Snow, darkness, melancholy.

I’ve been reading from stoic authors recently, but downloaded the 2007 album ‘In darkness Let Me Dwell‘ with Stephen Stubbs, Maya Hornburger, John Potter & Barry Guy as a bit of a wallow. It’s a well-considered collection of Dowland songs with some interesting new arrangements including saxophones and double-bass. I quickly got into the lyrics of ‘Come Again’, and, desirous of finding out whether the singer’s phrase ‘to die!’ was indicative of some form or romantic ecstasy (as well as the fulfilment of the hobby-melancholist’s desire to dissolve in a miasma of self-indulgence), came across notes for a lecture by Dr Lars Eckstein. Some of his references seem to confirm my filthy-minded suppositions, but there are a wealth of other analytical facets he considers, including how Dowland’s song puns on existing structures of romantic and ‘melancholic’ mores. Fascinating, and just the thing to consider huddled in the northern European darkness, waiting for the sun, too, to come again.