At first sight there seems to be no connection between the title of this disc and a large section of the programme. Only the extracts from Monteverdi's opera L'Orfeo and the solo aria by Sigismondo d'India seem to have anything to do with Orpheus, the mythological singer who enchanted friend and foe with his art. But there is more to the myth of Orpheus than the character itself and the stories about him, in particular his love for Euridice and his journey to the underworld to bring her back to the world of the living. In the baroque era Orpheus became the symbol for belief in the power of music. And at the end of the 16th century attempts were made to recreate the ancient declamation which was thought to be the key element of Greek tragedy. The monodic style was the direct result of this ideal. Most pieces in the programme illustrate the 'declamatory' style in musical composition of the early 17th century.

Although John Dowland seems to have met Giulio Caccini, who pretended to be the 'inventor' of monody, during his stay in Italy, he can't be considered a composer of 'monodies'. But his songs are strong evidence of the ability of music to express human emotions, which was the main goal of the Italian monody. One of the most famous and impressive examples is his song 'Flow my tears', which ends the programme. Dowland also made a setting for viol consort, 'Pavana Lachrymae', and an anonymous arrangement for keyboard of this setting opens the disc. It is only one of the many arrangements of this piece in the early 17th century, not only in England, but also on the Continent. It is best known for the descending tetrachord with which it begins. On this disc the arrangement is immediately followed by the Prologue from Monteverdi's first opera L'Orfeo, which contains the same motif.

The items by Hume and Caccini and the 'air de cour' by the French composer Pierre Guédron also strongly express human emotions, even without being sung. The first two songs by Tobias Hume, which are played on viols and on harpsichord respectively illustrate the point further. It strongly depends upon the players whether the expressive character of these pieces is brought out, and the interpreters on this disc certainly know how to do that. All the instrumentalists involved are excellent performers who are fully aware of what they are dealing with. In Charles Daniels they have found an outstanding singer with a wide experience in early music. His voice reminds me of Nigel Rogers', the English tenor who has done so much for the exploration of early 17th-century music, in particular the Italian monody. Sometimes I felt the emotion in Daniels' interpretations could be a little stronger, but on the whole I am very impressed by his singing. Guédron's 'Quel espoir de guarir' and Dowland's two songs are among the highlights.

The tracks follow each other without interruption. This creates a strong sense of unity within the programme. For the most part it works pretty well, but sometimes the changeover from one track to the next is less than satisfying, for instance from the Lamento from Monteverdi's L'Orfeo to Dowlands song 'Flow my tears'. And D'India's Lamento d'Orfeo starts when the sound of the harpsichord which played Picchi's Toccata is still dying down, which is acoustically a little awkward as the harpsichord takes a back seat all of a sudden.

The concept of this disc is well thought-out, and there is enough variety in the programme to keep the listener's attention. With both music and interpretation being of first-rate quality I strongly recommend this disc.

Johan van Veen

 

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