Search - Stephen Stubbs :: Airs & Dances in Shakespeare's Time / Elwes, Stubbs, Mendoze

The idea of music as entertainment evolved with the development of printing and the greater availability of musical instruments, as well as the rise of public theater. The fact that Shakespeare's plays contained a variety of musical interludes and songs is well known, but music in 16th-century England also flourished in private homes and public houses. Ballads, dances, love songs, drinking songs, and lute airs were common, and this very fine program contains 17 examples--mostly instrumental dances and lute songs. Tenor John Elwes lends his beautifully clear, sweet, expressive voice to several selections, including "It Was A Lover and His Lass" and "Mistress Mine Well May You Fare" by Thomas Morley. Instrumental tracks are stylishly performed by a variety of instruments, from recorders and viols to lute, virginals, flute, and percussion. --David Vernier