DOWLAND
Lute music Vol 3

Pavan 'Solus cum sola'. Melancholy Galliard. Sir John Smith his Almain. The Lady Russell's Pavan. Lady Rich her Galliard. The Lady Laiton's Almain. Pavan 'Solus sine sola'. Mr Knight's Galliard. Mrs Clifton's Almain. Dr Case's Pavan. Sir Robert Sidney his Galliard. Sir Henry Guilforde his Almain. 'Pavana Doulant' (pub. Mylius Frankfurt 1622). The Earl of Derby his Galliard. Almain P51. Pavan 'La mia Barbara'. The Battle Galliard. Almain P49. 'Pavana Johan Douland' - Schele ms. Galliard on a Galliard of Bachelar. Almain - Margaret Board Lute ms.

Nigel North, Lute

Naxos 8570449 [recorded summer 2006 in Ontario]

John Dowland (1563-1626) has been oft-recorded, but this bargain series seems likely to hold its place in the catalogue for longer some others. In this newest volume Dowland's reputation as a composer of 'melancholic music' is challenged by Nigel North as being unduly biased. This collection explores 'the whole range of human emotions' together with Dowland's 'wonderful melodic gift, and ingenious contrapuntal skill'.

North's text in its entirety can be found in the Naxos website at http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.570449 , where you should click onto About This Recording. There you are given the possibility to zoom in the text to any size that suits you; in the CD booklet the print is so small as to test your eyesight...

The performances on a nine-course lute (Johnssohn/Frei) are as accomplished and lucid as you could wish and are sympathetically recorded in an acoustically warm and resonant Canadian church setting.

Peter Grahame Woolf