This afternoon we heard an entire concert of sad songs by John Dowland, whose motto was apparently “Semper Dowland, semper dolens.” Always Dowland, always sad.

I learned from the program that these songs were written at a time when Dowland was unsuccessful in obtaining a court position in England—and was very unhappy although he did hold some foreign positions.

From the program: After years spent in the employ of several foreign kings and nobles, Dowland finally achieved a court position in England in 1612. From then until his death fourteen years later we have almost no music from him; so, perhaps the melancholy, frustration, and resentment Dowland felt by being rejected at home was the spur he needed to express his feelings in music; and, had he been successful earlier
in his career, we would have had much less fine music from him.

The tenor soloist was Ian Bostridge, CBE, age 61 according to Wikipedia. His recordings have won all the major international record prizes and have been nominated for fifteen Grammys. He was accompanied by the early music ensemble, Fretwork.

Here’s a recording of Dowland’s “Flow, my tears, fall from your springs.” Although it was not sung on the program, it gives you a good idea of the type of song we heard, as well as a sampling of his Bostridge’s voice.

This morning we went to a coffee hour with the American Friends and the CEO of the Three Choirs Festival, David Francis. Afterwards we walked to the Gloucester Docks and had a delicious lunch in an Italian restaurant. Ever since I’ve been in Gloucester (and also with my family in London last week), we’ve basically only had one main meal per day — usually a late lunch, because with Evensong and the nighttime concerts so close together, there’s no time to eat dinner.

Evensong tonight was sung by the youth choirs of Gloucester Cathedral and featured a jazzy setting of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis by Iain Farrington. So far I have persuaded Bill Potter and Joan Ishibashi that sitting outside the chapel watching the service on a video monitor is preferable to sitting inside and turning your head the entire service!

After Evensong we waited around for the evening concert to start and I was impressed with how pretty the Cathedral looked against the blue sky and clouds. I was also interested in seeing the “rewilding” areas—what looks like weeds are actually efforts to attract pollinating insects like bees and butterflies.

The evening concert was called “Song of the Sea,” performed by the Three Choirs Youth Choir and Philharmonia Orchestra and featured music related to the sea. I was particularly taken with the pure sound of the young sopranos. My favorite piece was Cecilia Macdowall’s “Ave Maris Stella,” and although it’s not the same group of performers, I found a recording on YouTube.

It was so good to see so many young people singing today, both at Evensong and in tonight’s concert.