Springtime and the Lost Art of Wooing

Anyone who reads this blog regularly has probably realized that I have a strong romantic streak. I also enjoy learning about how different cultures have celebrated love throughout history. One classical standout in the genre of love songs was John Dowling, who lived in Elizabethan England during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Sting is such a fan of Dowling that he's actually recorded a CD of his songs, which unfortunately has gotten mixed reviews. There's more about it here. A better alternative would be the CD The Lost Art of Wooing by vocalist Jeni Melia, a very talented soprano with a wonderfully full and expressive style. Dowling was in many ways the first great singer-songwriter and quite revered in his day. The Elizabethan era was a golden age in English history, a period of political stability that supported a flowering of English art, literature and music.

The Elizabethans were also greatly enamoured of love and the celebration of love, to the extent that they had to outlaw the singing of love songs underneath peoples windows as a public nuisance.

Fortunately, in this day and age you can use your computer to stream Melia's fine performance of Dowling and other period love songs for free, or download them for your iPod for a few shillings from magnatune.com.

So listen, enjoy and feel your heart awaken.