Dowland: Lachrimae – Musicall Humors

May 22, 2023, 9:00 am

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A set of 21 dances dating from 1604, John Dowland’s Lachrimæ was his most ambitious work to date, composed after he had left England in disappointment at not being named court composer to Elizabeth I and entered the service of the Danish court. The work was dedicated to Anne of Denmark, who by that time had herself become Queen of England. This collection of dances, grouped into suites and often characterized by the melancholy typical of late sixteenth-century England, is performed by Musicall Humors, a collective of the finest gambists of their generation. The players take turns performing the “top line,” so that each musician’s personal playing style gives each piece a specific color.