Phantasm was founded in 1994 by Laurence Dreyfus and catapulted into international prominence when its debut CD of works by Henry Purcell won a Gramophone Award for the Best Baroque Instrumental Recording of 1997. Phantasm’s 20 recordings have won consistent praise and numerous awards including further Gramophone Awards – for Orlando Gibbons (2004) and John Dowland’s Lachrimae (2017), Diapason d’Or for William Byrd and the Chamber Music Prize from Limelight Magazine (Australia) for Lawes Royal Consort. The consort has travelled the world over, performing in major festivals and concert series.
Elizabeth Kenny is one of Europe’s leading lute players. She has devised several critically acclaimed recordings of solo music from the ML Lute Book. Her most recent solo recording, Ars Longa (Linn Records) was nominated for the BBC Music Magazine Solo Instrumental recording of the year 2019. In 2017 Shakespeare Songs with Ian Bostridge and co-collaborators won the Grammy best solo vocal recital. Kenny has been professor of Lute at the Royal Academy of Music since 1999, and Dean of Students since 2020.
At LIFEM 2026, Phantasm and Elizabeth Kenny reunite to perform their award-winning interpretation of Dowland’s Lachrimae or Seven Tears in the composer’s anniversary year. Their recording of this programme won two major Early Music awards: the 2017 Gramophone Award and the 2017 Diapason d’or de l’année. It was also named a BBC Radio 3 Building A Library ‘First Choice’. Summing up the Renaissance preoccupation with melancholy, this extraordinary collection of dance music for viols and lute includes Dowland’s ‘signature’ piece, Semper Dowland Semper Dolens. Dowland reveals a personal world of sublime sadness, grief, anger and melancholy mollified by moments of joy and gladness. Although freed from lyric constraints poetic images linger prompting Phantasm’s Laurence Dreyfus to describe this as “the most sensuously tuneful hour of music ever written”.
“At the heart of this [programme] are the seven variants of the utterly memorable Lachrimae theme, played by Phantasm with their expressive warmth and exquisite subtlety.” – The Observer *****
“This song-based music is of a nature that, once it grips you, it’s unlikely ever to let go, especially in a performance as finely balanced as this.” – The Irish Times *****
Laurence Dreyfus treble viol
Emilia Benjamin treble & tenor viols
Jonathan Manson tenor viol
Heidi Gröger viola da gamba
Markku Luolajan-Mikkola bass viol
with Elizabeth Kenny lute
This concert is included in the LIFEM Festival Pass and LIFEM Thursday Day Pass.
Photo credit – Marco Borggreve (Phantasm) & Camilla Greenwell (Elizabeth Kenny)
