Helen Charlston & Toby Carr - Dowland

Performers: Helen Charlston, mezzo-soprano Toby Carr, lute

Programme: Ben Rowarth (b.1992) Echo 1. Prelude John Dowland (1563-1626) Sorrow, sorrow stay Rowarth Echo 2. Dream Dowland If that a sinner’s sighs Dowland Preludium Dowland I saw my lady weep Anna Semple (b.1997) Can doleful notes to measured accents set? Dowland Weep you no more sad fountains Rowarth & Semple Echo 3. Interlude Danyel Time, Cruel Time Semple Prelude Dowland The lowest trees have tops Dowland In Darkness let me Dwell Rowarth Echo 4. Echo Dowland Now, O now I needs must part Semple Postlude

Gramophone award winning duo, Helen Charlston and Toby Carr bring to life the heartfelt music of English Renaissance songwriter, John Dowland. The world of song, from Schubert Lieder to the biggest act at Glastonbury, started with the creativity of Dowland, and his emotive repertoire has bewitched audiences and performers for centuries. The duo has adapted his music for 21 st century ears via composers Ben Rowarth and Anna Semple, who have written new songs responding directly to Dowland’s ideas, adding a modern-day extension to his extraordinary lineage of song.

“It’s an instinctive partnership, one to follow in the future. You get the strong sense... that they’re only just getting started.” (Gramophone Magazine)

“Helen Charlston’s voice is little short of miraculous.” (Evening Standard)