Scherzi Musicali

Dowland in Copenhagen

At the Danish court, the most melancholic of all lutenists finds recognition, freedom and a prince who pays generously. Four hundred years after Dowland's birth, Scherzi Musicali follows in his footsteps to Scandinavia, where Dowland's songs resonate between northern light and courtly refinement. Where the songs are usually performed by one singer with lute, Nicolas Achten opted for four voices and four lutes: a consort that lets the music breathe outside the intimacy of the royal chambers – broader, richer, yet still poetic and on a human scale. Works by Danish contemporaries such as Nielsen, Aagesen and Pederson, who colored Dowland's sojourn in the north, together sketch a refined musical culture in which English refinement, continental taste and Scandinavian clarity found each other. Programme: J. Dowland: Go from my window | My thoughts are winged with hope | Sir John souch his galiard | I saw my lady weepe | Mistress winter's jump | In darkness let mee dwell | H. Nielsen: Fuggi mio cor | T. Aegesen: Se'l vostro volto | M. Borchgrevinck: Paduana | M. Pederson: T'amo mia vita