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This collection of post-Elizabethan melancholy risks being overly ambitious, for it tries to pursue two innovative goals. First, it mixes songs and poetry of the period; it is not the only recording to have done so, but it is likely to be the first one that attendees at the Stratford Festival, say, run across on the rack. Second, it tries to uncover some lesser-known songs: eight pieces on the disc are devoted to the comparatively little-known Robert Jones, along with works by Dowland and Robert Johnson and poetry by Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Thomas Campion, Sir Walter Raleigh, and others. Fortunately, it all hangs together beautifully. A good deal of the credit goes to the performer who will no doubt be the disc's strongest drawing card -- actor Ralph Fiennes, who reads the poetry in a direct, immensely appealing style. Sample his reading of Raleigh's love poem "In the grace of wit, of tongue, of face," track 9, and you may be instantly hooked on the disc. The two countertenors involved, England's James Bowman and Canada's Daniel Taylor, perform both together and singly on the disc. Both are supremely gifted interpreters of this material, with smooth voices that achieve startling intimacy and control in these small, sad songs. Their voices would seem to complement each other well, with Bowman's more plaintive sound set against the creamy surfaces of Taylor, but the duets do not work quite as well -- the two singers push and pull the tempos in ways that neither seems entirely at ease with. This may be a matter of subjective preference, however, and any general lover of the golden age of English music, poetry, and drama will profit from having this disc on the shelf and in the stereo or digital music player.
© TiVo
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Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - James Bowman, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Jones, Composer - Daniel Taylor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Levy, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - James Bowman, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Jones, Composer - Daniel Taylor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Levy, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
George Herbert, Composer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist - Ralph Fiennes, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - James Bowman, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Jones, Composer - Daniel Taylor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Levy, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Johnson, Composer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Anonymous, Lyricist - James Bowman, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Jones, Composer - Daniel Taylor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Levy, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
William Shakespeare , Composer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist - Ralph Fiennes, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Anonymous, Lyricist - James Bowman, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Jones, Composer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist - Ralph Fiennes, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Walter Raleigh, Composer
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
2nd Book of Songs (John Dowland)
Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Anonymous, Lyricist - James Bowman, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - John Dowland, Composer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Levy, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
William Shakespeare , Composer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist - Ralph Fiennes, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Anonymous, Lyricist - Robert Jones, Composer - Daniel Taylor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Levy, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
ben jonson, Composer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist - Ralph Fiennes, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Anonymous, Composer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Book of Songs, Book 3, Say, Love, If ever thou didst find (John Dowland)
Anonymous, Lyricist - James Bowman, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - John Dowland, Composer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
John Dowland, Composer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Sighs, "If our sad eyes" (Francis Quarles)
Francis Quarles, Composer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist - Ralph Fiennes, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Book of Songs, Book 3, Me, me and none but me (John Dowland)
Anonymous, Lyricist - John Dowland, Composer - Daniel Taylor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
First Book of Songs (John Dowland)
Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Anonymous, Lyricist - James Bowman, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - John Dowland, Composer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Levy, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Thomas Campion, Composer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist - Ralph Fiennes, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Anonymous, Lyricist - Robert Jones, Composer - Daniel Taylor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Levy, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
James Bowman, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Jones, Composer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
William Shakespeare , Composer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist - Ralph Fiennes, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Johnson, Composer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Thomas Campion, Composer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist - Ralph Fiennes, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Frances Kelly, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - James Bowman, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Jones, Composer - Daniel Taylor, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Elizabeth Kenny, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Levy, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Abraham Cowley, Composer - Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble, MainArtist - Ralph Fiennes, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
2005 BIS 2005 (P) BIS
Album review
This collection of post-Elizabethan melancholy risks being overly ambitious, for it tries to pursue two innovative goals. First, it mixes songs and poetry of the period; it is not the only recording to have done so, but it is likely to be the first one that attendees at the Stratford Festival, say, run across on the rack. Second, it tries to uncover some lesser-known songs: eight pieces on the disc are devoted to the comparatively little-known Robert Jones, along with works by Dowland and Robert Johnson and poetry by Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Thomas Campion, Sir Walter Raleigh, and others. Fortunately, it all hangs together beautifully. A good deal of the credit goes to the performer who will no doubt be the disc's strongest drawing card -- actor Ralph Fiennes, who reads the poetry in a direct, immensely appealing style. Sample his reading of Raleigh's love poem "In the grace of wit, of tongue, of face," track 9, and you may be instantly hooked on the disc. The two countertenors involved, England's James Bowman and Canada's Daniel Taylor, perform both together and singly on the disc. Both are supremely gifted interpreters of this material, with smooth voices that achieve startling intimacy and control in these small, sad songs. Their voices would seem to complement each other well, with Bowman's more plaintive sound set against the creamy surfaces of Taylor, but the duets do not work quite as well -- the two singers push and pull the tempos in ways that neither seems entirely at ease with. This may be a matter of subjective preference, however, and any general lover of the golden age of English music, poetry, and drama will profit from having this disc on the shelf and in the stereo or digital music player.
© TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 27 track(s)
- Total length: 01:15:39
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: James Bowman Ralph Fiennes Daniel Taylor
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: BIS
- Genre: Classical Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred)
2005 BIS 2005 BIS
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