Greensleeves: A Collection of English Lute Songs

Thomas Morley (Composer), Thomas Campion (Composer), English Anonymous (Composer), Alfonso [2] Ferrabosco (Composer), Philip Rosseter (Composer), Antony Holborne (Composer), John Dowland (Composer), Scottish Traditional (Composer), English Traditional (Composer), Michael Cavendish (Composer), Anonymous (Composer), Nicholas Lanier (Composer), Julianne Baird (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Julianne Baird
• Composer: Thomas Morley, Thomas Campion, English Anonymous, Alfonso [2] Ferrabosco, Philip Rosseter, et al.
• Audio CD (August 31, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dorian Recordings
• ASIN: B000001Q89
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,051 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greensleeves (Baird/McFarlane), September 30, 2000

By 

Dylan Chernov (fairbanks, ak USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greensleeves: A Collection of English Lute Songs (Audio CD)

Incredible! Stunning musicianship from beginning to end. For fans of Dowland, this recording is a gem. The blend of lute and voice on 'In darkness let me dwell' is downright haunting. This recording is an absolute pleasure. 5 stars just might be an understatement here...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Graceful music, September 26, 2005

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Greensleeves: A Collection of English Lute Songs (Audio CD)

The lute is a string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep, round back. In many ways, it is related to later similar instructments such as the guitar and banjo. It descends from a Middle Eastern instrument similar to the oud. The lute was one of the major musical instruments of the Middle Ages, and much music was composed for the lute, both as a stand-alone instrument as well as an accompaniment for singers.

This disc has some samples of both. Some songs are anonymous compositions, often derivative of much older folk tunes. Others are original compositions whose composers are known by name. Among these names are John Dowland, Thomas Morley, Alfonso Ferrabosco, Michael Cavendish, Thomas Campion, Nicholas Lanier, and Anthony Holborne, all of the 1500s/1600s. The music here involves both the 8-course lute and the 10-course lute (during the later Baroque time, lutes could have as many as 28 strings!).

The lute was eventually displaced by keyboard and other instruments, so in many ways its life is that of the music of the past. However, with recordings such as these, the lute lives again in vibrant form. Ronn McFarlane learned to play on a cheap steel-string guitar, but continued to study in a rather eclectic fashion, eventually studying at the Shenandoah Conservatory and the Peabody Conservatory prior to settling upon the lute as his primary instrument. In this recording, he is paired with Julianne Baird, a soprano with significant recording experience.

McFarlane and Baird emphasise the simplicity and lightness of the songs here; while some lute music and some folk tunes can be very elaborately arranged, here the performers strive for a more direct elegance. The particular period emphasised is Elizabethean; McFarlane and Baird sound as if they have come directly from the Queen's court directly.

This is a beautiful recording.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enchanting CD all round, August 5, 2009

By 

Laraine A. Barker "Laraine A Barker" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Greensleeves: A Collection of English Lute Songs (Audio CD)

Soprano Julianne Baird is well known in the US as a specialist in Early Music, but I'm ashamed to admit until this CD came my way I had never heard of her, though I had heard of Ronn McFarlane. If I'd been actively looking for the music represented here I would almost certainly have gone straight for Emma Kirkby. Judging from the singing on this CD, however, Julianne Baird deserves her popularity in America. From the moment she started on IT WAS A LOVER AND HIS LASS (which our school choir used to torment) I was won over. The programme is carefully chosen to avoid the melancholy songs swamping listeners, thus leaving their spirits down instead of uplifted. And to add to the variety seven lute solos are evenly interspersed among the songs. Baird and McFarlane are a perfectly matched duo in this recital and it's such a delight to listen to songs in English whose lyrics match the quality of the music that my only disappointment stems from the omission of two stanzas in IT WAS A LOVER AND HIS LASS. It seemed like a desecration to chop away half of Shakespeare's lyrics!