Songs from the Labyrinth (Music by John Dowland)

Fascinating album

Sting's foray into Renaissance music is fascinating for a number of reasons. He doesn't have the voice that one associates with singers of madrigals: one thinks of college and university vocal ensembles, small groups of near-professional choral singers, etc. Then one remembers that in Dowland's day, as in our own, people of "average" voice also sang this kind of music -- musicke, if you will: recall some of the complicated hymnody that is still sung in Anglican churches around the world. The string work is absolutely beautiful, of course, and it contrasts, nicely, in the end, with the voice, which in this case has not been developed to what we would expect to hear. If you ever wondered what "you" would sound like singing this kind of music, listen to Sting sing it, then have a go yourself. This album is a reminder that great art from all periods belongs to everyone; that professionalism in one realm does not necessarily translate into professionalism in all realms; and that there is still room in life for the amateur, in the true sense of the word: for one who does what one does, for better or not, simply because one loves it. We are all in Sting's debt for this album. November 17, 2008

Sting's versions here more authentic?

I'm no musicologist, but perhaps this album brings up an interesting point.

Consider for a moment, how quiet and intimate string instruments were from this time. The strong, operatic voices commonly employed today for this early music are more at home in large concert halls, not intimate gatherings. In most recordings of Dowland's music you can barely hear the lute because the voice is so powerful in comparison.

I wonder if quieter, "pop" style voices like Sting's were the norm during this period. Perhaps, as instruments became louder, and the venues for hearing them larger, the more powerful-voiced operatic style developed and became the norm.

It would be very odd if vocals did not change over hundreds of years, while instruments certainly did.

Maybe Sting's versions here are more authentic than what is considered "authentic" today. September 11, 2008

there was a time when 'classical' music was new as well

I really like the music on this CD and that includes the spoken parts. It is meaningful in a way that the English tend to capture very well, the intersection or overlapping of happy feelings and tragedy.

I have been biased towards Sting for a long time but especially since his song 'russians' which captures some difficult times I had around 1985.

but thankfully the Cold War is over.

interestingly enough, I have an Irish last name and I used to have an English housemate who feared that I supported the IRA. Growing up in a military family I understood the basis for his concern but I said, don't worry about it. terror is not something I endorse.

which is my way of saying that times change but basic human patterns of thought and passion remain eternal. inferior artists either ignore context altogether or they record CDs that are so topical that they are forgotten when the issues of the day have been resolved.

I think it is much better to preserve an understanding of context and also express oneself in a human way. that means the notes are not going to be perfect b/c that is not how life, or performance, works.

there is a kind of airbrushed sterile perfection to a lot of classical performances - far from all of them - but they require a truly monumental level of student and teacher discipline and years and years and years of endless

training

and

grinding hard work

so that the performance can be unnaturally perfect.

the feminist, Naomi Wolf, has criticized female ideals of beauty in the beauty myth. someone should do the same for classical performances.

that the music is excellent and in general so are the students and teachers but the demand for perfection leads to an airbrushed glossiness combined with lack of error that is just not seen in nature. or in 'naturally' acting human beings.

and that turns a lot of people away from classical music as well as music in general.

so this CD is about hearing music performed very well but with a kind of flawed imperfection that is genuine. b/c we are not robots.

given that, I think the playing is excellent; this is a very interesting and unusual choice of composer to study; I really like the music, and the singing is good.

to me there is everything to like unless life has to be a perfect performance.

this is not the familiar criticism of excellence versus a more human mistake.

this is me saying that the excesses of musical performance will alienate everyone except those few capable of doing the just-about-impossible.

devotees of classical music are digging their own graves with that approach. attendance at concerts has fallen off a cliff and that is as it should be, imo. the focus and dedication required to produce this resembles child abuse in too many cases.

that is why alternatives such as Sting's recording are badly needed.

what we now call 'classical' used to be new and fresh. it also provoked controversy. as this CD has done. August 28, 2008

Ignore the academic backlash against all things popular.

Why is it that "experienced classical listeners" are so irate when something like this comes along? Must be that with this recording, Sting has opened the door for the "base commoner" to enjoy these Masterworks from a long-forgotten repertoire. Perhaps in the same way people feel betrayed when a local restaurant turns into a national chain, I believe long-time fans of Renaissance lute music must feel that their "secret" little niche of music has been overrun by the Barbarian Horde thanks to Sting.

Who purchased this recording expecting High Art? If so, your disappointment is of your own making. What made this album appealing to me and so many others is that it was NOT a stuffy, academic endeavor with "pure pronunciation" or "exquisite diction" or an aloof operatic feel.

This is one of England's premier modern pop artists making public his discovery of perhaps the country's most accomplished pop artist in John Dowland. What other artist would have the courage to step so far out of his domain and open himself to such criticism for the love of the music? What lutenist has done more to attract the world's attention to Dowland and his peers?

This recording opened my eyes to the vast and overlooked repertoire for lute from the Renaissance through the Baroque. Because of Sting, I have discovered the recordings of virtuosi like Paul O'Dette, Hopkinson Smith, Nigel North, Jose Miguel Moreno, Paul Beier, and so many others, playing the music of forgotten Masters like Francesco da Milano, Giovanni Kapsburger, Sylvius Weiss, Robert de Visee, et al.

In the last two years, I have acquired an 8-course Renaissance lute, a 13-course Baroque lute, and have commissioned a theorbo to pursue my passion for this music, and again, it all started with Sting.

I still find that some of these pieces move me every bit as much as a technically flawless O'Dette recording. They are intimate and sensitive and they speak to plain folk every bit as much as to early music enthusiasts.



August 26, 2008

Good try, but not for the Dowland enthusiast

Full marks to Sting for making the only worthwhile "Crossover" album in the last decade. This is because he is singing such suberb repertoire.

Whilst these works do not require an opera singer, they do require a singer with considerable musical skills. Alas, Sting doesn't quite convince me that he has such skills yet, although he imagine that he will greatly improve with time and some lessons. I guess he might consider the songs of Thomas Campion, next? Or maybe he has a friend with a fortepiano, and a Winterreise might be considered?

For anyone who has developed a real interest in Dowland's music, please seriously consider the complete recording of Dowland's music by Anthony Rooley's The Consort of Musicke or various recitals of Dowlands songs by Emma Kirkby, James Bowman, Alfred Deller, Paul Agnew, Nigel Rogers (excellent in this field), Steve Rickards or Andreas Scholl. August 24, 2008

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