Massimo Marchese - The Sound Of Tears - Works For Lute (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Sir John Smith, His Almain, P. 47 (From Varietie of Lute Lessons)
02. Preludium, P. 98 (From The Margaret Board Lute Book)
03. Lachrimae, P. 15 (From Folger Dowland Manuscript)
04. The Shoemaker’s Wife, A Toy, P. 58 (From Cambridge University Library, Ms. Dd.9.33)
05. Semper Dowland Semper Dolens, P. 9 (From The Euing Lute Book)
06. What If A Day, P. 79 (From The Dowland Lute Book)
07. Resolution, P. 13 (From Cambridge University Library, Nn. 6.36)
08. Complaint, P. 63 (From Cambridge University Library, Ms. Dd.2.11)
09. Solus cum sola, P. 10 (From The Euing Lute Book)
10. Fortune My Foe, P. 62 (From William Barley, A New Booke Of Tabliture)
11. Sir Henry Umpton’s Funeral, H. 9 (From Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares)
12. A Dream, P. 75 (From Hirsch Lute Book)
13. Tarleton’s Resurrection, P. 59 (From The Wickhambrook Lute Book)
14. Dr. Case’s Pavan, P. 12 (From Cambridge University Library, Ms. Dd.2.11)
15. Mr. Dowland’s Midnight, P. 99 (From The Margaret Board Lute Book)
16. Lachrimae tristes, H. 4 (From Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares)
17. A Piece Without Title, P. 78 (From The Euing Lute Book)

John Dowland occupies a unique place in the history of music: a rare figure, capable of defining an era both as a composer and as a virtuoso. Despite his Catholic faith — no small obstacle in England at the time — and a temperament notoriously prone to melancholy, he achieved international fame. In 1598, the poet Richard Barnfield immortalised his talent in the famous sonnet: “Dowland to thee is dear, whose heavenly touch/Upon the lute doth ravish human sense. These words encapsulate the essence of his art: a heavenly timbral beauty combined with profound emotional intensity.
Although today he is associated almost exclusively with the melancholic aesthetic of the pavane ‘Lachrimae’, Dowland’s output is surprisingly multifaceted. His writing balances a natural melodic talent with refined contrapuntal rigour; even in the most virtuosic passages, the music remains perfectly idiomatic for the lute. His catalogue boasts around a hundred solo pieces, as many songs, and seminal works for viol consort.