Dowland & Britten: Melancholy, Nocturnal

Featuring

Pascal Boëls
John Dowland
Benjamin Britten

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Performer Biography

Pascal Boëls, the guitarist on this album, is considered one of the best ten-string guitar specialists, allowing for an extra closeness to the musical text.

Compositional Technique

The six-note descending chromatic motif in Dowland's Forlorne Hope Fancy and Lachrimae tune is interpreted as a musical image of the Fall of Man.

Composition History

Benjamin Britten's 'Nocturnal' after John Dowland, Op. 70, was written for guitarist Julian Bream, who premiered it at the 1964 Aldeburgh Festival.

Compositional Technique

Britten's 'Nocturnal' is a set of eight variations on Dowland's 'Come, heavy sleep' that moves from complex to simple, culminating in the unadorned Dowland song.

Composer Biography

Dowland's Catholicism may have led him to consider a Papal invitation, which would have meant permanent exile from England during the Reformation.

Cultural Impact

Dowland's music, particularly his Lachrymae Pavan, travelled across Europe and was arranged by distinguished composers like Byrd, Morley, and Scheidt.

Composer's Artistic Vision

John Dowland, a lutenist and composer, is considered a supreme exponent of the sombre mood of melancholy, a fog of the soul cultivated in Elizabethan England.