Benjamin britten nocturnal after john dowland

Framing the discвЂ™s focal point is a selection of glorious Elizabethan and Jacobean lute music by acknowledged masters of the genre. The overriding theme of lutenist Jakob LindbergвЂ™s new album on BIS вЂ“ taking its title from Benjamin BrittenвЂ™s solo guitar work which forms the centrepiece вЂ“ is Nocturnal, and it provides plenty of вЂsoul musicвЂ™, some of it tinged with melancholy, but much with a more positive mood. And surely the musical instrument par excellence for solitary musings is the Renaissance lute, thanks not just to its gentle plucked tones but also to the way in which the player gently cradles the instrument, as if it were a sleeping loved one. Music of the night is also music for the soul: while the rest of the world sleeps, the self in its solitude can gaze inwards or reflect outwards. The closing track is by HolborneвЂ™s contemporary, John Johnson, and bids the listener Good Night and Good Rest. Dowland himself is represented by a selection of six lute solos, while the opening section consists of five pieces by DowlandвЂ™s older colleague Anthony Holborne. Nocturnal is based on John DowlandвЂ™s four-part song вЂCome, Heavy SleepвЂ™, and inspired by this, Jakob Lindberg has placed it as the centrepiece of a recital with mostly Elizabethan pieces, many of which also evoke aspects of the night. Much later, when he learned that Britten had originally had in mind to compose a piece for the lute, he started to experiment playing sections of Nocturnal on his Renaissance lute, and soon decided to make a transcription of the complete work. During his last year with the modern guitar Lindberg was working on Benjamin BrittenвЂ™s Nocturnal after John Dowland, one of the seminal guitar works of the 20th century. When he decided to devote himself exclusively to the historic lute repertoire it was with some regret that he gave up his first love. One of todayвЂ™s foremost exponents of his instrument, Jakob Lindberg arrived at the lute by way of the guitar and played both for several years.

Benjamin britten nocturnal after john dowland