The Playfords – Dark Cloud: Songs from the Thirty Years’ War 1618-1648 (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

The Playfords – Dark Cloud: Songs from the Thirty Years’ War 1618-1648 (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:08:12 minutes | 1,31 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © deutsche harmonia mundi

Founded in Weimar in 2001, The Playfords ensemble draws their inspiration from The English Dancing Master, a collection published in England in 1651 by John and Henry Playford. Technical notes on various dances are written in accompaniment to popular melodies, with the harmonies and the bass improvised depending on the talent and fancies of the musicians. This is the premise which the ensemble works from, trying to preserve a certain element of authenticity through spontaneous improvisation, in tandem with advice from Renaissance dance and music experts.

This album, called Dark Cloud Songs, elicits the Thirty Years’ War, a violent and bloody period of 17th-century European history. German ballads, folk songs, hymns for heros and melancholic laments evoke an account of suffering marked by hunger and death. There are multiple arrangements with an array of different string instruments, both plucked and bowed, as well as wind instruments and also percussion. This is music first and foremost, but also lyrics which reflect the spirit and frame of mind of an uncertain and troubled period of time which would come to an end with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Nevertheless, Europe would not find peace for nearly another three hundred years. – François Hudry

Tracklist:
1. The Playfords – Es geht wohl gegen der Sommerzeit (03:09)
2. The Playfords – Ist Liebe lauter nichts (01:19)
3. The Playfords – Kein Soldat soll nicht trauren (02:38)
4. The Playfords – Frisch auf in’s Feld zu rucken (04:34)
5. The Playfords – Lob eines Soldaten zu Fuße (02:22)
6. The Playfords – Lallekeenig (01:13)
7. The Playfords – Wo sind die Stunden? (00:59)
8. The Playfords – Es geht ein dunkle Wolk herein (05:10)
9. The Playfords – First Part of Ayres: No. 13, Death (04:46)
10. The Playfords – Die Erde trinkt für sich, SWV 438 (02:13)
11. The Playfords – First Part of Ayres: No. 64, A Souldiers Maske (03:50)
12. The Playfords – Es hat ein Tantzer gsprungen (01:23)
13. The Playfords – Ryslaifer (01:40)
14. The Playfords – Mit Lust vor wenig Tagen (02:03)
15. The Playfords – Es ist kein Schnee gefallen (02:36)
16. The Playfords – Schönheit dieser Welt vergeht (00:28)
17. The Playfords – Es ist ein Schnitter heißt der Tod (04:21)
18. The Playfords – Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: I. Prélude (02:38)
19. The Playfords – Abend (01:28)
20. The Playfords – O meine Seel, warum bist du betrübet, SWV 419 (03:04)
21. The Playfords – Ludi Musici, SSWV 47: Courant Dolorosa (03:14)
22. The Playfords – O übergrosses Hertzenleid (04:45)
23. The Playfords – Schwedischer Postbot den verlorenen Tylli zu suchen (04:31)
24. The Playfords – Der Schwartenhals / Wo soll ich mich hinkehren (03:35)

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