Ian Bostridge & Fretwork

John Dowland was not only the finest lutenist of his age; he was also, along with Henry Purcell, Britten and Lennon & McCartney, one of the all-time greatest song writers in the English language. He died 400 years ago in 1626. In 1604, he published the extraordinary collection of music for viols and lute called 'Lachrimae'. Before a series of wonderfully lively galliards, many drawn from his songs, Dowland presents a transcendental journey based on his most famous song, 'Flow my teares'. The falling 4th emblem is subjected to intense scrutiny and transformation, with a sequence that maps a voyage from despair to hope, from falling to rising, from minor to major.

As Dowland says in his dedication to Queen Anne of Denmark: 'And though the title doth promise teares, unfit guests in these joyfull times, yet no doubt pleasant are the teares which Musicke weepes, neither are teares shed alwayes in sorrow, but sometime in joy and gladnesse.'

His four books of songs were some of the most popular publications of their day, and the first book in particular contains some of his most famous and memorable songs.

Programme:
Dowland Flow my tears / Lachrimæ Antiquæ
Lachrimæ Antiquæ Novæ
The King of Denmarks Galiard
Can she excuse my wrongs / The Earle of Essex Galiard
Lachrimæ Gementes
Forlorn Hope Fancy – lute solo
Come again, sweet love doth now invite
Sorrow stay!
M John Langtons Pavan
My thoughts are winged with hope / Souch's Galliard
Lachrimæ Tristes
In darkness let me dwell a minor
Lachrimæ Coactæ
Time stands still
If my complaints / Captaine Digory Piper, his Galiard
Lachrimæ Amantis
If floods of tears
Lachrimæ Verae
I saw my lady weep
Shall I strive with words / Henry Noel's Galliard

Performers:
Ian Bostridge tenor
Kristiina Watt lute
Fretwork