Concert #2:

Village Presbyterian Church- what a great venue for this music! The acoustic was sweet, clean, and had just the right amount of ring in it for my taste.

Watch, listen and enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmK4a9t9o3-jPBTfhZ3KIuxPPhwrwclE8

Our First Concert: Part 2-

Beau and I have been detailing things for our concert this weekend at Unity at the Lake- to say I am excited is an enormous understatement!
I have been reading portions from (while I wait for the full edition to arrive, not written in Old English) Andreas Ornithoparcus- a 16th century treatise on music which John Dowland edited. Already, it is fascinating (and pretty darn funny) to see and read the 'Commandments of Singing' set forth by this work. Among them (paraphrased):
1) Do not sing loud, braying like an ass (my personal favorite).
2) God does not like loud singing, He likes beautiful singing.
3) Singers must conform the voice to the text- sounding merry when merry and sad when sad.
4) The changing of vowels is a sign of the unlearned singer (a very different thought from our current singing modes).
Last, but certainly not least-
5) Singer should avoid the uncomely gaping of the mouth and ungraceful motion of the body. It is a sign of a mad singer.

We would be honored to have you join us this weekend- rest assured, there are plenty more concerts coming down the pike. We are having a great time preparing it, and hope you will come and enjoy our efforts!

Our First Concert

After much rehearsal and study, the time has come to debut our first Dowland program. We'll be performing Friday, August 7th at Unity on the Lake on the Lake of the Ozarks. We're honored and excited to perform at this beautiful venue. Below is the order of songs we'll perform from Dowland's First Book of Songs or Ayres.

Unquiet Thoughts

Who Ever Thinks or Hopes of Love

If My Complaints Could Passions Move

Rest Awhile You Cruel Cares

Go Crystal Tears

Wilt Thou, unkind, Thus Reave Me

Now, Oh Now I needs must part

Come Again

Awake Sweet Love, Thou Art Returned

Think'st Thou Then By Feigning 

His Golden Locks

Lute update

Dave Bucher is making progress with our lute restoration. We can't wait to to hear her!

glueing the braces underneath the sound board

the peg box and the "string riders"

cutting the nut and adjusting the string spacing

so many pegs...

cutting the rosette

Wilt Thou, unkind, Thus Reave Me

Our fourth rehearsal. The music is coming much faster to us.

Rest Awhile You Cruel Cares

His Golden Locks

From our second rehearsal, His Golden Locks from Dowland's The Firste Booke of Songes. This video features David's amazing vintage couch that he recently purchased. 

First Rehearsal

Here's a video from our first rehearsal on 2.13.15 in my home. We're about a half hour into working on "Unquiet Thoughts" the first song in Dowland's The Firste Booke of Songes. I'm very pleased with how we sound together and the rehearsal was filled with ideas, improvisation and inspiration.

- Beau Bledsoe

Bucket List

David Adams here- the 'other half' of this great project. As Beau has mentioned in other posts, we have been talking of this for quite a while. Sometimes I look over at the scores on my piano and get a little giddy. Making music has been my passion for as long as I can remember- my family was a musical one, although none pursued it as a profession. A majority of my career has been in classical genres, mainly opera and oratorio. I won't go on about this- suffice it to say that once I was bitten by the singing bug, I never stopped. If you want to know more about me, you can check my website at www.davidadamstenor.com.

Dowland's music is a particular love of mine. I love the simple, clear lines and texts that ooze with emotion. Known as the 'King of Melancholy', it is easy to see these pieces as such. Read deeper, listen more, and you might find a timeless sense of beauty created by a man of extraordinary insight. Even the most seemingly sad text drips with a heart aching beauty and simplicity that is often overlooked by the modern sensibility. In a world that demands (and too often feels that it is something owed to them without due diligence) instant satisfaction, respect, and success, Dowland's music expresses a life of the pursuit of happiness- wins, losses, loves, fancies, joys, and sorrows. I would say that his was, indeed, a life well lived. Beau and I have the fortune of digging in and bringing that to life for you to enjoy for a little while.

There are many things that I have always wanted to do- I am fortunate in having done many of them! In my 'Bucket List of Musical Experiences' category, a concert series of Dowland songs with lute has always bubbled near the surface. I am thrilled to say that this one is about to get a big check mark next to it!

Keep you eyes open- as we start into rehearsals, we will be sharing all of this with you, and inviting you to come, sit, and listen (and enjoy) our walk through these beautiful stories in song.

Cheers!

The lute cometh...

As I've stated before in another process blog, I'm a very instrument driven musician. So it is with great pleasure that I'm "starting over" again with a new instrument - the lute. As you may know, John Dowland was a very famous lutenist and composed about 90 works for solo lute and 88 songs. The tuning of the first six strings or "courses" are very similar to the guitar except the third course is lowered a half-step. In fact, if you capo the guitar on the third fret and lower the third string a half-step you basically have the renaissance lute setup. Many guitarist choose to perform Dowland's music in such a manner but if I'm going to do really this then I feel I have to go "all in" and find a lute to learn these songs with. My dear friend David Bucher is currently restoring a ten course lute for the purpose of this project. It is a modern replica made in 1976 by Richard Gronning of Northfield, Minnesota.

The biggest challenge for me is the old renaissance lute notation. As you can see below, the vocal part is in standard notation but the lute part is represented in tablature. The top line being the first course and the bottom being the sixth. The letters of the alphabet represent the fret number that the lutenist places his or her left hand fingers on.  ("a" is the first fret, "b" the second, "r" instead of "c" is the third and so on.) The rhythms are notated above the tablature staff. It certainly takes a lot of practice to learn to read music in this way but I soon hope to be able to read this notation as comfortably as standard notation.

 - Beau Bledsoe

Here's the same score in it's original edition.

The Pensive Heart

In 2015, we have every form of communication at our fingertips; Facebook, Twitter, 

Instagram, not to mention the more traditional versions of information delivery like 

CNN, MSNBC, and the like.

During the Renaissance, the best medium for political and social discourse was song. 

Very serious and treasonous complaints of the monarchy, the church, and a host of 

other topics were delivered through the sting of the pen. John Dowland (1563-1626) 

was one of the premiere English Renaissance composers. He was an accomplished 

lutenist , singer, and composer.  His lute songs are considered to be definitive of the 

era, and his books of songs for voice are likewise held in high regard.

Mostly known for his songs of melancholy (Semper Dowland, Semper dolens- 

always Dowland, always doleful was the subject of one of his compositions), 

Dowland could by today’s standards be considered an activist. Many of his pieces 

contain condemnation of Queen Elizabeth, the Catholic Church, and other prevailing 

leaders. His outspoken nature was in part to blame for never receiving appointment 

as an English Court musician. His years were spent in employment as court musician 

around Europe, although the disdain he felt toward the English monarchy never 

seemed to wane. 

The songs of John Dowland, with just a gentle stretch of the imagination, are just as 

poignant today as when composed. The artful melancholy, the pleading for 

acceptance and understanding, and the obvious fiery contempt for the rule of law 

that surface in his musings are truly evidence of The Pensive Heart.

 - David Adams

We have embarked

After years of "We should do a Dowland project together", David and I went for coffee at the Rotisserie in the brookside neighborhood of Kansas City on the morning of Nov 1st, 2014 and officially embarked on what promises to be an amazing journey.