John Dowland

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John Dowland (1563–20th February 1626) was an English, possibly Irish-born, composer, singer, and lutenist.

Very little is known of Dowland’s early life, but it is generally thought he was born in London, or possibly Dublin. It is known that he went to Paris in 1580 where he was in service to the ambassador to the French court. He became a Roman Catholic at this time, which he claimed led to his not being offered a post at Elizabeth I’s Protestant court. (However, he had told nobody of his conversion.) He worked instead for many years at the court of Christian IV of Denmark. He returned to England in 1606 and in 1612 secured a post as one of James I’s lutenists. He died in London.

Most of Dowland’s music is for his own instrument, the lute. It includes several books of solo lute works, lute songs (for one voice and lute), part-songs with lute accompaniment, and several pieces for viol consort with lute.

He later wrote what is probably his best known instrumental work, Lachrimae or Seaven Teares Figured in Seaven Passionate Pavans, a set of seven for five viols and lute, each based on his well-known song “Flow My Tears”. It became one of the best known pieces of consort music in his own time. His pavane “Lachrymae antiquae” was also one of the big hits of the seventeenth century.

Dowland’s music often displays the melancholia that was so fashionable in music at that time, typified by a consort piece with the punning title “Semper Dowland, semper dolens” (“Always Dowland, always doleful”).

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Popular tags: renaissance, classical, early music, lute, baroque  See more

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• DOWLAND: Flow My Tears and Other Lute Songs
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• In Darkness Let Me Dwell
  John Dowland

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• DOWLAND: Consort Music and Songs
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• DOWLAND: Lute Music, Vol. 1
  John Dowland

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1		Fine Knacks for Ladies			130
2		Flow My Tears			97
3		Semper Dowland semper dolens			94
4		In darkness let me dwell			88
5		If my complaints could passions move			81
6		Come again			73
7		I saw my lady weep			57
8		Melancholy Galliard			49
9		M. George Whitehead His Almand			41
10		Weep you no more, sad fountains			39
10		Now, O Now I Needs Must Part			39
12		The Earle of Essex Galiard			37
13		His Golden Locks			31
14		Go crystal tears			30
15		Lachrimae Pavan, P. 15			26

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