Julian Bream Plays Dowland and Bach (2 CD, FLAC)

Composer: John Dowland, Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer: The Golden Age Singers, Margaret Field-Hyde, Julian Bream
Audio CD
SPARS Code: A-D
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks+cue)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Size: 535 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Disc 1:
01. Lute Music – England – Queen Elizabeth’s Galliard
02. Lute Music – England – Lachrimae Antiquae Pavan
03. Lute Music – England – Mrs. White’s Nothinge
04. Lute Music – England – Mrs. Vaux’s Gigge
05. Lute Music – England – Farewell (A Fancy)
06. Lute Music – England – Orlando sleepeth
07. Lute Music – England – Fantasia
08. Lute Music – England – King of Denmark’s Galliard
09. Lute Music – England – Melancholy Galliard
10. Lute Music – England – My Ladye Hunsdon’s Puffe
11. Lute Music – England – Semper Dowland, Semper Dolens
12. Lute Music – England – Almain (An Unnamed Piece)
13. Lute Music – England – Sir Henry Umpton’s Funeral
14. Lute Music – England – Forlorne Hope Fancy
15. Second Booke of Songes, 1600 – 11. If floods of tears
16. First Booke of Songes, 1597 – 13. Sleep wayward thoughts
17. First Booke of Songes, 1597 – 19. Awake, sweet love
18. First Booke of Songes, 1597 – 7. Dear, if you change
19. Third Booke of Songes, 1603 – 13. O what hath overwrought
20. A Pilgrim’s Solace (1612) – 5. Shall I strive with words to move
21. Third Booke of Songes, 1603 – 8. Flow not so fast, ye fountains
22. First Booke of Songes, 1597 – 21. Away with these self-loving lads
23. Third Booke of Songes, 1603 – 21. Come when I call
24. First Booke of Songes, 1597 – 12. Rest awhile you cruel cares
25. First Booke of Songes, 1597 – 4. If my complaints could passions move
26. First Booke of Songes, 1597 – 8. Burst forth my tears

Disc 2:
01. Second Booke of Songes, 1600 – 22. Humor say what mak’st thou here
02. First Booke of Songes, 1597 – 5. Can she excuse my wrongs
03. First Booke of Songes, 1597 – 18. His golden locks
04. A Pilgrim’s Solace (1612) – 7. Stay, Time, awhile thy flying
05. Third Booke of Songes, 1603 – 19. The lowest trees have tops
06. First Booke of Songes, 1597 – 1. Unquiet thoughts
07. Second Booke of Songes, 1600 – 9. Praise blindness eyes
08. A Pilgrim’s Solace (1612) – 18. My heart and tongue were twins
09. Partita for Violin Solo No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004 – 5. Chaconne
10. Prelude In C Minor Bwv 999 (Played In D Minor)
11. Suite in E minor, BWV 996 – 4. Sarabande
12. Suite in E minor, BWV 996 – 5. Bourée
13. Partita for Lute in C minor, BWV 997 – Played in A minor – 1. Prelude
14. Partita for Lute in C minor, BWV 997 – Played in A minor – 2. Fugue
15. Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E flat, BWV 998 – Played in D major – 1. Prelude
16. Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E flat, BWV 998 – Played in D major – 2. Fugue – attacca
17. Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E flat, BWV 998 – Played in D major – 3. Allegro

Two Early Albums from the Matchless Mr. Bream

My qualifications to critique these, Bream’s solo Dowland (lute) and first solo Bach (guitar) albums on the Westminster label, are limited: I torture a classical guitar for one hour each morning before work, and listen to classical music throughout the day. Bream playing the lute sounds much like Bream playing the guitar (he uses his nails), though of course the timbre of the lute is different. These mono recordings sound great; my teacher, who is world-class, rates the Chaconne the best he’s ever heard. However, the Golden Age Singers, singing away-oh on the second half of the Dowland disc and the first half of the Bach disc, sound old fashioned to me, like Laurence Olivier as Richard III.