Mourn, Day is with Darkness Fled - John Dowland Lute Song... Recent Videos

A lute song by John Dowland (1563-1626). This is from Dowland's second book of Ayres, a collection that also contains his song, "Flow my Tears". The text describes a pseudo-apocalyptic scenario in which day is overcome by night, hell has taken over heaven, and evil mists are choking off our joys. Heavy stuff for a lute song!

Text:
Mourn, mourn, day is with darkness fled,
What heav'n then governs Earth?
Oh, none but hell in heaven's stead
Chokes with his mists our mirth.

Mourn, mourn, look now for no more day
Nor night, but that from hell.
Then all must, as they may,
In darkness learn to dwell.

But yet this change needs must change our delight.
That thus the Sun should harbor with the night.

Ian Howell - Countertenor
Karl Wohlwend - Guitar

Recorded live at the Merit Music School in Chicago, IL.
Thanks to the Ravinia Festival for arranging this lecture demonstration.
Audio and video recorded with a Flip HD video camera, edited in iMovie.

Laudate Dominum - C.M. Cozzolani... Recent Videos

Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, a benedictine nun in the Italian city of Milan, published this cantata for solo voice and two violins in 1648.

Tableau Baroque:

Ian Howell - Coutertenor
Adam Lamotte & Tekla Cunningham - Violins
William Skeen - Viola da Gamba
Henry Lebedinsky - Harpsichord

Text:

Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people.
For confirmed upon us is his mercy.
And the truth of the Lord remains forever.
Glory to the Father, glory to the Son
And glory to the holy spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now,
And always shall be.
Unto ages of ages.
So be it.

Recorded 15 August 2009 at the Whidbey Island Music Festival.

http://www.whidbeyislandmusicfestival...

For more information about Ian Howell and Tableau Baroque.
http://www.ianhowellcountertenor.com
http://www.tableaubaroque.org

Holy Messiah Source Material... Recent Videos

One of Handel's Italian duets, originally for two sopranos, re-scored for alto and violin obligato. The two arias in this cantata served as the source material for Handel's choruses "His yoke is easy" and "And he shall purify" from his oratorio, "Messiah."

Ian Howell - Countertenor
Tekla Cunningham - Violin
William Skeen - Cello
Henry Lebedinsky - Harpsichord

Text:

The flower that laughs at dawn
later will be killed by the Sun
and has its tomb in the evening.

Life is a flower
it is destroyed at dawn
and in one single day loses its springtime.

Recorded 14 August 2009 at the Whidbey Island Music Festival.

http://www.whidbeyislandmusicfestival...

For more information about Ian Howell and Tableau Baroque.
http://www.ianhowellcountertenor.com
http://www.tableaubaroque.org

This video was recorded with a FlipHD camera (that didn't like the intensity of the stage lights).
Audio was recorded with a matched pair of Avenson ST0-2 omni-directional microphones.