SEVERA GJURIN, SAXGO QUINTET, BOR ZULJAN

Lachrimae – Sound Alchemy, New Renaissance

Severa Gjurin, voice

SAXGO KVINTET: Jan Gričar, alto saxophone, Betka Bizjak Kotnik, tenor saxophone, Boštjan Simon, tenor saxophone, Jovana Joka, bariton saxophone and Matjaž Drevenšek, bariton saxophone

Bor Zuljan, electric lute

Lachrimae or Seven Tears, by the English master of melancholy John Dowland, is among the very first examples of programme music in the history of music. These seven pavans for consort of viols and lute take a single musical theme and explore it in remarkably varied ways, creating a journey that feels almost alchemical, with a sound that remains strikingly modern.

In this performance, the traditional viol consort gives way to a saxophone quintet, invited to reinterpret Dowland’s masterpiece as part of a new programme created especially for this occasion. Between these tears, the festival’s artistic director Bor Zuljan will perform improvisations and songs on his new unique electric lute joined by the Slovenian singer Severa Gjurin.