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Founded in Weimar in 2001, The Playfords ensemble draws their inspiration from The English Dancing Master, a collection published in England in 1651 by John and Henry Playford. Technical notes on various dances are written in accompaniment to popular melodies, with the harmonies and the bass improvised depending on the talent and fancies of the musicians. This is the premise which the ensemble works from, trying to preserve a certain element of authenticity through spontaneous improvisation, in tandem with advice from Renaissance dance and music experts.
This album, called Dark Cloud Songs, elicits the Thirty Years’ War, a violent and bloody period of 17th-century European history. German ballads, folk songs, hymns for heros and melancholic laments evoke an account of suffering marked by hunger and death. There are multiple arrangements with an array of different string instruments, both plucked and bowed, as well as wind instruments and also percussion. This is music first and foremost, but also lyrics which reflect the spirit and frame of mind of an uncertain and troubled period of time which would come to an end with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Nevertheless, Europe would not find peace for nearly another three hundred years. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Anonymous, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Johannes Werlin, Adapter - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Björn Werner, Speaker, MainArtist - Martin Opitz, Lyricist - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Melchior Franck, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Anonymous, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Björn Werner, Speaker, MainArtist - Paul Fleming, Lyricist - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer - F.R. Berger, Composer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Björn Werner, Speaker, MainArtist - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer - Hofmann von Hoffmannswaldau, Lyricist
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Anonymous, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Johannes Werlin, Adapter - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Tobias Hume, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Heinrich Schütz, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Tobias Hume, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Vicentz Rupffenbart, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer - F.R. Berger, Composer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer - Wilhelmus van Nassouwe, Composer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Anonymous, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Björn Werner, Speaker, MainArtist - Martin Opitz, Lyricist - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Anonymous, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Björn Werner, Speaker, MainArtist - Andreas Gryphius, Lyricist - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Heinrich Schütz, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Samuel Scheidt, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Anonymous, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Christoph Demantius, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Caspar Othmayr, Composer - The Playfords, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Benjamin Dreßler, Engineer
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Album review
Founded in Weimar in 2001, The Playfords ensemble draws their inspiration from The English Dancing Master, a collection published in England in 1651 by John and Henry Playford. Technical notes on various dances are written in accompaniment to popular melodies, with the harmonies and the bass improvised depending on the talent and fancies of the musicians. This is the premise which the ensemble works from, trying to preserve a certain element of authenticity through spontaneous improvisation, in tandem with advice from Renaissance dance and music experts.
This album, called Dark Cloud Songs, elicits the Thirty Years’ War, a violent and bloody period of 17th-century European history. German ballads, folk songs, hymns for heros and melancholic laments evoke an account of suffering marked by hunger and death. There are multiple arrangements with an array of different string instruments, both plucked and bowed, as well as wind instruments and also percussion. This is music first and foremost, but also lyrics which reflect the spirit and frame of mind of an uncertain and troubled period of time which would come to an end with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Nevertheless, Europe would not find peace for nearly another three hundred years. © François Hudry/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 24 track(s)
- Total length: 01:07:59
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: The Playfords
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Deutsche Harmonia Mundi
- Genre: Classical
(P) 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
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