The Playfords

Dark Cloud: Songs from the Thirty Years' War 1618-1648 The Playfords

On their new album, The Playfords presents songs and music from the time of the Thirty Years' War 1618-1648. The ballads, folk songs and hymns relate to war heroes, sadness and grief caused by war but also to hope and peace. All pieces are arranged by the ensemble (for vocals, recorders, plucked and stringed instruments as well as percussion). The multi-faceted repertoire of the recording includes instrumental pieces by the English composer Tobias Hume, intimate chants by Heinrich Schütz and a dance (Courant Dolorosa) by Samuel Scheidt. In addition, there are various songs to discover which were printed at that time on pamphlets and sold thousands of times - telling about loss, fear, despair, political issues but also about families and children during the wars.