John Dowland was born in 1563, one year before Shakespeare, Marlowe and Galileo, and five years after Elizabeth I took the throne. It can be read in the concise but handy overview in the booklet, in which Dowland's biographical data are mixed with facts from the politics and culture of the time. For example, we read that in 1594 Dowland failed to succeed John Johnson, Queen's Musician for the Lutes.
After which the unfortunate Dowland - always wandering, always wandering - began his wanderings on the continent. This beautiful compilation seems to lure the fans of Sting to classical music. She relies on the old, but still far from outdated The Collected Works by The Consort of Musicke conducted by Anthony Rooley (L'Oiseau-Lyre, 1976-1980), supplemented with more recent releases by Barbara Bonney, Anne Sofie von Otter, Andreas Scholl and Edin Karamazov (Sting's lute player). The common thread is formed by the seven Lachrimae from 1604, starting with Lachrimae Antiquae, the instrumental version of Flow, my tears. (HJ)more
