This collaboration between a consort of viols and the Greek lyra takes John Dowland’s Lachrimæ or Seaven Teares as its point of departure; together they paint a transverse and stateless picture of melancholy, although this is set against the joyful hope of a shining future that appears in these improvisations and timeless Anglo-Byzantine dances. Greek musician Sokratis Sinopoulos is a contemporary master of the lyra, a bowed instrument that dates back to the Byzantine era. His playing is delicate and nuanced yet highly expressive, and his proficiency on the instrument has been widely acclaimed. Sinopoulos has collaborated with numerous musicians throughout the world. He’s equally comfortable crossing genre boundaries into jazz and classical, as he is to staying true to folk traditions of Greece and Eastern Mediterranean.
