Orpheus In England: Dolwand & Purcell

Sometime around 1600, John Dowland received a pavane composed by his patron Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse, in honor of 'the English Orpheus'. A hundred years later a collection of songs by Henry Purcell was published posthumously with the title Orpheus Britannicus. And although more than three centuries have passed since then, the mythical comparison still rings true. To quote Emma Kirkby's own liner notes to the present disc, these giants in the history of English song 'share the quality of arresting any listener with a directness and grace that takes our breath away still today, aligning us with the men, animals, plants and stones that were said to weep or dance, or both, when Orpheus sang to his instrument.' Together with the lutenist Jakob Lindberg, Emma Kirkby has devised a program which takes in a wide spectrum of emotions: from the pastoral joyfulness of By a fountain and that distillate of melancholy which is In darkness let me dwell, we are led via the desperation and drama of Bess of Bedlam to the conviction expressed in Music for a while that music has the power to vanquish even death. Interspersing the songs are lute solos, including Dowland's immortal Lachrimae, but also Lindberg's own transcriptions of Purcell pieces such as The Cibell and the Echo Dance of the Furies from Dido and Aeneas, performed on Lindberg's unique four-hundred year old instrument. Kirkby and Lindberg are musical partners of long standing, with earlier collaborations on BIS including Musique and Sweet Poetrie, a survey of the lute song across Europe around the year 1600. 'A grand tour conducted by a pair of ideal guides' was how the reviewer in Gramophone described that disc, while his colleague in International Record Review found that the 'undeniably glorious performances' made the disc 'a journey well worth making'. While the journey on the present disc is one in time rather than space, the performances are as glorious as ever, and Emma Kirkby and Jakob Lindberg remain the best guides imaginable.

"Supported with exceptional clarity by Jakob Lindberg, Kirkby conveys both intellectual appreciation and a deep emotional connection with the words in this recital...[her] 'Bess of Bedlam' is more sympathetic than most, and her 'Music for a While' is more enigmatic. The voice may be less beautiful than it was, but her singing is more beautiful than ever."-BBC Music****

"Few singers are quite a compelling with only a lute for company: Kirkby's phrasing has impeccable light and shade, and her authoritative articulation of melancholic sentiments is simply first-class...her gripping interpretation [of In darkness let me dwell] is devoid of complacence; moreover, her intonation and technique in florid music has lost none of its sparkle and precision." - Gramophone

Notes & Reviews:

Recording information: Länna Church, Sweden (11/2008).

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Works Details

Dowland, John : A Pilgrimes Solace :: Disdain Me Still

Performers: Jakob Lindberg (Lute); Emma Kirkby (Soprano)
Running Time: 3 min. 43 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: by 1612

Dowland, John : The Third and Last Booke of Songs or Aires :: Lend Your Ears to My Sorrow

Performers: Jakob Lindberg (Lute); Emma Kirkby (Soprano)
Running Time: 2 min. 59 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: by 1603

Dowland, John : The First Booke of Songs or Ayres :: Come, Heavy Sleep

Performers: Emma Kirkby (Soprano); Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 4 min. 14 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: by 1597

Dowland, John : Fantasia, for lute (from "A Varietie of Lute-lessons")

Performer: Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 1 min. 9 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: 1612

Dowland, John : The Second Booke of Songs or Ayres :: A Shepherd in a Shade

Performers: Jakob Lindberg (Lute); Emma Kirkby (Soprano)
Running Time: 2 min. 35 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: by 1600

Dowland, John : The Third and Last Booke of Songs or Aires :: By a Fountain Where I Lay

Performers: Emma Kirkby (Soprano); Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 2 min. 37 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: by 1603

Dowland, John : The First Booke of Songs or Ayres :: Away With These Self-Loving Lads

Performers: Emma Kirkby (Soprano); Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 2 min. 45 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: by 1597

Dowland, John : Lachrimae

Performer: Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 5 min. 10 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: by 1626

Dowland, John : Tarletones riserrectione, P 59

Performer: Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 1 min. 28 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: by 1626

Dowland, John : A Pilgrimes Solace :: If That a Sinner's Sighs

Performers: Emma Kirkby (Soprano); Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 2 min. 34 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: by 1612

Dowland, John : Fantasia, for lute (from "A Varietie of Lute-lessons")

Performer: Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 1 min. 9 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: 1612

Dowland, John : The Second Booke of Songs or Ayres :: Toss Not My Soul

Performers: Emma Kirkby (Soprano); Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 2 min. 58 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: by 1600

Dowland, John : A Musicall Banquet :: In Darkness Let Me Dwell

Performers: Emma Kirkby (Soprano); Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 3 min. 50 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: 1610

Purcell, Henry : Indian Queen, Z 630

Performers: Emma Kirkby (Soprano); Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 1 min. 53 sec.
Period Time: Baroque
Written: 1695

Purcell, Henry : Dido and Aeneas, Z 626

Performer: Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 1 min. 36 sec.
Period Time: Baroque
Form: Opera/Operetta
Written: 1689

Purcell, Henry : Bonduca, or, The British Heroine, incidental music, Z. 574

Performers: Jakob Lindberg (Lute); Emma Kirkby (Soprano)
Running Time: 5 min. 10 sec.
Period Time: Baroque
Written: 1695

Purcell, Henry : What a Sad Fate Is Mine

Performers: Emma Kirkby (Soprano); Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Running Time: 2 min. 49 sec.
Period Time: Baroque

Purcell, Henry : The Second Part of Musick's Handmaid, lessons (12) for harpsichord

Performer: Jakob Lindberg (Lute)
Period Time: Baroque
Written: 1687

Purcell, Henry : Oedipus, Z 583

Performers: Jakob Lindberg (Lute); Emma Kirkby (Soprano)
Running Time: 4 min. sec.
Period Time: Baroque
Written: circa 1692

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