Musicke in the Ayre Concert

Beguiled and Blue: Ayres to the Lute

Four hundred years ago, the death of John Dowland marked the beginning of the end of the lute’s golden age in England. For much of the 16th and early 17th centuries, the lute was central to English musical life, accompanying singers and instrumentalists. By the time of Henry Purcell, however, it had become just one of many instruments used to accompany a voice.

This programme traces the changing styles of song across the period, beginning with Dowland and his contemporaries and the final flowering of the English lute-song tradition. Nicholas Lanier provides a bridge to the more dramatic Baroque style of Purcell, whose songs are also represented here. Together, they reveal how the intimate sound of voice and lute evolved over the course of a century.

Join soprano Alysha Paterson, mezzo Alice Simmons and lutenist Din Ghani for Musicke in the ayre’s final concert at St Mary’s for 2026.

Tickets £12 at the door, £11 in advance from Bath Box Office (01225 463362, bathboxoffice.org.uk).