Danyel: Dost thou withdraw thy grace?

Anthony Rooley writes: ‘Even in 1926, when Peter Warlock published his brief essay on the English Lute Songs, John Danyel was singled out as being perhaps the finest lute-song composer (John Dowland not excepted) by perceptive Warlock. Nobody believed him then, and not much has changed now – but I agree with Warlock. John Danyel composed some of the finest songs in the English language, but he has left us too little for him to be judged a ‘great master’! Just one slim volume of songs and a few exceedingly difficult lute solos in manuscript.

‘After I had completed the complete Dowland recordings in 1976/77, I was eager to be sure Danyel was made available too. I had discovered that his one book was designed not so much as a “song-cycle”, but as a “song-story”, carefully structured and sequenced. The craftsmanship is obvious from the start, but the extraordinary level of artistry in song achieved by Danyel is most apparent in the two “song-cycles” within the larger story: “Grief keep within” and “Can doleful notes?”. As Warlock observed, there is simply nothing to compare with these two works, in the entire Lute Song output. Danyel’s ability to create a large-scale architecture, both musically and emotionally, with the simplest of means is remarkable. He and Dowland were good friends; there was no enmity between them – only respect. I hope this reissue will find new Danyel converts!’

This important recording receives its first international CD issue, which includes a new introductory note by Anthony Rooley, the original liner notes and full song texts.

This collection of songs is based on the theme of the courting of Daphne of Apollo and Anthony Rooley has suggested that it can be regarded as the first song-cycle in England.

This captivating recording was produced by Sting.

Emma Kirkby has enchanted audiences with her almost supernaturally clear and agile soprano ever since she first appeared on the Early Music scene in the 1970s. As the art of historically informed performance has become more and more widely appreciated, so has her style of singing to the extent that she was included in a listing of ‘the 20 greatest sopranos ever’ made by the BBC Music Magazine in 2007.

Released on the occasion of her 60th birthday, the present collection celebrates her collaboration with BIS and includes highly acclaimed performances of works from her repertoire such as Handel solo cantatas (with London Baroque) and Dowland songs (with Anthony Rooley and Jakob Lindberg) as well as pieces by less familiar composers, such as Ariosti and Amodei, de Lalande and Schimmelpfennig. This collection provides an opportunity to sample the work of an exceptional singer in all its variety.

The accompanying booklet includes a personal appreciation of the performer by music critic Brian Robins, as well as the texts – in the original languages with English translations where applicable – of all the works featured.