Catholic composer storms charts

Tim ELIZABEITIAN Catholic composer John Dowland has finally become a commercial success almost 400 years after his death, thanks to the popular musician Sting.
Dowland, an Englishman who converted to Catholicism in France, this week topped the classical music chart and entered the pop album chart at number 24, providing stiff competition for well-known bands such as Razorlight and the Scissor Sisters.
Sting, formerly of The Police, claims to have admired Dowland's work for more than 25 years. The singer says that Dowland is the earliest known example of the "alienated singer-songwriter".
Historians believe Dowland converted to Catholicism in the 1570s. The conversion meant that he was forbidden from performing before the fiercely Protestant English court. Instead, he travelled and performed in Italy before being given a post at the court of Christian IV of Denmark.