Stour Music 2026: AMIDST THE SHADES

Ruby Hughes is increasingly proving to be a key singer of the 21st century. Klassik Musik MagazineRuby Hughes soprano
Jonas Nordberg luteThat strain again! It had a dying fall, says Orsino in Twelfth Night. We open the festival with such sweet 17th-century melancholy on the 400th anniversary of the death of John Dowland. His music and melancholy (semper dolens, semper Dowland) is tempered by more upbeat songs of his contemporaries and further up to Purcell, from artists that bring truly daring colours to their performance.John Dowland:
Flow my tears
Time stands still
Sorrow stay
Semper Dowland semper dolens
Can she excuse my wrongs
The Frog Galliard
Now oh now I needs must part
In darkness let me dwellRobert Johnson:
Full Fathom Five
Mrs Winters Jump
Where the bee sucksHenry Purcell:
Amidst the shades
Oh Solitude
Here the deities approveSponsored by David Green, Martin & Caroline Goodier
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKH7eByg28I]