Sting playing Jacobean lute songs. No, really.
This from BBC news ...
Rock singer Sting has made a big impact in the charts with an album of 16th century lute music.
Songs From The Labyrinth - with tunes by King James I's favourite musician John Dowland - topped the classical chart and made 24 on the main rundown.
Sting collaborated with Bosnian lutenist Edin Karamazov to make the album as authentic as possible.
"For me they are pop songs. Beautiful melodies, fantastic lyrics, great accompaniments," said Sting.
He added: "I feel that my job as a pop artist is to develop as a musician, and to bring into my sphere elements that aren't necessarily pop, more complex intervals, complex time signatures."
He follows a trend of pop and rock musicians such as Sir Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello who have turned to classical music.
A spokesman for classical record label Deustche Grammophon, which released Sting's album, said: "We're absolutely delighted.
"Sting is taking an interesting area of repertoire and popularising it."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6054686.stm
posted by Adam at 2:22 AM
4 Comments:
I am a bit curious about it, Although, after having heard Andreas Scholl and Gerard Lesne singing D., it is hard for me to imagine that I could enjoy Sting's voice singing baroc music...
It's actually quite good. Not rocked out at all. The lutenist is superb, and although Sting's tenor is a bit rough around the edges, a colleague of mine pointed out that his London accent is probably spot-on. His tone, at least, is excellently controlled and moderated. He's a good musician. You should hear his "Peter and the Wolf" narration!
muse: you've convinved me. i'll have a listen.
Let us know what you think. The CD is interspersed with Sting giving some dramatic readings from Dowland's letters, specifically one about his disappointment in seeking preferment and getting overlooked by the Queen. So of course one cannot help but wonder whether Sting will rather ironically end up with an OBE with this CD . . .
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