Album insights
The later years of Queen Elizabeth I's reign often described as the beginning of a "Golden Age," a period of 40 years during which England brought to the world Marlowe, Webster, and Bacon, the scientific investigations of Gilbert or Harvey, and the music of Byrd, Dowland, Gibbons, Morley, Weelkes, Wilbye, and many others. Intellectual and artistic achievements seemed to flourish in a climate of national confidence following the victory over the Spanish Armada, ushering in an era where music and theater became widely accepted parts of daily life, not just at the royal court but for a larger portion of the population than ever before. This era persisted after Elizabeth's death, albeit experiencing a rapid decline.
Playing music among amateurs in England was never more valued as a social virtue than under the reign of the "Virgin Queen," who herself, as noted by Burney, "was taught music from a young age and continued to engage with music many years after ascending the throne." Following her lead, households across the country followed suit. The Queen's enthusiasm extended beyond the mere entertainment value of music, skillfully leveraging it for political purposes, especially when lavish entertainments were held in honor of foreign dignitaries. Despite favoring more foreigners as patrons than Englishmen, her example as a performer (she played the virginal, reportedly "quite excellently" by Sir James Melville) and a patron set the stage for an era that witnessed a multitude of musical achievements.
The significant demand from amateur musicians for printed musical materials, coupled with advancements in publishing, led to the release of many music compilations.
John Dowland's Firste Booke of Songes or Ayres was published in 1597, serving as a milestone for the publication of many more lute songs and marking an exceptionally fruitful period in English music history. Over the next 25 years, nearly 30 volumes of lute songs by numerous talented English composers were published. The songbooks were widely popular not only for their musical content but also for their practicality for home use: four or five musicians could gather around a table and read from the same book. The lute songs could be performed by a solo vocalist with lute accompaniment or by a quartet with or without instrumental support.
For similar reasons, the consort song gained popularity. Dating back to around 1550, the genre, unlike the madrigal and the ayre, which were influenced by foreign models, was an English invention that typically featured one or occasionally two vocal parts and a usually five-part viol consort accompaniment. While the appeal of the lute song lay in its imitative pairing of voice and accompaniment, the consort song benefited from an accompaniment made up of members of one of the most sonorous and expressive families of instruments ever constructed.
The growing popularity of the Renaissance lute among the affluent towards the end of the 16th century also led to the publication of a series of lute tutor books containing music for learners to play. One of the final compilations was Robert Dowland's Varietie of Lute Lessons in 1610, which included a translation of playing instructions from Besard's Thesaurus harmonicus (1603) with additional annotations from Robert's renowned father, John Dowland. Most of the lute solos in this recording come from this publication, which not only contained a selection of fantasias, pavans, galliards, voltas, allemandes, and courantes collected by John Dowland on his travels abroad but also served as a primary source for nine of Dowland's best solo pieces.
The earliest definitive information about John Dowland (1563–1626) dates back to 1580 when he began a four-year "period of service" with Sir Henry Cobham in Paris. It is known that he completed a music study at Christ Church College, Oxford, in July 1588, and music references to him appeared in 1590. In 1592, he played at Sudeley Castle in the presence of the Queen. Following the rejection of his application for the position of royal lutenist in 1594, Dowland embarked on travels abroad. His journey first took him to the court of the Duke of Brunswick and then to Kassel, where he was offered a position by the Landgrave of Hesse. Declining this offer, Dowland continued to Italy, visiting Venice, Padua, Ferrara, and Florence. In Florence, realizing his involvement with a group of exiled Catholics planning an assassination of Queen Elizabeth, he hastily left. Henry Noel, a court favorite, urged Dowland to return to England as the Queen inquired about him, but Dowland's return, likely in 1596, came too late as Noel passed away before advocating for him with the Queen. Consequently, Dowland once again failed to secure the court position he desired. In 1597, Dowland compiled 21 of his songs and published them. The Firste Booke of Songes or Ayres became immensely popular and was reprinted four or five times.
In 1598, upon learning that Dowland still had not secured a position at the English court, the Landgrave of Hesse issued another invitation to Kassel. However, by the end of the year, Dowland was finally in a salaried (and notably high-paying) position at the court of Christian IV of Denmark. Initially, things went well. The Second Booke of Songs or Ayres was sent to England and published in 1600, followed by the Third and Last Booke of Songs or Aires in 1603. Despite the successes of his compositions in Denmark, Dowland accumulated increasing debts. In the latter half of 1603, he returned to England, remaining for over a year and performing before Queen Anne among others. Around this time, he released the remarkable collection Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares. In 1605, he again journeyed to Denmark, but his debts continued to mount. By March 1606, he was dismissed, left virtually penniless. Although his compositions continued to be published, notably the compilation A Pilgrimes Solace in 1612, Dowland's bitterness over his failure to secure a court position in his own country appears to have negatively affected his compositional drive. Even when he was finally appointed as the Royal Lutenist in 1612, he produced only a few compositions. Despite receiving a doctorate in 1622 and ultimately being recognized as one of the greatest in his field, he likely died as a disillusioned man.
While reports suggest Dowland was "a cheerful person," and some of his works reflect this aspect of his character, his music consistently dealt with themes of darkness, tears, sin, and death: an intense, tragic melancholy permeated much of his work. Dowland's music for solo lute demonstrates both his strong individuality as a composer and an extensive mastery of the instrument, unmatched by many of his contemporaries. However, it is in his lute songs that his genius shines most vividly. His remarkable command of harmonic principles, particularly his handling of chromaticism and sharp dissonances, his catchy melodies, and his extraordinary ability to set texts to music, have ensured that he is now regarded as the foremost exponent of his art.
Thomas Campion (ca. 1567–1620) was one of the most prolific composers of lute songs in England, with around 120 surviving songs credited to him. He stood out among his contemporaries by writing all his own texts. He studied in Cambridge, possibly sparking his interest in medicine, and in France, receiving a diploma from the University of Caen in 1605. He was famous as a poet and composer during his lifetime, contributing texts and music for the splendid maskings and entertainments held in honor of James I starting from 1607. His first songs were published in 1601 by Rosseter, but it took until 1613 for his first two Bookes of Ayres to be printed, followed four years later by a third and fourth volume. The quality of his lute songs varied (he exclusively wrote for this genre), yet his empathy for the English language gave him the extraordinary ability to adapt his music to the rhythm of his words: his finest compositions showcase him as a remarkable and elegant melodist.
John Danyel (1564–1626) is one of the unjustly neglected composers of his time. Little is known about his life, but records show that he completed his music study at Christ Church College, Oxford in 1603. He was highly respected by his contemporaries, and although the number of his surviving compositions is relatively small, it demonstrates not only his excellent skill for word painting but also considerable talent in composing for the lute.
Thomas Ford (d. 1648) was appointed as a musician to Prince Henry in 1611 and later served as a lutenist and singer in Prince Charles's service until 1642. Ford's lute songs, however, date back to before 1607 when his Musicke of Sundrie Kinds was published in London. Among the various musical pieces included, such as anthems, consort music, duets for lyre and viol, as well as lute and consort songs, it is the lute songs where Ford's skill shines most cleverly and charmingly.
Despite being born in Bologna and having his life ended there, Alfonso Ferrabosco (1543–1588) spent most of his working life in the service of Elizabeth I. He appears to have been a controversial figure, not always popular among his colleagues at the English court. While he was well-liked by Elizabeth, who generously rewarded him for