Love: a Strange Madness

An exploration of Love and Madness performed by Sam Brown (lute/theorbo) and Andrew Rennie (tenor) with songs from Purcell, Danyel and Dowland.

Together, Sam and Andrew have embarked on a programme of performing English baroque songs of love, melancholy and madness against the striking backdrop provided by historic houses in Whitechapel and Spitalfields.

• Musick for a While (Purcell)

• The Cold Song (Purcell)

• An Old Epitaph (Purcell)

• I Sigh'd and I Pin'd (Purcell)

• Fled is My Love (Purcell)

• 'Tis Death Alone (Purcell)

• I Saw My Lady Weep (Dowland)

• Grief Keep Within (Danyel)

• Flow My Tears (Dowland)

• Sorrow, sorrow stay (Dowland)

• In Darkness let me Dwell (Dowland)

• O Solitude (Purcell)

• Ah Belinda (Purcell)

• Dido's Lament (Purcell)

'The Eric Clapton of the lute', Sam Brown is one of the leading chordophonists of his generation, known for his sensitive style. An alumnus of the Royal College of Music and CSI Lugano, he trained with Jakob Lindberg and Lorenzo Micheli. Sam has performed at venues across three continents, including the Wigmore Hall and Konzerthaus Wien, as a recitalist, orchestral soloist, ensemble and continuo player.

Andrew Rennie is a singer and founder of Wondrous Machine, which takes its name from the bass air in Purcell's Hail! Bright Cecilia as a metaphor for the process of music making. It was established to promote early music performances, particularly vocal works, and encourage wider awareness. He is a passionate advocate for the shading that the tenor voice can bring to early music, particularly given the widespread association of Purcell and Dowland with countertenors, bringing a 'tender clarity and emotional literacy' to his performances.