John Dowland - Can She Excuse My Wrongs｜Vivid Consort & David Bergmüller

Can She Excuse My Wrongs - John Dowland (1563-1626)
First Booke of Songes or Ayres, London 1597
Vivid Consort ft. David Bergmüller
Christine Gnigler - recorder, vocals
Lorina Vallaster - recorder, vocals
Sheng-Fang Chiu - recorder
David Bergmüller - lute
Andreas Gnigler - film
Alexander Yannilos - sound/recording
Lukas Froschauer - sound/engineering
Sheng-Fang Chiu - concept
Vienna, 2020
Instruments/Recorders by Adriana Breukink
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Vivid Consort • www.vividconso... • [e-mail]
David Bergmüller • www.davidbergm... • [e-mail]
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Can she excuse my wrongs with Virtue’s cloak?
Shall I call her good when she proves unkind?
Are those clear fires which vanish into smoke?
Must I praise the leaves where no fruit I find?
No, no; where shadows do for bodies stand,
That may’st be abus’d if thy sight be dim.
Cold love is like to words written on sand,
Or to bubbles which on the water swim.
Wilt thou be thus abused still,
Seeing that she will right thee never?
If thou canst not o’ercome her will,
Thy love will be thus fruitless ever.
Was I so base, that I might not aspire
Unto those high joys which she holds from me?
As they are high, so high is my desire,
If she this deny, what can granted be?
If she will yield to that which reason is,
It is reason’s will that love should be just.
Dear, make me happy still by granting this,
Or cut off delays if that I die must.
Better a thousand times to die
Than for to love thus still tormented:
Dear, but remember it was I
Who for thy sake did die contented.

[@flyshacker]

What a cohesive and wonderfully rehearsed musical group! Such a treat to hear this tune played by them. It could not have sounded any better 400 years ago.

[@micebones7544]

Sad to consider: would females even have been allowed to do this back in Shakespeare's time? People tell me females didn't get to perform in Shakespeare's plays. Juliet would have been acted by a boy/man. To my 20th century thinking, that's just wrong. These ladies are all wonderful to my ears, and I know how to play music like this. I'd admit to needing a full night's sleep to keep up with them.

[@flyshacker]

@@micebones7544 Well, we have 21st century thinking now. I’m not sure what point there is in applying one era’s values to another era’s conditions. But it is interesting. If we go back 400 years before Shakespeare, Hildegarde Von Bingen wrote music for female singers. So values continually change.

[@TroubleRave]

I have read that dowland himself was considered quite brazen for not only performing in womans attire and in countertenor but also performing with women often. I would consider him a groundbreaker in not just that but his liberal mix of styles from across the continent, and i consider it in the vein of modern pop music.@@micebones7544

[@hemiolaguy]

@@flyshacker Hildegard wrote her music in a convent, to be sung by the nuns. And there have been quite a few composer-nuns and singer-nuns throughout the centuries. In Shakespeare's time, families and groups of friends (both male and female) would get together after dinner with their music books and sing/play madrigals and other music together. But the English church and the English stage had prohibitions against girls and women performing at the time. Interestingly, in some other European countries, women were allowed to perform on stage.

[@kenadler777]

If anyone ever says "I wonder if anyone has done an insane solo on a recorder" please direct them here.

[@XatxiFly]

The seamlessness of the transition from vocals to recorders made my jaw drop. Delightful. Exquisite musicianship from each of you and from the ensemble as a whole.

[@typewriter7273]

Just a

[@typewriter7273]

I think 6556

[@neomiattar7265]

ווח

[@nicholashill9302]

Exactly sing for ever until you can play by ear. Reading music is a piece of pisss after.

[@williewonka6694]

The singers were so good, I had zero expectations they would play and instrument.😂

[@AbrEvig]

Spectacular recorder playing by Sheng-Fang Chiu!!!

[@Not_Even_Wrong]

When the recoder drop hits just too hard, damn.

[@richardjchandler]

This Vivid Consort performance of John Dowland's Can She Excuse My Wrongs is off the charts! Incredible lute playing to vocals and the superbly virtuosic Renaissance recorders! Long live John Dowland.

[@ronaran8420]

👍And those fine young artists!

[@zardoz7900]

Virtuoso on the flute too. Every now and then I'd come back to this video and listen.

[@clairetremblay3023]

Yes it's so beautiful! And I am always so please to see the decor of this place. What an amazing taste.

[@jasperkok8745]

@@zardoz7900Those are recorders, not flutes. ;)

[@zardoz7900]

@@jasperkok8745 a recorder is a flute ;) ;)

[@francescocavani1779]

Sheng-Fang Chiu!!! What a great, emotional, beautiful recorder solo, and embellishments everywhere. Well done!

[@jamesa901]

Yeah, she crushed it.

[@davidwbuckley]

The john coltrane of the tenor recorder. Man shes a genius

[@markosullivan4095]

Great stuff everyone. Full of life ! Little did John Dowland realise that people would still be playing hi music 400 years later.

[@simonidastankovic2627]

...and will for next 400 years, it seems.

[@johnbrereton5229]

Ars longa vita brevis

[@Swenthorian]

Here I am thinking I'm getting pretty decent because I can play Irish traditional music on recorder, and then I see stuff like this. This tune is freaking hard! The woman on the tenor is some kind of goddess of recordering. Bravo to all!

[@angelikasti8888]

Ich muss es wieder und wieder hören und jedesmal bin ich neu begeistert. Ich glaube es gibt keine leichtere elegantere erfreulichere Version als diese.❤

[@alconomic476]

Stimme dir zu. @ensemblemenestrel hat aber auch eine schöne Variation.

[@DugrozReports]

I, for one, welcome the return of roving bands of lute & recorder players.

[@theresa2245]

Wow! The bass recorder player is so accomplished; she sounded like a dragonfly skipping quickly over touching water. I gasped that was so incredible. The group is tight and in the pocket.

[@Hirvi47]

it is a tenor recorder

[@boiseburns]

Damn she shreds on that recorder! Awesome

[@alanwilliams3677]

That is an apt analogy: it reminded me of a rock guitarist shredding his instrument.

[@AudioVile]

Oh. My. GOODNESS!!! This was simply amazing. It's hard to choose my 'favorite' aspect of this performance because the entire piece, start to finish, top to bottom, is superb. The lute?? Please... David did it FAR more than 'justice,' he made it sing. Incredible technique and he stayed in that perfect place sort of in the background, and sort of featured. That is a very difficult balance to strike. The recorder solo by Chiu? I've never heard a recorder played like THAT! I have a completely new respect for the instrument after hearing it so masterfully played! The vocals? Simply outstanding! I can't tell from the credits which is which, so I'll call them soprano and alto. Soprano is obviously well-trained and has a delightful voice. The alto? I might surprise everyone, but SHE was my 'favorite.' Her lower harmonies were absolutely perfect both in pitch and in volume and in timing. She supported, rather than overpowered, the lead in just the right measure. This, to me, was the most unexpected and enjoyable part of the piece. Overall?? Extraordinary performances by every single member. Just WOW!!!!

[@xofpi]

Well said!

[@Shtuhtefup]

Do you mean tenor? Thats the lower one here! Not to discredit the two altos! Theyre all mind-blowing.

[@Scratchy314]

The way she opens up with the recorder flourish and the other two flow in behind so seamlessly is what gets me

[@tullochgorum6323]

Scintillating performance from all involved. A someone trained in the English choral tradition, most of the Dowland performances on KZbin are far too fruity and Italianate for my taste. This ensemble understands the dry and crisp style that suits this music so well. These are artists with a deep understanding of the composer and the period - and it's a joy to listen to their work. You should also check out the jaw-dropping virtuosity of their recording of Henry VIII's Pastime With Good Company, also on KZbin.

[@lostisleminstrel]

Superb, When the recorders came out this song went stratospheric. Excellent song, excellent singing, recorder playing is really superb with Ms. Chiu's improvisation being as good as it gets. Lute complemented and supported the song perfectly. Loved this.

[@monikahoch6379]

Superb!!! Thank you from my heart

[@davidwbuckley]

That was an incredible performance. Great rythm and drive and connection between the players. That recorder player is a genius. So fluid and rythmic and serpentine , like john coltrane. Superb.

[@wesstephens5324]

Holy moly that recorder improvisation was amazing!

[@ihorsywanyk5678]

Wow! The solo at 2:13 is incredible!❤️👍

[@jasperkok8745]

Especially the 10 seconds after the first 10 seconds of that solo. It’s almost jazzy, and yet very fitting.

[@Mysterytour7]

I am utterly entranced by this performance. I can't stop thinking about it.

[@Alun49]

I keep coming back to this performance. It is so good! The voices are sublime and the virtuoso recorder playing really rocks! I imagine this is how it may well have sounded and been sung in Dowland's day! Christine Gnigler delivers a great performances and Lorina Vallaster's harmonies are perfect. As for Sheng-Fang Chiu on recorder? Now that is virtuoso playing and incredible breath control! I'm off to get the cd!

[@zxbn4566]

An utterly delightful performance, with a very authentic Renaissance sound. So good to see people of this generation appreciating and interpreting ancient music so exquisitely.

[@JelMain]

I'm not so sure - the English of 1600 was far broader, this is RP, an issue of the 1930s which became questioned in HIP thinking in the 1980s. Dutch tonality is far closer to the original.

[@DavidOfWhitehills]

How can you possibly know that this is "authentic Renaissance sound"? Sure these folks are brilliantly skilled, but the music is dry and dull, which is why its so niche. Thhere MUST have been more to it. Skillful scholarship does not = authentic.

[@JelMain]

@@DavidOfWhitehills Try studying catches. These are like loop-station rounds, where the rests in each part align to produce something obscene. Pub songs. This is also the period when folk started to become common, particularly Scottish. Playford's Dancing Master is a first collection, followed by the Beggar's Opera. Headed the other way, Elizabeth I preferred dance, although some songs are in Shakespeare. On the Continent, you can go back far further, to the German and Spanish repertoires of the 14th Century onwards. What you may be suffering from is a surfeit of castrati. This produced an effete tone of countertenors in the Britten circle, typified by Alfred Deller: you should offset that with Tom Allen and Geraint Evans, whose wife was my own mentor.

[@JelMain]

@@DavidOfWhitehills Where this goes wrong, in particular, is that it uses Received Pronunciation when the original would have been sung in something closer to a modern Staffordshire accent. Short vowels, and flabby consonants. Sting went some way towards it, in his use of Geordie, which is close to the Burgundian Flemish of the 15th Century, the starting point of an entire school of Renaissance composition.

[@dragon_ways]

Best version I have come across .... Versatility and musicality

[@zoefoster1873]

Absolutely awesome. It boggles my mind that we can listen to this music four hundred years after it was written and be so moved by it. It transports me to another world. Just incredible.

[@thomasschaefer5764]

I've been singing since I was 6 yo. Palistrina, de Victoria, etc. in a Catholic boys choir at first. I'm 60 yo now, and this musical goddess has blessed me with perfect pitch in her first 3 notes of this. It is miraculous music that I can't stop listening to.

[@lilianneknight3039]

Love it wonderful ❤

[@superescalar]

The acoustics of a living room add a special charm and freshness to your interpretation of this popular work by John Dowland.

[@michaelstevens9256]

The neighbors must love this 😀

[@anotherdamn6c]

@@michaelstevens9256 Turn down that damned lute!! hahah.

[@TheCompleteGuitarist]

the living room being a perfect setting for Dowland

[@Hadri_ART]

Delightful. That flute solo...gosh😍😍😍

[@williambejar5874]

And Sheng-Fang Chiu is sooooooo beautiful.

[@JimmySonny]

You are listining to music only kings and queens whould've been able to listen to. Imagine what a blessing your life is compared to most people who came before you.

[@Metasisic]

Brilliant, I love the period lute and recorders, far better than Sting's version, not that it was bad. The singing here was amazing, especially the shouted ending, bravo!

[@oldnick351]

No words. Such an amazing finding

[@arnoldronning5471]

Wow! These ladies sing and play wind recorders with exquisite precision. And supporting the whole frame is the wonderful lute accompaniment. Perfection!

[@josdesouza]

Sweet music from heavenly angels. Who could ask for more?

[@PascalsCircle]

You are all amazing, but I am guessing that it is Ms. Chiu who is out of this world on the recorder!! Wow!! Beautiful vocals, instrumentation & teamwork!!

[@spinospinellibass]

Great performance! And the cameraman portraying himself in a convex mirror winks to the Arnolfini marriage, a little gem in a musical gem... How many other details in this masterpiece remain to be discovered?

[@Steamforger]

I've lost count how many times I've listened to this! Fantastic arrangement - please keep making music!

[@kerstenmuller2895]

Fantastisch, herrliche Consort-Musik im 21 Jahrhundert. Das würde ich gerne mal live erleben.

[@miladydewinter8551]

These songs were made for dancing and you can feel it

[@ebbelaurssoerensen3908]

beautifull and wonderfull

[@onserfdez7958]

Fantastic! Great job. John Dowland would be a rockstar today!

[@secondchairmusic]

SUPERB!! EXQUISITE!! You've singlehandedly ignited my desire to further explore John Dowland's music!

[@aliasreco]

Melody, ritm.... All way better than today's music. Great performance too!

[@andrearodgers5879]

A study is diction for singers. Lively,energetic, theatrical presentation DELIGHTFUL!!!

[@WhatAStrangeDuck]

What an absolute delight :-). Well done by all participants. I'll make sure to refer people to this vid whenever they speak disparagingly about the recorder.

[@ronja764]

Einfach nur wun-der-bar, wun-der-voll. Danke für diese Musik. Ich liebe Dowland.

[@t1ntakulus]

Amazingly good! I play this on lute alone but with voice and amazing recorder it really comes alive!

[@SFguy415]

Truly an arresting way in which to present this music.

[@wowKitch]

Oh my ... found this only today but it's jaw dropping beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing, listening to this made my day

[@spinnettdesigns]

I first heard Sting sing this…it brings me to tears each time. Your rendition is lovely, your voices are beautiful, thank you!

[@cfrandre8319]

This totally eclipses...

[@davidbraid8429]

Extraordinary- I’ve played this piece and I’ve heard it 100 times - but not like this. Absolutely world-class really brilliant. Well done

[@Carlos-qz7ul]

Everything is BRILLIANT here : the originality of the setup, the sound recording, the choice of the shootings, and of course the choice of the piece and these seasoned and soulful musicians 💚

[@matthewstokes1608]

… Everything but the man-bun 😢

[@arianahunt1073]

This song has haunted me for decades. My dad had it on a cassette tape of music for two lutes but I never knew the name.

[@ManuRomoArtista]

Brilliant!! That transition from singing to recorders! I can only say.... It blew me away!!

[@philippegodelle697]

GREAT CLASS !!!!! thanks to your young nature to sing John Dowland, a great melodist !

[@matthewl6700]

Whoa! I have never seen someone rip on the recorder like that! Bravo Ms. Chiu!

[@milkywaysurfer9475]

This arrangement/interpretation is brilliant. You have chosen a great composition and rearranged and interpreted it in an amazing way. I do not know why, but it reminds me of the best prog rock songs. Why does this video not have millions of views?

[@BrainiacFingers]

You're probably being reminded of Gentle Giant and Gryphon. Two "prog" bands that drew heavily on 16th century music. There's also Focus: a band that occasionally gave a nod to that era. Jan Akkerman's lute tune on Focus 3 comes to mind.

[@simonidastankovic2627]

It should do, it does deserve for sure !

[@Jessymandias]

Prog Galliard.

[@skipdowning2328]

To me it has the Elizabethan overtones of some of Jethro Tull. Love it

[@bilingualkaraoke8665]

My thoughts exactly 👍

[@thomaswagner1442]

Wirklich eine außergewöhnliche Interpretation des Stückes !

[@SteveBremner-n4y]

This is an excellent interpretation of Dowland. It takes me back to my school studies of Renaissance. Beautiful.

[@UkeMe]

WOW! The best recording ever of my favorite Dowland song.

[@0-mega216]

The diminutions in the recorder solo are just amazing

[@johnbeale5710]

So glad I stumbled on this. Trying to play Dowland on recorder with a friend on lute but won't be able to match this! It's lovely. Deserves many more views!

[@zacurragazzo9432]

Where has this been my whole life and why is this cover not on Spotify- I could listen to this forever, great cover you guys! This did not seem like an easy one to do so hats off for making it work

[@simongardner1835]

This is wonderful music-making: performed with a brilliant balance of energy and poise. Thank you all so much!

[@pputnam100]

Growing up on Deller Consort and NY Pro Musica, this is a delight to find young folk keeping that tradition alive, Bravo...!!!

[@alexandermackay-smith2364]

Brilliant rebuke to those who think the recorder no more than a children's instrument.

[@MasterBlasterG]

Well that's because the recorder they give to kids in schools is a piece of junk. Thats why most people think that.

[@annedonnellan6876]

Simon cowell

[@maxwellsim76]

Tis the player not the instrument be the cause of thy dismay

[@superbear9569]

Capital observation my good man. Tish and pish to those who are foolish enough to underestimate the power of the recorder. Tis a mighty instrument!

[@jacquelinelewis3131]

@@MasterBlasterG Precisely

[@adelheidili]

Mittelalterliche Musik , wie schön Wenn die Jugend musiziert geht mir das Herz auf!

[@greenrx3744]

That was so good! The singer and lutenist were terrific, and I loved it when the three recorders came in together. Awesome improvisation by the recorder player, too. Very spirited. It rocked!

[@gazialankus]

Feels like coming home in a warm spring day and relaxing completely. Total stress antidote. Amazing talent. Thank you Vivid Consort for this gem and also thanks to Beato for opening my eyes to Dowland.

[@rebeccasuerdieck5083]

I wish I could see you perform live! I am a huge fan of Dowland and your interpretation is incredible! WOW!

[@russpalmeri]

Wow. talk about an abundance of talent! Voice and recorder too. Lute playing also great. Thanks!

[@ianh9091]

I chanced upon this performance. Some minutes later I am staring at the view from our upstairs window wondering what on earth I can say to describe how good that was and how it made me feel. Still haven’t managed to find the words which probably says it all anyway 😊

[@robinmarks4771]

Absolutely exquisite! Y'all positively shred Dowland. Amongst other things, I study HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts), with a heavy emphasis on German longsword. I like to listen to period music from around the time the treatises from which I study were written, and this performance has quickly become one of my go-to pieces. Love it!

[@JonathanDobin]

What a complete joy and wonder - what you share with your wonderful talents - and express together - is a blissful revelation! Thank you so much.

[@michaelmacdonell4834]

Oh, now this woke me up! I have only ever heard it sung by a single voice. The part-singing made my goosebumps get goosebumps. Add to that the amazing arrangement with the three recorders to keep the lutanist on his toes.... Took me back to my school days, this did.

[@TheDogfairy]

This is absolutely wonderful!!! I love it!

[@artsymarxist]

I hope yall will do more John Dowland and other baroque music together! Phenomenal performances, music and skill.

[@mariewolf9054]

Danke für diesen Aug' und Ohrgenuss!!! Ein Geschenk ganz besonderer Art!!!

[@lorinavallaster4892]

Vielen Dank, Marie, das freut uns sehr!

[@TheCarlosEMaldonado]

Beauty at its best, in any sense: music, the ambiance, the day, the ladies, flutes, and the guitar player. Awsome!

[@BrotherAlyx]

Lovely renaissance ukulele!

[@stoerg2012]

Is this really an ukulele? It has at least 12 Strings, ukulele has only 4.

[@BrotherAlyx]

@@stoerg2012 Sigh.

[@stoerg2012]

@@BrotherAlyx Yes, in the meanwhile I could find out, that one would rather call this instrument lute in English. But as a non-expert, you had initially irritated me with your comment. It could have been that in English this terminology makes perfect sense.

[@BrotherAlyx]

@@stoerg2012 I was joking. 🤡 I know it’s actually a fiddle.

[@Ziad3195]

This is one of the best things I have ever seen in my life.

[@sergioazevedo7390]

Marvellous, if perfection is a word in music interpretation, this is time for it!

[@tinalarkin2680]

One of the best things I have ever heard. Thank you Vivid Consort. WOW!

[@austinhackney3906]

I must have listened to this a hundred times or more. It's the absolute best interpretation of a favourite Dowland song that I have ever heard. I LOVE it. Thank you so so much.

[@phoebelafibi]

Glorious!! Long live the queen!

[@JannisSicker]

they are together so well! regarding timing, phrasing and sound great precision and expression

[@loudoniii]

Still my favourite piece ... this rendition is so lyrical ... inspiring to listen to .. wunderbar!

[@luckybag6814]

Great that the words are included under the description, so we can all sing along.

[@rubentishkoff6971]

Beautiful! and so expertly played 👋👋👋👋

[@nomadben]

Absolutely virtuosic flute playing. Lovely rendition

[@Pixelatedworld-iu2dd]

Lovely, its so refreshing to see real musicians performing great pieces like this in such a casual setting.

[@christophermartinthomas9337]

I have just come across this: brilliantly conceived, brilliantly executed. I love it!

[@reenougle]

Just another day at home singing and playing Dowland to perfection….❤

[@이상경-w7e]

Wow,Beatiful! Back to the medieval! Air,Wood,Wind,River,Bird,People,loudness... Very beatiful

[@BrainiacFingers]

I love Dowland, and have always loved this song. This is a fantastic arrangement and performance of it.

[@simonidastankovic2627]

probably the best I would say.

[@fernandolopezmenchero3855]

Sublime! J'ai pas de mots pour cette belle composition. Des notes puissantes et ronde d'une voix célestiale avec un instrument tendre et doux.

[@nickfosterxx]

How many versions of this song have I heard. This just simply made me happy, out loud. Beautifully done, including that ending, a moments stillness, a link back to the setting of real life and real time. Thanks. Can't wait to show this to friends.

[@MaristelaCoelhoFerreira]

So beautiful !! Bravo!! ❤ Rio-Brazil

[@chrishofland2135]

I don’t think circular breathing is possible on recorder, but this is the first time I thought it might be necessary! Beautiful rendition, on many levels.

[@ceticobr]

It *is* possible on recorder.