"In Darkness Let Me Dwell" by John Dowland is an old madrigal with a highly melancholy affect to it.  The song is in a minor key, uses some diminished chords for jarring effect, and ends in a half cadence on the leading tone, leaving it unresolved.  Word painting is abound in this piece; "jarring sounds" is well-articulated to give it a cutting sound, the word "weep" adds plenty of vibrato, sings a short major line, and starts on the minor second of the key, which is a dissonant, out-of-key note.  This makes it sound like actual sobbing, and is very well done, especially in Andreas' version.   The words "ground" and "sorrow" are part of a descending sung melody, as if to show how the ground is below us and sorrow is a sinking feeling.  A phrase ending with the word "sleep" tastefully undergoes a diminuendo, and "Let me living, living die" reflects a bit of a major theme to give a glimmer of hope.  Toward the conclusion of the song, the tension increases steadily and peaks at the phrase "Til death do come", then fading away to stop on a seemingly out of place mediant.  The song ends with the same progression with a cadence on the word "dwell".
	Three different recordings of the song have been compared and analyzed.  Anne Sofie plays the song in G# minor (sounds the most dreary to my ears, the ideal emotion for this piece), Andreas in F# minor (sounds dark but in an enigmatic way), and Sting transposes his version higher to Bb minor, making it sound a little less depressing.  Sting's voice is also an octave lower and surprisingly calm for such a strong lament.  Vibrato is practically nonexistent in his singing, and makes the song sound overly simplistic.  Although Anne's tempo is the most erratic, it is appropriate for a song proclaiming an eternal mandate.  The diction of the text in each version varies greatly in some places; in Andreas' version, it sounds like some letters are missing from the words he's singing and he even pronounces wounds incorrectly (rhyming with "sounds"), and makes "die" sound like "done".  This is apparently a sacrifice for a smoother and more legato singing style.  Sting's is easiest to understand, of course, because his vocals are nearly colourless and the words are more staccato.
	Speaking of colour, Andreas' has a strange vibrato to it that gives that familiar falsetto sound, sounding ready to break apart any moment.  It seems like it's in the right place, for a song suggestive of breakdown or insanity and a desire for isolation.  But my personal favourite is Anne Sofie's clear and elegant soaring tone, giving each sung a note clean and shining distinction.  Her dynamics on held notes vary in dramatic and effective ways, keeping even the most drawn out passages tense until the last.  Sting's dynamics vary the least, staying loud and upfront all the way until the end but this makes for the most dramatic conclusion - perhaps this lends itself to his usual rock singing style.  His tempo and rhythm are the most consistent, another feature of popular music, which is often made with a metronome track.
	Each player's accompaniment is different as well.  Andreas' playing is more arpeggiated with the chord tones played more at the same time.  Long rests are left in between each chord.  Sting's lute has the loudest attack and is very sharp and striking, and is the busiest playing by far.  Anne Sofie's has the least attack, sounding soft and sparse, with the chords fairly broken up.  This division of notes gives the song an ongoing effect, and can make a fluctuating tempo much more apparent.  Because each moment listening is spent waiting for the next note or a subtle change in speed, combined with Anne's engrossing vocals makes her rendition of the song the most engaging for me.  

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