John Dowland was the original King of Pain, or at least, the Prince of Melancholy long before Sting recorded some of his vocal compositions. A lutenist from the early 1600's, Dowland's material could be considered downbeat (this is the guy who wrote a song called "In Darkness Let Me Dwell") but I find it soothing, though a little monochromatic. This disc starts out with "Lachrimae or Seven Teares", seven variations on a theme. The galliards that follow do change the tempo a bit, but in the middle, there's "Sir Henry Vmptons Funerall", so 'lively' isn't the watchword here. Much, much later, new music composers interested in drones looked back and heard much to be impressed with in Dowland's music.
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