Renaissance songs at Concordia

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and clear.

At the Concordia University chapel on Sunday, December 9, Crown Wolverton will descend from the world of spiritual innocence and enter the world of epicurean experience with a program called A Musical Banquet: A Sumptuous Collection of Renaissance Lute Songs Arranged for Voice and Guitar. With guitarist Jeremiah Benham and viola da gambist Debra Lonergan, Crown Wolverton will perform mostly songs by Elizabethan composer John Dowland — the darkest, bleakest, smartest, sexiest, and by far the bestest English songwriter before Lennon and McCartney.

Why these particular songs? "When Jeremiah and I were deciding on what kind of program to do," replies Crown Wolverton, "I had just listened to a recording by Christopher Parkening and Kathleen Battle with a set of pieces by John Dowland. It was really beautiful and interesting repertoire. Although this music was originally composed for lute and voice, it was very effective and in my opinion fantastic for guitar and voice, with the guitar for the most part just a transcription from the original tablature."

Why these songs in this order? "Deciding the order of a concert is akin to planning a menu," says Crown Wolverton. "One starts with a tempting but appropriately light appetizer; next is the entree; then, after a break, dessert, something sweet and delicious; and the meal would finally end with a digestif."