Johnson, R: Where the bee sucks

Shakespeare – Come again sweet love is a haunting collection of songs and madrigals by some of the great masters of the Renaissance period, including Purcell, Dowland and Gibbons. The theme of the album is “love” in all its many forms, expressed through the poetry of the Shakespearian Era and the music it inspired.

Daniel Taylor is joined on the album by the Theatre of Early Music (founded and conducted by Daniel Taylor) and famous soloists Dame Emma Kirkby, Carolyn Sampson, Michael Chance and Charles Daniels.

Daniel and the Theatre of Early Music appear in some 30 concerts every year. The ensemble consists of a choir and orchestra that are dedicated to sustain the heritage of magnificent yet neglected choral and instrumental repertoire from four centuries. Their recent performance could be seen on stages in France, England, Argentina, Brazil and China.

Daniel Taylor is a prolific recording artist who has worked on numerous albums including Sakamoto’s pop-opera Life with the Dalai Lama and Salman Rushdie, Renaissance duets with actor Ralph Fiennes, and Bach recitals with the Theatre of Early Music to name only a few.

English Lute Songs covers a variety of styles by composers such as Blow, Dowland, Campion, Lawes and Purcell; some for voice and lute and some for lute alone. It is a disc which aims to look beyond the standard repertoire for countertenor and lute and hopefully introduce listeners to some lesser known pieces which will delight and enthrall.

Robin Blaze and Liz Kenny have performed these works together on the concert platform to great acclaim.

Matthew Wadsworth is one of the foremost lutenists of his generation. Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 1997, he has quickly gained recognition as one of leading exponents of the 17th-century lute repertoire. This includes the works of Robert Johnson, the last of the great English lutenists and the only known composer to have provided music for Shakespeare’s plays. Much of Johnson’s output is, remarkably, rarely recorded. On this CD, alongside well known songs such as Where the bee sucks and Care charming sleep, are many previously unrecorded masterpieces. Joining Matthew is soprano Carolyn Sampson, who has been described by The Gramophone as “now the best British early music soprano by quite some distance.”

Music from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries composed for Shakespeare's plays or to celebrate his work. A wide range of instrumental sounds and some splendid singing create a fascinating programme of dynamic and cheerful English music, performed by one of Britain's leading ensembles.

Ranging from Shakespeare’s contemporaries to the Victorian school and beyond, this fine box set calls on some of the greatest artists—including a wealth of British talent—to celebrate the diversity and longevity of English song. From simple melodic expression to the textural sophistication of orchestral settings, with the sea and landscape assuming a prominent role throughout, the songs included here comprise a fitting tribute, simultaneously revealing the rich cultural legacy of English poetry.