Thomas Adès, wrote this ingenious 9-minute piano work for himself to play at a 1993 Park Lane Group recital. Its title is an allusion to the John Dowland, whose ‘Semper Dowland semper dolens’ occasionally informs its harmonic and timbral world. The distinctive timbres of the pieces are achieved through an inventive use of preparation: the central octaves of the piano strings are dampened by a strip of Blu-Tack, which is later peeled off all but two notes, to allow a delicate r...