Songs From The Labyrinth

Sound DNA

• Classical
• Early & Baroque

• sparse
• meditative
• spiritual

About

Sting has always followed his own muse, swirling jazz, world and classical music into his songwriting, thus making his solo work unpredictable. But <i>Into the Labyrinth</i> is certainly the most unexpected turn he’s taken in his long career. Here he’s chosen to explore the songs of John Dowland (1563-1626), a British composer and lutenist who Sting describes as “perhaps the first example of an archetype with which we’ve become very familiar: that of the alienated singer-songwriter.” Accompanied by Edin Karamazov on lute, whose playing is simply gorgeous, Sting embraces this technically difficult music, at times layering his voice to produce a choral effect. The melancholy melodies are dissonant and moving, and Sting’s tenor generally fits the material without the effort coming off as a stodgy period piece. (Strict traditionalists will certainly scream blasphemy — assuming they listen to it at all — but the album will most likely bring the work of Dowland to a larger audience.) The vocal lines, which bend and swoop, must have been a challenge to sing , and at times Sting struggles to hit the notes. But not often, and though eve n some of Sting’s most ardent fans will be mystified, or worse, by this indulgence, the album has its charms. Besides, it’s best — and fairest — to take the music on its own terms and forget that it’s being performed by the same guy who once wailed “Roxanne.”

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits