John Dowland
Melancholy was all the rage in Elizabethan England, and John Dowland was the most stylish composer of his time. "Semper Dowland, semper dolens" was his motto, and much of his music is indeed exquisitely dolorous. Although he was a talented singer, Dowland mainly followed a dual career as a composer and lutenist. He was the period's most renowned and significant composer of lute solos, and especially ayres (also called lute songs), and a gifted writer of consort music.
Nothing is known of Dowland's youth; even his date and place of birth are uncertain. It is clear, though, that in 1580 he went to Paris in the service of the ambassador to the French court. Dowland converted to Catholicism during this time and later claimed that this excluded him from employment as lutenist at the Protestant court of Elizabeth I in 1594 (actually, the court was cutting costs and left the position unfilled for five years). Dowland managed to respect tradition while absorbing the trends he encountered on the Continent. Dominating Dowland's output is a form called the lute song or ayre. It was peculiar to English music, and was systematized somewhat by the 1597 publication of Dowland's First Booke of Songes or Ayres. These early songs are simple strophic settings, often in dance forms, with an almost complete absence of chromaticism. Dowland also wrote a significant amount of instrumental music, much of it for solo lute and some for consort. There are some 90 works for solo lute; many are dances, often with highly embellished variations. Even here the Continental influence shows; such chromatic fantasies as Forlorn Hope fancye and Farewell are far more intense than the lute music of any other English (or, for that matter, Continental) composer of the time. Among the consort works, Dowland's Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares Figured in Seaven Passionate Pavans (1604), became one of the most celebrated compositions of the late Renaissance. In 1598, Dowland became lutenist to Christian IV of Denmark, but he was dismissed for unsatisfactory conduct in 1606. Between 1609 and 1612, he was in the service of Theophilus, Lord Howard de Walden, and finally in 1612, he was appointed one of the "musicians for the lutes" to James I of England. Continental techniques come to the fore in the vocal music of this period, in such songs as In darkness let me dwell (1610) and Lasso vita mia (1612), full of declamation, chromaticism, and dissonance. Dowland is known to have died sometime between January 20 and February 20, 1626.
© James Reel /TiVo
Discography
13 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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John Dowland : A dream
World - Released by naïve classique on 29 Mar 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stabat Mater: Tallis, Dowland, Byrd, von Bingen and Ruiz del Corral reworked for choir and chamber orchestra
Hildegard von Bingen, John Dowland, William Byrd, Manuel Ruiz Del Corral, Thomas Tallis, Varanus Ensemble
Classical - Released by Novus Promusica on 6 Aug 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dowland - Great Recordings
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 23 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dowland, Bach, Haydn & Mozart: Songs and Arias (English and German lute songs from the 17th century)
Classical - Released by Berlin Classics on 16 Oct 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John Dowland - The Essentials
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 24 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Renaissance Vol.2
Thomas Tallis, John Dowland, Josquin des Prés
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 20 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lachrimae or Seven Teares
Capella De Ministrers, Carles Magraner
Classical - Released by CDM on 29 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dowland
Jakob Lindberg, Kristi Dårar, John Dowland
Classical - Released by EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE on 6 Dec 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of Julian Bream
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 1 Jan 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music for Voices Vol. 1
John Dowland, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioachino Rossini, Urban Dahlberg
Classical - Released by EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE on 31 Mar 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Zartbitter
Denis Omerovic, Debra Fernandes
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Zartbitter on 19 Feb 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Time Stands Still - Songs by John Dowland
Johan Linderoth, Inger Alebo, John Dowland
Classical - Released by Euterpe on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
It's the Little Things
Electronic - Released by mary cassidy on 4 Jul 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo