Programmes

"And you my tongue, that makes my mouth a mint, 

and stamps my thoughts to coin them words by art"

 

So writes John Dowland in the very first of his published songs. Just as he invites us to consider his expressions as a coin - something real, something of value - he also invites us to see his tongue as a forge: an engine that crafts his ideas into a sensible medium.

 

By extension, we could think of voices, lute strings, ensemble, as parts of a forge - as elements of a workshop to shape thoughts into music: Dowland’s Foundry.

 

After four centuries, Dowland’s music is as current as when it was "minted". He remains one of history’s great composers: a musical genius of uncommon sensitivity and generosity. In this programme, we celebrate his most central characteristics: a wise approach to love and fortune’s vicissitudes, and a redeeming merry melancholy.