The Merchant of Venice: Music and Poetry of Shakespeare's Play

Whether or not Shakespeare ever visited Venice, it is certainly true that musicians moved back and forth very freely from Italy to London. Chief among these were the extraordinary wind players of the Bassano Family. Their remarkable music is heard here, with ayres by John Dowland and string music and songs by Salamone Rossi and Claudio Monteverdi. Accompanying the music, Sir Derek Jacobi and Richard Clifford join the Consort on stage with passages from Shakespeare's great play. With violins, viol, lute, theorbo, and Piffaro: The Renaissance Band.