John Dowland and the lute song go hand in hand, so to speak; but among its many pleasures, this disc offers not only a few of Dowland’s choicest tunes but also spreads the program’s wealth and includes several Dowland contemporaries and extends to later masters such as Lawes and Purcell, all of whom had quite a knack for songwriting. Of course, Dowland’s melancholic style and inimitable genius for perfectly and harmoniously joining that often difficult musical ménage à trois, text, melody, and accompaniment, are immediately recognizable, but a composer like John Danyel, with his “Can doleful notes?” and “Rosa” pavan, shows he must have learned a few sorrowful songwriting tricks from Dowland.
In fact, this intelligently chosen and very well sung collection shows not only similarities in this style of song from composer to composer, but also a progression of development from the 16th through the 17th century. Many of these singer/lutenists were theatrical composers, who wrote songs specifically to accompany plays (by writers such as Shakespeare) and for various “entertainments” and masques for the English court. Robin Blaze, whose credentials as one of the world’s foremost countertenors grow more impressive with each recording, gives a memorable lesson in style and vocal technique while charming us with the sheer purity and beauty of his voice. His collaborator, lutenist Elizabeth Kenny, is an exceptional artist whose mastery and musicality is consistently evident throughout her accompaniments and several solos.
The earlier songs come off best; by the time we get to Purcell, the original simplicity and elegance of the form has significantly changed. We are closer to opera, where dramatic context and freer melodic expression render these songs less able to stand alone–as in the highly ornamented “‘Tis Nature’s voice” or John Blow’s “Lovely Selina”, with its exotic, surprisingly “modern” melodic setting. This is a delightful and fascinating excursion through some lovely musical terrain, much of it rarely explored by other singers, enhanced by Kenny’s informed, readable liner notes.
