Inasmuch as there is a play called The Mad Lover by Shakespeare's younger contemporary John Fletcher, and that a few of the pieces here are connected to the play, one might assume that this release by violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte and lutenist Thomas Dunford offered incidental music to the play. It does not, and most of it has no connection to Fletcher's work. Instead, The Mad Lover is an indicator of general mood, much like the title of a conceptual rock album, suggesting the deep currents of passion that were ...
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Inasmuch as there is a play called The Mad Lover by Shakespeare's younger contemporary John Fletcher, and that a few of the pieces here are connected to the play, one might assume that this release by violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte and lutenist Thomas Dunford offered incidental music to the play. It does not, and most of it has no connection to Fletcher's work. Instead, The Mad Lover is an indicator of general mood, much like the title of a conceptual rock album, suggesting the deep currents of passion that were associated with the new violin music entering England from Italy in the early 18th century. This might seem a bit vague, but the performances are superb. The music mixes sonatas, suites, a variation set, and shorter pieces, including two from The Mad Lover Suite of John Eccles, from English and Italian composers who are, for the most part, hardly known. Henry Purcell is present, but most of the music is from the next generation, including that of his cousin (or brother) Daniel...
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