Sting

You have to give Sting credit for covering the music of John Dowland (1563-1626), a melancholic composer and lutenist from Elizabethan England. Consider Sting the young apprentice: his fascination with the lute, an ancient instrument he received as a gift, led him to the music of Dowland, who is renowned amongst scholars for his lute songs (or "ayres," as they are called). So with help from lutenist Edin Karamasov, Sting not only covers these 17th century compositions, but also joins Karamasov on two instrumental duets and reads bits of an autobiographical letter from the late Dowland.

Here, Sting and Lutenist Edin Karamazov construct "a soundtrack in words and music" to
the life of John Dowland (1563-1626), the Catholic English composer and musician who was
jilted by his own queen as he became a star in European courts. Sting conceives Dowland
as a Renaissance Nick Drake, a tortured dude who transcends personal agony with sublime
composition. For much of the album, Sting delights in making nostalgic music that... More >