Output details

CD recording 'Orpheus in England', music by John Dowland and Purcell

The aim of this CD was to present, in collaboration with Dame Emma Kirkby, songs and solos by John Dowland and Henry Purcell, two English composers who were given the eminent epithet “Orpheus” by their contemporaries. The poetry and music are subtly interwoven, and by using the lute, an instrument that is unlikely to obscure the words, we wanted to display their skill in setting music to the English language. Whilst Dowland´s association with the lute is obvious, Purcell’s connection with this instrument is less so. The lute, however, was specified as an alternative instrument to accompany his songs in the famous posthumous publication ‘Orpheus Britannicus’ from 1698.

The research process involved compiling a varied and representative selection of songs suitable for this combination from the original printed song books. It also meant realising appropriate accompaniments that support the voice and underpin the texts, from the figured bass originals of Purcell’s songs. Songs composed on grounds provided a particularly attractive medium. I prepared performing editions which facilitated improvisations from the bass line. Solo pieces intersperse the songs. In the case of Purcell, they were transcribed especially for this recording. His keyboard repertoire proved particularly fruitful when deciding on suitable pieces to arrange, but there are also some transcriptions of string ritornelli from the opera ‘Dido and Aeneas’.

By using an original lute Sixtus Rauwolf, a very special sound was achieved. The sonorities of Emma’s voice with this particular instrument were described in a live performance in the US as follows; ”[Emma Kirkby] sang from a chair beside her musical partner, the superb Swedish lutenist Jakob Lindberg, threading her vocal silver into his cloth-of-gold.” (The Boston Globe).

This recording is widely available and benefits from BIS distribution network. It is also available online.