The Song Company presents Nigel North and the music of John Dowland
The Song Company will present the second concert in its 2013 concert season entitled Dowland’s Lute with guest artistic director Nigel North.
In celebration of the 450th anniversary of the birth of English Renaissance composer, singer, and lutenist John Dowland, the Song Company has invited celebrated lutenist, Nigel North, for an all-out tribute to the elusive English master.
This concert will celebrate Dowland in all his facets and place him and the music into a cultural and historical context. The program also features the music of other prominent Renaissance composers such as Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Morley, and John Ward.
Born in London, Nigel North has been Professor of Lute at the Early Music Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington since 1999. He has been Professor of Lute at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London (1974 – 1995), Hochschüle der Kunste, Berlin (1991 – 1998) and the Royal Conservatory in Den Haag, Holland (2005 -2008). Basically self-taught on the lute, he has, since 1976, developed a unique musical life which embraces activities as a teacher, accompanist, soloist, director and writer. His principal music passions apart from teaching are accompanying singers, and the solo lute repertoires of Elizabethan England.
Says North: “Not only was Dowland an excellent lutenist – probably the best in Europe in his lifetime – he was also an inventive, tuneful composer who could write in a wide range of emotions. His solo lute music covers the whole gamut of emotions, even though the musical forms are dances, fantasies or variations on ballad tunes. ”
The Song Company is a uniquely versatile Australian vocal ensemble which showcases and celebrates the magic of the human voice. Led by Artistic Director Roland Peelman, the ensemble is made up of six professional singers with an international reputation for outstanding quality and innovation. This upcoming concert featuring five voices will showcase the ensemble’s expertise under the direction of Nigel North.
Canberra: Sunday 1 September, 5.00pm
Centre for Christianity, Barton
Canberra Classical Guitar Society 