Iestyn Davies [Pablo Strong]

WHEN a composer writes sad music it’s not necessarily an indication of how they were feeling at the time: there are emotional distinctions between art and life. But in the case of John Dowland, the English composer/lutenist currently in the spotlight of commemorations for the 400th anniversary of his death, his output was so relentlessly miserable (or “melancholic” as academics prefer to call it) you can only assume he wasn’t a happy man.

In fact it was a life shrouded in mystery: he travelled round the courts of Europe and was probably a spy for the Tudor government. But he was undoubtedly one of the great virtuoso performers of his time. And his songbooks – which boast laugh-a-minute numbers like Flow my tears, In darkness let me dwell, I saw my lady weep (you get the vibe) – are to this day core repertoire for lutenists, guitarists and early-music singers. Which is why Wigmore Hall is hosting a Dowland anniversary weekend, Mar 27-29, with big names like Iestyn Davies, Thomas Dunford and Mary Bevan immersing themselves in the candle-lit gloom of the composer’s world.

Don’t be put off: the music is enchanting, haunting, intimate and heartfelt – with a stillness to it that Classic FM (and these days Radio 3) will commend to you as “relaxing”. Anguished is perhaps a better word. wigmore-hall.org.uk

• There’s more Dowland at the Southbank, Mar 28, when guitarist Sean Shibe joins the Manchester Collective for a Queen Elizabeth Hall recital. southbankcentre.co.uk And if intimate enchantment is your need this week, try the Discovery recital series starting up again at the bizarre but magical Leighton House, Holland Park. Featuring prominent young artists, Mar 31 has violinist Takanori Okamoto playing Mozart, Ravel, Beethoven. Students get in for £5. Details: lisapeacock.co.uk

• Otherwise, as Easter closes in, its choral season – with a vengeance as the Bach Passions start to mount up. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment have a St John Passion at the QEH, Mar 29 (southbankcentre.co.uk) There’s a grandly atmospheric Matthew Passion at Westminster Abbey, Mar 31, at which the Abbey’s music director Andrew Nethsingha conducts his own choir with the English Concert (sinfoniasmithsq.org.uk) And there’s another Matthew Passion at the Barbican, Apr 1, done by the ensemble Arcangelo (barbican.org.uk)
For a less familiar take on the familiar Easter narratives, try the Matthew Passion setting by Johann Sebastiani (a 17th-century precursor of Bach) that gets a hearing at Wigmore Hall, Apr 1, courtesy of the Belgian ensemble Vox Luminis. wigmore-hall.org.uk

Then there’s the now-classic 20th-century meditation on St John’s gospel that is Arvo Part’s Passio, done with small forces by the elite Gesualdo Six (and friends) at St Martin in the Fields, Mar 31. It’s an austere piece and a long sit but, as enthusiasts would say, luminous. smitf.org

• Two superstar pianists have London recitals this week: Yevgeny Kissin plays Schumann & Liszt at the Barbican, Mar 31 (barbican.org.uk); and the legendary Martha Argerich is at the Royal Festival Hall playing Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances in duet, Apr 2 (southbankcentre.co.uk)

But also worth looking out for is a rare performance of Edmund Rubbra’s mid-20th century Piano Concerto, given at Cadogan Hall, Mar 31, by Mark Bebbington with the RPO. A collector’s piece. And worth collecting. cadoganhall.com