For Release: Feb. 12, 2007
Sting celebrates the music of acclaimed Elizabethan songwriter John Dowland (1563-1626) on Great Performances "Sting: Songs From the Labyrinth, " airing Monday, Feb. 26 at 10/9 p.m. CT on KET2 and Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET1.
Dowland's songs and introspective music have long captivated performers and listeners. Composed primarily for lute, but also small ensembles, the music remains arresting in its simplicity. It was perhaps inevitable that Sting--one of today's most internationally acclaimed troubadours--would be drawn to revisit Dowland's work from a contemporary perspective.
Joining Sting is esteemed lutenist Edin Karamazov. Interspersed between performances of such timeless Dowland songs as "Can She Excuse My Wrongs," "Come Again" and "Flow My Tears" are discussions with musicologists David Pinto and Anthony Rooley about the composer's place in music history and his relevance today.
Filmed at Lake House, Sting's 16th-century manor house in Wiltshire, and in the ancient gardens of Il Palagio, his home in Italy, "Sting: Songs From the Labyrinth" also features the performers before a live audience at St. Luke's Church in London.
Finally, Sting and Karamazov, alone at Lake House, perform a duet of Dowland's best-known work, "In Darkness Let Me Dwell."
Great Performances "Sting: Songs From the Labyrinth" is produced by Graying & Balding, Inc. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at www.ket.org.