Composer Philip Rosseter was a contemporary (and friend) of Thomas Morley and Thomas Campion. Given the enduring affection for the culture of the Elizabethan era, especially in England, it may seem surprising that this disc of lute songs and solo lute pieces is the first recording devoted completely to his works. The explanation for his relative neglect perhaps has to do with his texts, which are a step below those set by Morley or John Dowland. Rosseter sometimes seems to have had a rhyming dictionary handy (if there were ...
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Composer Philip Rosseter was a contemporary (and friend) of Thomas Morley and Thomas Campion. Given the enduring affection for the culture of the Elizabethan era, especially in England, it may seem surprising that this disc of lute songs and solo lute pieces is the first recording devoted completely to his works. The explanation for his relative neglect perhaps has to do with his texts, which are a step below those set by Morley or John Dowland. Rosseter sometimes seems to have had a rhyming dictionary handy (if there were such things in Elizabethan times): "It is the heavens' bright reflex/Weak eyes to dazzle and to vex/It is the idea of her sex/Envy of whom doth world perplex." Rosseter became a lutenist to King James I, and the solo lute pieces here are perhaps the strongest: the Fantasia, track 3, is in the mold of and a worthy companion to Dowland's chromatic pieces. The performers give the absolute best account of Rosseter's music. Lutenist Matthew Wadsworth has a real gift for drawing an...
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