The pre-eminent lutenist of his day, John Dowland was an almost exact contemporary of William Shakespeare. This second volume of his complete lute music (Volume One is available on Naxos 8.557586) includes perhaps his best-known work, the Lachrimae Pavan. This melancholic work became the most popular pavan of its age, a model for all pavans and was a central piece in the Elizabethan lute repertoire. The closing pavan based on the composer’s motto Semper Dowland Semper Dolens (Dowland is always doleful) is full of exquisitely restless harmonies and quotations from the composer’s songs.