An evening of arguably the most melancholic music ever written would not be everyone’s idea of a milestone-birthday knees-up, but then Fretwork isn’t just anyone. Celebrating its 40th year without fanfare or ceremony, the viol consort captivated with its programme of (almost) all Dowland, the Renaissance lutenist-composer whose personal motto was “semper Dowland, semper dolens” (always Dowland, always doleful).The Times, 4th March 2026
Paradoxically, it was hard not to feel enlivened by Fretwork’s exquisite playing, showcased in a programme that weaved songs and instrumental music into a flowing sequence, interrupted only by short tuning breaks. Some composers from centuries past sound as if they have been written yesterday. Not Dowland, at least not in this intimate performance at Milton Court. Here we were transported in note and word to an Elizabethan era of flickering candlelight and shifting shadows, to the age of Shakespeare and Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy.
Dowland dissects and delves into melancholy in his magnificent 1604 Lachrimae, or “Seven Teares”, and these slow instrumental pavanes provided the concert’s thread. Each opens with a falling motif evoking tears, anchoring the ear each time the theme returns. With beautiful blend, immaculate intonation and deft manoeuvring through closely woven lines, Fretwork found the light and shade in these pearl-like pieces, reminding us of Dowland’s promise that “neither are teares shed always in sorrow, but sometimes in joy and gladnesse”.
And it is true Dowland did not only wallow in gloom. He could pen a lively dance, as a handful of Galliards proved, and put musicians through their technical paces. For Forlorn Hope Fancy, the musicians tapered down to just solo lute, the wondrous Elizabeth Kenny, who led us through the demanding chromatic labyrinth in spellbinding fashion. Adrian Williams’s Teares to Dreams added a pleasant if superfluous contemporary response to Dowland.
Still, at times, especially in the more vigorous numbers, Bostridge’s voice came into eloquent focus, revealing to us once again the genius of Dowland, 400 years after his death.
★★★☆☆
À la Salle Gaveau, Ian Bostridge retrouve l’univers mélancolique de John Dowland aux côtés de la luthiste Elizabeth Kenny et du consort de violes Fretwork. Un programme sobre centré sur les Lachrimae et plusieurs songs du compositeur anglais.Olyrix 18th March 2026: Rafael Mogollón
Réunis autour du ténor Ian Bostridge, la luthiste Elizabeth Kenny et les musiciens du consort de violes Fretwork proposent un programme consacré au compositeur anglais, alternant les célèbres Lachrimae et plusieurs de ses songs. Le concert se déploie en deux parties d’environ quarante minutes chacune, encadrant un entracte. Aucune mise en scène ni dispositif particulier : le chanteur au centre, entouré en demi-cercle par les violes et le luth. Cette disposition simple instaure d’emblée une atmosphère de concentration musicale, presque chambriste, où chaque nuance semble pouvoir circuler librement entre les interprètes.
La construction du programme alterne différentes configurations instrumentales. Certaines pages mettent en avant le consort de violes, d’autres associent la voix à l’ensemble ou au seul luth, tandis qu’une pièce instrumentale pour luth seul permet d’entendre l’instrument dans toute la richesse de son timbre. Ce jeu de contrastes révèle la richesse expressive de l’univers de Dowland, dont la musique explore inlassablement les multiples visages de la mélancolie. Les textes chantés évoquent l’amour contrarié, la solitude ou la plainte, mais toujours avec une élégance poétique qui transforme la douleur en matière musicale d’une grande délicatesse.
Dans ce répertoire, Ian Bostridge s’impose comme un conteur d’exception. Le ténor choisit de chanter presque tout le concert assis, choix qui accentue l’impression d’intimité et de proximité avec le public. Loin de toute recherche d’effet spectaculaire, son interprétation se distingue par une sincérité expressive remarquable. Chaque mot semble pesé, chaque inflexion du texte trouve son prolongement naturel dans la ligne musicale.
La diction précise et la prosodie attentive rendent particulièrement intelligible la poésie des songs, tandis que le chanteur déploie une palette de nuances très large : pianos suspendus, presque murmurés, puis soudains élans passionnés qui font surgir la tension dramatique des textes. Surtout, Bostridge semble adresser chaque pièce directement au public, promenant son regard dans la salle comme s’il racontait chaque histoire à une personne précise.
Autour de lui, Elizabeth Kenny et les musiciens de l'ensemble Fretwork font preuve d’une admirable cohésion. Leur interprétation se caractérise avant tout par une grande humilité musicale : malgré l’évidence de leur virtuosité, aucun ne cherche à s’imposer individuellement. La musique demeure constamment au premier plan.
Le jeu du consort de violes se distingue par une sonorité chaleureuse et homogène, d’une grande souplesse dans les lignes contrapuntiques. Le luth d’Elizabeth Kenny, à la fois discret et essentiel, assure la continuité du discours musical avec une élégance et une clarté remarquables. Ensemble, les musiciens donnent l’impression de partager un même souffle, révélant la subtilité de cette musique qui se nourrit autant de silence que de son.
Le public, particulièrement attentif tout au long du concert, réserve aux artistes des applaudissements chaleureux. En guise de bis, les interprètes offrent d’abord un moment d’une douceur mélancolique avec Down by the Salley Gardens, unique pièce du programme qui n’est pas de Dowland, chantée cette fois debout par Bostridge. Puis, la soirée se conclut par la reprise de Can she excuse my wrongs, comme un clin d’œil final à la poésie élégiaque du compositeur.
Sans effets superflus ni démonstration ostentatoire, cette soirée à la Salle Gaveau donne surtout l’impression d’une véritable leçon de musicalité et de goût : une interprétation sincère et profondément habitée, où l’intelligence du texte et la beauté du son se rejoignent pour servir l’art subtil de John Dowland.
At the Salle Gaveau, Ian Bostridge revisits the melancholic world of John Dowland alongside lutenist Elizabeth Kenny and the Fretwork viol consort. A restrained program centered on the Lachrimae and several songs by the English composer.
Gathered around tenor Ian Bostridge, lutenist Elizabeth Kenny and the musicians of the Fretwork viol consort present a program dedicated to the English composer, alternating between the famous Lachrimae and several of his songs. The concert unfolds in two parts of approximately forty minutes each, framing an intermission. There is no staging or special arrangement: the singer at the center, surrounded in a semicircle by the viols and the lute. This simple layout immediately establishes an atmosphere of musical concentration, almost chamber music-like, where every nuance seems to flow freely among the performers.
The program's structure alternates between different instrumental configurations. Some pieces showcase the viol consort, others combine voice with the ensemble or with the lute alone, while an instrumental piece for solo lute allows the instrument to be heard in all the richness of its timbre. This interplay of contrasts reveals the expressive richness of Dowland's world, whose music tirelessly explores the many facets of melancholy. The sung texts evoke thwarted love, loneliness, or lament, but always with a poetic elegance that transforms pain into exquisitely delicate musical material.
In this repertoire, Ian Bostridge establishes himself as an exceptional storyteller. The tenor chooses to sing almost the entire concert seated, a choice that accentuates the feeling of intimacy and closeness with the audience. Far from any pursuit of spectacular effect, his interpretation is distinguished by a remarkable expressive sincerity. Every word seems carefully chosen, every inflection of the text finds its natural extension in the musical line.
Precise diction and attentiveprosody make the poetry of the songs particularly intelligible, while the singer displays a wide range of nuances: suspended, almost whispered pianos, then sudden bursts of passion that bring out the dramatic tension of the texts. Above all, Bostridge seems to address each piece directly to the audience, his gaze sweeping the hall as if he were telling each story to a specific person.
Around him, Elizabeth Kenny and the musicians of the Fretwork ensemble demonstrate admirable cohesion. Their performance is characterized above all by great musical humility: despite their evident virtuosity, none of them seeks to impose themselves individually. The music remains constantly at the forefront. The playing of the viol consort is distinguished by a warm and homogeneous sound, with great flexibility in the contrapuntal lines. Elizabeth Kenny's lute, both discreet and essential, ensures the continuity of the musical discourse with remarkable elegance and clarity. Together, the musicians seem to share a single breath, revealing the subtlety of this music, which thrives as much on silence as on sound.
The audience, particularly attentive throughout the concert, rewarded the artists with warm applause. As an encore, the performers first offered a moment of melancholic sweetness with "Down by the Salley Gardens," the only piece on the program not by Dowland, sung this time standing by Bostridge. Then, the evening concluded with a reprise of "Can she excuse my wrongs," a final nod to the composer's elegiac poetry. Without superfluous effects or ostentatious displays, this evening at the Salle Gaveau gave above all the impression of a true lesson in musicality and taste: a sincere and deeply felt interpretation, where the intelligence of the text and the beauty of the sound converge to serve the subtle art of John Dowland.