Sting! Who knew! - I m an early music fan. I also love the work of John Dowland, have lived in Denmark, and visited the castle of King Christian IV where Dowland spent an unhappy time. I resisted having anything to do with this DVD/CD at first, until the PBS presentation that showed Sting at his castle in the U.K. with the amazing lute player. Now I tell all my early-music friends that, yes, the CD is good, but the DVD is better! It s not what we ve been used to hearing, but it s an interesting and world-view-expanding experience to see and hear what Sting has done. Now, I m buying it for all my friends who are Sting fans who would never listen to early music!
Surprisingly enjoyable.... - I have been a Sting/Police fan since my youth, and I have to admit - I was very skeptical when I first heard about this latest venture from Sting. After hearing some of the tracks, the disc began to grow on me. The DVD is the highlight here. Beautifully photographed, and intelligently produced. The performances in and around Sting s Tuscan villa are breathtaking. The live performances are nice as well. Very little was known about this John Dowland man, but he seems to have been quite the character. I m glad I added this to my collection.
The Journey & The Labyrinth - The album was just fantastic! Very different from Sting s usual music. He should do more of it.
To buy or not to buy, that is the question - When I was younger, I went on a wine-appreciation course. The first thing I was told was: Don t let snobs dictate your taste to you: if you like chilled red wine with fish, *drink* chilled red wine with fish!Over the years, I have found this to be good advice, and not just about wine.70 years ago, Andrés Segovia played the Bach Chaconne for the first time in Paris. He said I could measure my success by the rage of the violinists. But the guitarists didn t care. Nowadays Bach on the guitar is commonplace.50 years ago, lutenists criticised Julian Bream for playing their instrument like a guitar. He said It s my job to blow the dust off these things.It always miffs insiders when an outsider comes along and brings their speciality to a new audience, even though they may publicly applaud him for doing so: it will be a lucky outsider who doesn t get stick for not doing things the correct way.So the Amazon (and other) reviewers of Songs from the Labyrinth fall (for the most part) into two camps: Early Music buffs, and Sting fans. As I joined the Lute Society in 1973, and reviewed Early Music for several years, I suppose I must be considered to fall more into the former category than the latter.But, it seems to me that all the discussion of authenticity, impassioned and learnèd though it may be, is irrelevant. The only important questions are: Has the performer made a serious attempt to understand what s going on in the music? and Does he bring something fresh to it?In Sting s case, the answer is clearly Yes to both. And that said, the only other thing of importance is whether you like the result.I do like it, and I m glad to see I m not alone, even among us old fogeys. And with music samples and now video samples available on-line, you don t have to play guessing games to know whether you will too.The DVD======Over and above the value of the music, the DVD is very well put together. There are songs, lute music, anecdotes and historical discussions, all skilfully and entertainingly intercut, and each complete in itself but not so long that the attention of the newcomer will start to wander. You can see Edin trying not to laugh when Tony Rooley and David Pinto almost get into an argument. And the whole thing is visually gorgeous. My favourite bit is where Sting fissions into four and sings a quartet with himself, sitting around a table.By the way, there are a couple of in jokes that may go over the heads of those new to this music:Sting ribs Edin about giving him the hard part in the anonymous lute duet Le Rossignol, in fact, the two parts are virtually identical, one being an echo of the other, merely four bars out of phase.More subtle is the somewhat unexpected appearance of Hellhound on my Trail, which is of course by the noted blues singer Robert Johnson murdered in 1938 (but somehow copyright 1990, it says here). Another Robert Johnson, also a lutenist (and son of that John Johnson whose vacated position Dowland failed to secure at the court of Elizabeth I), was one of Dowland s colleagues at the court of James I. He was the composer of Have You Seen the Bright Lily Grow, so the DVD contains works by two different Robert Johnsons.Lutenists will be interested to note that Edin Karamazov plays (right hand) thumb under, although Dowland himself switched in mid-life from thumb-under to thumb-over -- presumably for what seemed to him to be good reasons. He is clearly a fine player with a great deal of facility, but I feel obliged to say that his Dowland Fantasy (P. 6, for those that are interested) seems to me a bit of a mess. Don t take my word for it, you already know Anthony Rooley, and his version is on Renaissance Fantasias. It s also on disc 8 of his mammoth 12-disc set, with his wife (the famous singer Emma Kirkby) and The Consort of Musicke: Dowland -- The Collected Works. Here are some more versions for comparison:Christopher Wilson: RosaJulian Bream: Lute Music from the Royal Courts of EuropeJakob Lindberg: Dowland -- Complete Solo Lute MusicWhere to go from here================The person who spearheaded the revival of interest in Dowland, and the lute in general, was Julian Bream. No one ever breathed more life into this music, and if you re new to the lute, you can t go wrong with his recordings, many of which are still available.On the other hand, if Sting is your thing, Bream s Dowland songs with Sir Peter Pears are unlikely to be. Nevertheless, you can hear them on Heavenly Love, Earthly Joy.Of Bream s successors, one of his personal favourites certainly seems to be Nigel North: you can read his glowing tribute on Nigel s website. Only three volumes of Dowland s music by Nigel have so far appeared, though: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2) & (Vol. 3).The complete lute music is available from Jakob Lindberg (mentioned above) and from Paul O Dette (Complete Lute Works -- also as individual discs), two of my personal favourite players. If you liked Le Rossignol, you will certainly enjoy them together on English Lute Duets.The acknowledged authority on Dowland in her day was the late Diana Poulton. She is the author of the standard biography (Faber & Faber, ISBN 0-520-04687-0), and also editor of the Collected Lute Music (Faber Music, ISBN 0-571-10024-4).The Lute======Lute sales have quadrupled, says the Lute Society. If you re thinking well, I can play the guitar: how hard can the lute be?, think again. By all means take it up, but it s a *very* different instrument!The British and American Lute Societies can both be found on line.And now my 1,000 words are up. Good hunting!
Enchanting, visually stunning - It seems at first like Sting really stretched on this one, but if you re a dedicated fan, you ll see that his career has been leading here all along. Think of St. Agnes and the Burning Train on his Soul Cages CD. The four-hundred-year-old music of John Dowland is haunting, and Sting brings it to vibrant life with reverence and enthusiasm. Listen, and you ll be drawn into an older world that at times feels surprisingly familiar, a world of love with all it s faces, melencholy, religious persecution, and career ambition. The DVD was filmed at Sting s personal residences, and if you love atmosphere, it s all here. I recommend the DVD over the CD alone, because the images of Sting singing in those beautiful surroundings help overcome the cultural difference for those who have never heard music like this before. Also, you ll get to hear Message in a bottle, arranged for the lute on this one, recorded on the companion CD.