (certainly ham radio and CB proved this out!) would have been in virtual worlds today — the introverts, the shy, the gimped, the odd — with beautiful souls that need a place to shine.
Thank you for sharing that with me. Wind in the Willows is one of my favorite books, too.
John – thank you so much for the MPM mix! Robert J is sadly missed, especially around the holidays – I wish his programs were available for streaming…
Thank you for this! I DO recall his morning program with only the fondest of memories – listening to the radio in the car, while driving through the glorious New England countryside in early morning, for instance. The program was the perfect companion.
You’re welcome, Mark. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.
Thanks for the memory. Dedicated to my late friend from Martha’s Vinyard Fred A. Bennett who listened to this with me in the mornings.
I remember Bob as it were yesterday. I was honored to be his colleague and friend and to awaken to his wonderful show each morning. Memories
Another thank you from another person who listened to Robert J on my transistor radio every morning waking up as a teenager. Since my public radio station has become all-news-all-the-time, I’ve so missed this transistion from sleep to the workaday world. You’ve really made a difference in my life!
I wish they could put Robert J on in reruns, similar to Car Talk. It’s nIce to see like minded people commenting here lately…
Reruns! That’s a fantastic idea! Is there anyone specific we could contact to encourage something like that?
I doubt that you could find any NPR station willing to devote the time to full length shows…wasn’t it 5 hours of music and news “edited” by your morning pro musica host…..but maybe a tribute show here or there, perhaps on his birthday. Last year, Suzanne Nance on Maine Public Radio used the dawn chorus and “Entrance” as a theme on his birthday, but that was it. She does a 3 hour show each weekday morning in a much different style of Robert J but it does give us a slice of time away from the NPR all talk format. On the weekends one announcer used the birds at 6AM as an intro to his classical show on MPBN, but now that show has disappeared into the talk format. I’ve searched the WGBH archives but can’t find any reference to tapes of old shows. Are there any? I’d love to hear some of his old shows, especially some of the summer shows from Tanglewood. Thanks for the MP3, John!
You’re welcome, Irv.