Dowland / Fentross

Semper Dowland Dowland / Fentross

This CD is part of a trilogy of recordings comprising of music for solo lute by John Dowland interpreted by Mike Fentross. The first CD (Zefir Records, ZEF 9658) includes recently-identified Dowland pieces based on the fascinating archival work of Andre Nieuwlaat, after tedious research into subjects

like the provenance of paper, palaeographical investigations, musical concordances, and finally the receptive ears of Fentross to recognise Dowland in formally anonymous lute pieces.

With this second CD, Fentross returns to the nest, to his childhood image of what is generally considered music by Dowland. This invariably means embracing

Diana Poulton's Dowland-world which culminates in her two principal publications, the biography John Dowland (1972) and his hundred solo lute pieces found in The Collected Lute Music of John Dowland: Lute tablature and keyboard notation (1974). The authenticity of some of these pieces in this bible

for the lute can now be challenged, but the pieces chosen for this recording transcend an ascetic research topic. Fentross performs the pieces that mean the most to him from Poulton's book and those that can delight today's public. The recording is a homage to this lady who dedicated her whole life to researching, publishing and playing Dowland. Fentross literally 'interprets' Poulton's Dowland.

In 1988 Mike Fentross graduated from the Royal Conservatory The Hague where he studied with

lute pionier Toyohiko Satoh. In 1994 he won the Van Wassenaer Competition in Amsterdam with violinist Helene Schmitt. He played chamber music with musicians such as Yo Yo Ma, Ton Koopman, Janine Jansen, Andreas Scholl, Marion Verbruggen, Maria Bajo, Wilbert Hazelzet, Bruce Dickey, Lucy van Dael, Andrew Lawrence King, Philippe Jarousski, Eduardo Lopez Banzo, Skip Sempe and Gerard Lesne. He created many fascinating projects with the famous Dutch writer/historian, Geert Mak. Mike has recorded more than 75 CD's.