Dowland - The Collected Works / The Consort of Musicke, Rooley [Box set]

John Dowland (Artist), Anthony Rooley (Artist), Emma Kirkby (Artist), Christopher Wilson (Artist), The Consort of Musicke (Artist), Colin Tilney (Artist), Anthony Bailes (Artist), Jakob Lindberg (Artist), Nigel North (Artist), Glenda Simpson (Artist), Peter Holman (Artist), John Donne (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 13, 2007)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 12
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B000004CYV
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,890 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #5 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Historical Periods > Renaissance (c.1450-1600)
  • #18 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Psalms
  • #21 in Music > Classical > Instruments > Reeds & Winds > Recorder

Editorial Reviews

In performance and on record, Elvis Costello and Sting have introduced rock fans to the 400-year-old songs of John Dowland. The bewitching compositions of the lute master have been treasured in classical circles for centuries, and here's the best way to fall under their spell: 12 CDs of performances by Anthony Rooley and the Consort of Musicke. Includes four Bookes of Songes ; several CDs of lute music, plus Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations; Lachrimae; A Musicall Banquet , and more!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A musical treasure-box, September 9, 2006

By 

Steven Guy (Croydon, South Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dowland - The Collected Works / The Consort of Musicke, Rooley (Audio CD)

Both the music and this actual product are masterpieces. John Dowland's collected works here - covering 12 compact discs - exhibit the depth and power of this composer, a composer who many now regard as suffering from clinical depression. I doubt that the issue of the diagnosis of Dowland's depression can ever be settled, however, it is certainly obvious from his music, so completely on display here, that he was a man with very dark depths and corners in his mind. Dowland's various manifestations and "takes" on his own tune, "Flow my tears"/"Lachrimae" are here. This tune has haunted me ever since I first heard it when I was a child. It seems to sum up Dowland's feelings - at least Dowland seems to have thought so.

The First, Second, Third and Fourth Bookes of Songes, A Musicall Banquet, the keyboard transcriptions, all the lute music, consort music are here and virtually everything else written or supposedly written by John Dowland. Anthony Rooley and The Consort of Musicke perform this music with style and feeling throughout. This 12 CD set is something of a monument to the ensemble - I only wish they'd finished their collection of Monteverdi madrigals, which was equally good (La Venexiana are currently doing a magnificent job of recording all Monteverdi's books of madrigals for the GLOSSA label).

This is an expensive set, however, you will probably never need to buy another John Dowland CD again after buying and listening to this collection.

I bought this CD set on a mild Summer evening of 1998 and listened to it while sitting in my sun room - which a glorious orange sunset in progress, and a glass of wine. It brought back so many memories.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest songs ever?, July 26, 2007

By 

Daniel Dennis (Oxford, England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dowland - The Collected Works / The Consort of Musicke, Rooley (Audio CD)

I heard 'clear or cloudy', from this recording, on the radio recently and had to purchase it. It is strange but it is the sort of song that makes life prior to listening to it different from life after. I find it sad that so many people haven't heard it. There are also many other wonderful works in this collection. Given you get twelve well recorded CDs with top quality performances, this has to be one of the bargains of the age.

Please buy it.

42 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a beautiful journey into melancholy, June 14, 2001

By 

Juan C. Garay (Bogota, Colombia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dowland - The Collected Works / The Consort of Musicke, Rooley (Audio CD)

I'm amazed at how many people tend to associate John Dowland's music with a tragic sense of drama. While no doubt this is art highly based on sadness, the "tragic" sense of it is more a legacy from the Romantic period. During the Renaissance, however, sadness was undestood as a very aesthetic way of approaching life. That is also the reason why Shakespeare's tragedies appear more sophisticated than his comedies.

Dowland, a contemporary of Shakespeare, discovered that meditating on a sad theme is, at the same time, a way of discovering a special beauty that we tend to avoid (maybe because of the "tragic" heritage of the Romantics). So, in the end, meditating on sadness is an uplifting experience! This box set is a journey into melancholy that includes songs, chamber music, pieces for lute, some rare sacred music and -as a highlight- Dowland's beautiful collection of seven pieces for viola which he called "Lachrimae" (Tears).