Johnson reviews
Orpheus: Songs, Arias and Madrigals by Johnson, Draghi, Greene, Byrd, Rasi, Monteverdi, Rossi et al
Julian Prégardien; Teatro del Mondo/Andreas Küppers (CPO)
Flow My Tears
Themes of love and loss pervade this varied sequence of English lute songs both past and present. Theatre ditties by the Virgin Queen’s court lutenist Robert Johnson give way to funeral laments by his contemporary John Danyel epitomising the melancholy spirit of the age, while wistful love songs and lute solos by Dowland contrast with playful militaristic viol pieces by the quirky soldier-composer Tobias Hume.