Tuesday, Oct 17, is the official release date of Sting's new album "Songs from the Labyrinth" consisting almost entirely of songs written by the Elizabethan composer John Dowland (1563-1626). [The only exception is by Dowland's contemporary Robert Johnson (1583-1633).] Here's the track listing.

Sting is accompanied by Edin Karamazov, a Bosnian lute player, on the lute and archlute, and on 3 cuts, Sting plays the archlute himself. That's the only instrumentation, apparently. The archlute is a fantastic-looking instrument, having more tuning pegs than I could count in brief glimpses on TV.

Dowland is generally regarded as a classical composer, but in interviews, Sting has been calling him "the first singer/songwriter"—a concept that has already drawn the scorn of at least one blogger.

Sting is brave to do this. His voice will sound harsh to classical music fans that are used to the pure tones, standard vowels, and delicate delivery of classically trained and disciplined singers. And his pop fans might be mystified by the alien sound of Dowland and the spare arrangements.

Try these for comparison. I wasn't able to set up a workable direct link to the Sting excerpts at Deutsche Grammophon's web site; you'll have to go there yourself (click on the album title above) and click the appropriate links. These others came from various web sites found with AltaVista's audio search:

Track 2: Can She Excuse My Wrongs?
Martyn Hill and the Consort of Musicke.

Track 4: Flow, My Tears (Lachrimae)
Unknown performer

Flow, my tears; fall from your springs.
Exiled for ever, let me mourn
Where night's black bird her sad infamy sings.
There let me live forlorn.

Down, vain lights; shine you no more.
No nights are dark enough for those
That in despair their lost fortunes deplore.
Light doth but shame disclose.

Never may my woes be relieved
Since pity is fled,
And tears and sighs and groans my weary days
Of all joys have deprived.

From the highest spire of contentment
My fortune is thrown,
And fear and grief and pain for my deserts
Are my hopes, since hope is gone.

Hark you shadows that in darkness dwell,
Learn to contemn light.
Happy, happy they that in hell
Feel not the world's despite.

Track 10: Fine Knacks for Ladies
Unknown performer 1 - Unknown performer 2

I love it when artists stretch themselves this way. Somehow it reminds me of John Cleese playing Petruchio in a TV production of "Taming of the Shrew." I was astonished that he could get away with delivering Shakespeare's lines in such a conversational style.