The Dowland Project began as an artistic collaboration between John Potter and ECM’s Manfred Eicher, and was an attempt to re-discover the essence of renaissance song from the point of view of a modern performer. John suggested Dowland and Manfred Eicher proposed augmenting the obligatory early music players with jazz musicians. The first recording for ECM brought together John Surman, Barry Guy, Maya Homberger and Stephen Stubbs and was a Sunday Times Record of the Year. The group made its live debut at the Bremen Musikfest, and has since performed on both sides of the Atlantic including St Patrick’s Cathedral New York, the Munich Opera House and the Festival de Musica Visual, Lanzarote. The band has since released ‘Care-Charming Sleep’ – a similar treatment of English and Italian songs from the post-Dowland generation.
The Dowland Project opened the South Bank’s Early Music Weekend in 2006 with a return to Dowland. The group's third album for ECM, 'Romaria', released in January features a new line up of John Potter (tenor), John Surman (sax, bass clarinet, recorder), Milos Valent (violin & viola) and Stephen Stubbs (vihuela & guitar). The music includes Trouvère songs and Minnelieder, Portuguese folksongs and an experiment with some fifteenth century Franco-Flemish mass movements. It's had very good press:
'mesmeric and magical...ravishingly beautiful... John Potter, one of the finest tenors around...' BBC Music Magazine
'Romaria is as pure a musical experience as you’re likely to have' Gramophone
'Yet another example of his trailblazing steerage and vision...' All About Jazz
'With Romaria… new territory is broached: it's a stunning disc, in which the Project's particular brand of "crossover" is completely validated.' Goldberg
Discography
Romaria ECM New Series 1970
Care-charming sleep ECM New Series 1803
John Dowland: In Darkness let me Dwell ECM New Series 1697
