John Dowland is a bit of an unlucky chap. Now his lute has gone missing too. In search of it, he sets off on a musical journey through Europe – and along the way encounters the music of his contemporaries.

From England, with John Hilton and Thomas Morley, the journey takes us to France and the mysterious melody ‘L’homme armé’, then on to Italy to Barbara Strozzi and Chiara Margherita Cozzolani, and finally to Germany to Hans Leo Hassler.

2026 marks the 400th anniversary of Dowland’s death. Reason enough to take his musical world as the starting point for a concert programme that brings together well-known and lesser-known Renaissance music – whilst leaving two questions unanswered: Are there rules governing how music should actually sound? And where, in fact, is Dowland’s lute?

In the end, Dowland returns with many new musical impressions, but his lute remains missing. Until it turns out that a girl from the choir has taken it. She just wanted to try out, just once, what this beautiful instrument sounds like.

The Girls’ Choir II and the Charlotte Girls’ Choir of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin will be singing, accompanied by the Wind & Saiten ensemble with Martin Ripper (flute), Bo Wiget (cello), Sebastian Trimolt (percussion) and Magnus Andersson (lute).

Narrator: Alva Schönemeyer
Choir directors: Friederike Stahmer and Johanna Walch
Concept and overall direction: Johanna Walch