Description

Purcell, Dowland, Pepys / Morelli, Holland English songs & american ballads<p> Reginald Mobley, countertenor<br> Zachary Wilder, tenor<br> Brandon Acker, guitar<br> Doug Balliett, viola da gamba</p><p> Seventeenth-century England witnessed a prodigious flourishing of musical activity: John Dowland ushered in a golden age that was brought to a close by Henry Purcell, poets of intimacy, champions of an aesthetic cultivating a noble elegance (Dowland's "Flow my Tears" is exemplary in this regard). Purcell, above all, laid the foundations of a tradition that endures to this day, thanks to his persistent bass lines: over these hypnotic swaying grounds, the voice spreads its wings in complete freedom, as illustrated by songs such as "O Solitude" or "Music for a While."</p><p> With theorbo and guitar of Brandon Acker, not forgetting the viol of Douglas Balliet, two accomplished musicians, countertenor Reginald Mobley and tenor Zachary Wilder will strive, with admirable eloquence and naturalness, to magnify these two giants, also offering us the opportunity to discover their legacy: in the United States at the end of the 19th century, Justin Holland, an African-American classical guitarist and composer, sought to disseminate the classical repertoire through his arrangements and wrote superb melodies.</p>