Through sad, reflective pavans and sorrowful songs, the University of York Consort of Viols and singers from the University’s master’s course in Solo Voice Ensemble Singing, led by Robert Hollingworth, reflect upon the cultural and artistic fascination with melancholia in England during the latter part of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.

At the heart of the musical response to this fascination was John Dowland (Semper Dowland, semper dolens) whose extraordinary music features throughout this programme alongside sublime pieces by William Byrd, Thomas Tomkins, John Wilbye, John Ward and Anthony Holborne (it is from one of Holborne’s beautiful pavans that the title of this programme is taken). Daniel Saleeb and Fintan O’Hare, both members of the Consort of Viols, have written new works to complement this project, both of which take the Consort into previously unexplored soundscapes as they journey through doleful contemplation to enlightenment.