Near your ear

Blessed echoes Long before Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, there were already singer-songwriters who could enchant an audience with nothing more than a voice and some strings. In England around 1600, they were called Dowland, Campion or Morley, and their 'lute songs' were the pop ballads of that time: personal, poetic and disarmingly simple. What makes this music so powerful is its directness: a question-and-answer play between voice and instrument. Près de votre oreille mines the most beautiful pieces from this iconic repertoire. Master-of-melancholy John Dowland takes centre stage, flanked by lesser-known contemporaries. The warm sound of the viola da gamba and the elegant energy of the lute form a combination that sounds both intimate and rich – a velvet soundbed for the vocal part. For a moment, AMUZ becomes a room in Elizabethan London, where breathless listening and heartfelt enjoyment is what matters. Programme: Songs and instrumental works by A. Ferrabosco II, R. Jones, T. Ford, M. Cavendish, J. Dowland, P. Rosseter, T. Campion