Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
O Solitude
Attempt fromLove's Sickness to fly
Sweeter than roses
She loves and she confesses, too
Not all my torments
Evening Hymn

Anonyme
Have you seen but a white lily grow

John Blow (1649-1708)
The Self Banished
O Turn Not those Fine Eyes Away
Of All the Torments, All the Cares

Nicholas Lanier (1588-1666)
Fire, Fire
No More Shall Meads be Deck'd with Flowers
Stay, Silly Heart

John Dowland (1563-1626)
My Thoughts Are Winged With Hopes
Can She Excuse My Wrongs
In darkness let me dwell
Now O now I needs must part
Come Heavy Sleep

Alfonso Ferrabosco (1575-1628)
So, so Break Off This Last Lamenting Kiss

Nicholas Phan, ténor
Michael Leopold, luth
Ann-Marie Morgan, viole de gambe

For his third AVIE album, tenor Nicholas Phan turns to a group of Renaissance and Baroque English composers who greatly influenced Benjamin Britten, the muse of his two previous acclaimed recordings – Still falls the Rain (AV 2258) and Winter Words (AV 2238), his solo debut recording which topped the Best Classical Recordings lists of NPR, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. A Painted Tale – the title taken from a lyric by 16th century composer Thomas Morley – features songs with lute and viola da gamba by Blow, Dowland, Ferrabosco the Younger, Lanier and Purcell. Describing the programme, which tells a story of love gained and then lost, Nick says, “What has drawn me so powerfully to song is its timelessness. Reading the poetry in these songs I am fascinated by how little the human experience has changed over the centuries. By assembling these various songs into what I call ‘a pastiche song cycle,’ I hope that creating a dramatic context for these pieces will highlight how relevant this material still is today.” Phan performs the programme on his solo recital at Carnegie Hall on March 18.