Rating: - Superb single volume collection of John Dowland's lute music
I first heard John Dowland's lute music many years ago as a classical guitar student, thought it, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Spanish repertoire the cream of the music for the guitar - and still feel mostly that way. But it was awhile before I was able to find recordings of Dowland's music.

Ronn McFarlane's "Lute Music of Dowland" is a wonderful introduction to John Dowland's lute music. His playing is delightful, the digital recording itself captures his lute beautifully, and the CD offers 28 Dowland compositions, a number well known, some not, all performed stylishly in a way that captures your attention from the very beginning, to the end, of the CD.

Dowland's music represents the very peak of Elizabethan lute music in late sixteenth centry England, a period which began with lutenist John Johnson, and whose music spread in popularity across Europe.

There is an unmistakable melancholy quality about Dowland's music, but it also contains numerous memorable pieces, such as Sir John Smith's Almaine, My Lady Hudson's Puffe, The Earl of Essex Galliard, Melancholy Galliard, Queen Elizabeth's Galliard, Lachrimae, The Frog Galliard etc,; some extraordinary passagework, and appeal that very much transcends time.

Ronn McFarlane's Dowland CD on the Dorian label, along with Jakob Lindberg's Dowland CD on BIS, are the two best single CD collections I know of Dowland's lute music, apart from Paul O'Dette's five volume collection of Dowland which the serious or compleat Dowland collector might prefer. (Julian Bream also offers Dowland on his lute recital CDs, but these include other composers.)

Strongly recommended.

Lute Music Of John Dowland