Dowland | Come again, sweet love | Academy of Ancient Music

'Come again, sweet love' by John Dowland (1563–1626), performed live at Milton Court Concert Hall, London.

Anna Dennis, soprano soloist
Thomas Walker, tenor soloist

Jessica Gillingwater, soprano
Martha McClorinan, alto
Jimmy Holliday, bass

Academy of Ancient Music

~~~

Come again!
Sweet love doth now invite
Thy graces that refrain
To do me due delight,
To see, to hear, to touch, to kiss, to die,
With thee again in sweetest sympathy.

Come again!
That I may cease to mourn
Through thy unkind disdain;
For now left and forlorn
I sit, I sigh, I weep, I faint, I die
In deadly pain and endless misery.

All the day
The sun that lends me shine
By frowns do cause me pine
And feeds me with delay;
Her smiles, my springs that makes my joys to grow,
Her frowns the Winters of my woe.

All the night
My sleeps are full of dreams,
My eyes are full of streams.
My heart takes no delight
To see the fruits and joys that some do find
And mark the storms are me assign'd.

Out alas,
My faith is ever true,
Yet will she never rue
Nor yield me any grace;
Her eyes of fire, her heart of flint is made,
Whom tears nor truth may once invade.

Gentle Love,
Draw forth thy wounding dart,
Thou canst not pierce her heart;
For I, that do approve
By sighs and tears more hot than are thy shafts
Did tempt while she for triumph laughs.

~~~

[emptymycup]

It is a lovely interpretation, not overly agitated and I love how the soprano glides so gently .uplifting so to say. Thank you ❤

[trishtraynor]

I first sang this as a 12 year old in our school madrigal group. 💖 This version however, is as good as it gets. The blending is like the sound of silk being folded, the instruments cradle the voices with not even a hint of overpowering the narrative and my idol Anna Dennis giving her signature instinctual organic performance. And the diction?! Take the ensemble to Glastonbury next year, you would go down an absolute storm!

[KatherineFtw]

Always good to have some more Dowland.

[mariavanhoof]

Prachtig lied qua muziek en text, ik zong dit jaaaren geleden met ons dorps-koor van een kleine plaats in Cataluña, noord-oost Spanje. Thanks for posting

[kaorekaora]

They should have used a renaissance lute for this tune.