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The Mad Lover

Theotime Langlois de Swarte (violin), Thomas Dunford (lute)

The Mad Lover

Awards:

Approaching the repertoire with a shared musical vision, they produce ravishingly expressive accounts from curtain up to lights down...De Swarte plays a noble Jacob Stainer violin from 1665...

BBC Music Magazine, January 20215 out of 5 stars

More reviews

The Mad Lover

Theotime Langlois de Swarte (violin), Thomas Dunford (lute)

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Awards:

Approaching the repertoire with a shared musical vision, they produce ravishingly expressive accounts from curtain up to lights down...De Swarte plays a noble Jacob Stainer violin from 1665...

BBC Music Magazine, January 20215 out of 5 stars

More reviews

About

Violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte and lutist Thomas Dunford illuminate aspects of the elusive amalgamation that is the 17th-century English notion of melancholy. The inconsolable 'Mad Lover' of the album title is reimagined as a character from the reign of Charles II. This tale is told through music from the pen of such violin virtuosos as the prodigiously gifted Nicola Matteis. Heightened by the exuberance and abandon common to those musicians transplanted from Italy, the beguiling nuances of this language of yearning and loss continue to echo in the popular music of our time.

  • Release date: 20th Nov 2020
  • Label: Harmonia Mundi
  • Catalogue number: HMM902305
  • Length: 80 minutes

Contents and tracklist

Eccles, J: The Mad Lover Suite: Ground. Aire V
Work length3:41
Purcell, D: Sonata sesta for violino solo
Work length6:26
I. Adagio
Track length1:57
II. Allegro [1]
Track length0:59
III. Adagio
Track length2:22
VI. Allegro [2]
Track length1:08
Dunford: Improvisation for solo lute
Work length5:34
Matteis the Elder: Variations on La Folia
Work length5:15
Matteis the Younger: Alia Fantasia
Work length4:05
Matteis the Elder: Suite in A Minor: V. Sarabanda amorosa (Adagio)
Work length2:28
Matteis the Elder: Diverse Bizzarie Sopra La Vecchia Sarabanda O Pur Ciaconna
Work length5:08
Purcell: Prelude, ZN773
Work length1:44
Eccles, H: Violin Sonata in G Minor
Work length8:11
I. Grave
Track length3:19
II. Courante
Track length1:41
III. Adagio
Track length2:08
IV. Vivace
Track length1:03
Matteis the Elder: Suite in G with continuo
Work length12:18
I. Preludio
Track length1:27
II. Grave
Track length1:54
III. Sarabanda
Track length3:57
IV. Aria Burlesca
Track length2:21
V. Capriccio
Track length1:51
VI. Giga Al Genio Turchesco
Track length0:48
Eccles, H: Sonata Quinta in E Minor
Work length13:39
I. Andante
Track length3:29
II. Courente
Track length2:14
III. Largo
Track length5:31
IV. Presto
Track length2:25
Matteis the Younger: Fantasia, con discretione
Work length4:47
Eccles, J: A new division upon the ground bass of "John come and kiss me"
Work length4:51
Eccles, J: The Mad Lover Suite: Ground. Aire III
Work length2:01

Spotlight on this release

Awards and reviews

  • BBC Music Magazine
    January 2021
    Chamber Choice
  • International Classical Music Awards
    2022
    Winner - Baroque Instrumental
  • BBC Music Magazine Awards
    2022
    Shortlisted - Chamber

January 2021

Approaching the repertoire with a shared musical vision, they produce ravishingly expressive accounts from curtain up to lights down...De Swarte plays a noble Jacob Stainer violin from 1665 (formerly Reinhard Goebel’s), wielding its bow with chivalric flair in the elaborate Fantasia by the younger Nicola Matteis...Harmonia Mundi’s resonant recording and expert balance contribute to a truly outstanding disc.
5 out of 5 stars

December 2020

The duo swerve between daydreaming optimism (has the tonic major ever sounded so wonderful?) to bruised turmoil. The opening track, the Ground from which the album draws its theme, is a masterclass in love-swept changeability...The performances from both are imaginative, quick in colour, corporeal, sexy.

International Classical Music Awards 2022

Welcomed for the first time by Harmonia Mundi, this unique duo represents two of the most talented musicians of the young generation. The slow movements are immensely touching, in a language close to improvisation. In the variations, both musicians lead us into a whirlwind of perfectly mastered virtuosity. Very great art!
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