John Dowland was an English or possibly Irish Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", "Come again", "Flow my tears", "I saw my Lady weepe" and "In darkness let me dwell", but his instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and with the 20th century's early music revival, has been a continuing source of repertoire for lutenists and classical guitarists.
The term lute song is given to a music style from the late 16th century to early 17th century, late Renaissance to early Baroque, that was predominantly in England and France. Lute songs were generally in strophic form or verse repeating with a homophonic texture. The composition was written for a solo voice with an accompaniment, usually the lute. It was not uncommon for other forms of accompaniments such as bass viol or other string instruments, and could also be written for more voices. The composition could be performed either solo or with a small group of instruments.
Anthony [Antony] Holborne [Holburne] was a composer of music for lute, cittern, and instrumental consort during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Robert Johnson was an English composer and lutenist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean eras. He is sometimes called "Robert Johnson II" to distinguish him from an earlier Scottish composer. Johnson worked with William Shakespeare providing music for some of his later plays.
John Wilbye was an English madrigal composer.
Robert Jones was an English lutenist and composer, the most prolific of the English lute song composers.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), English art and high culture reached a pinnacle known as the height of the English Renaissance. Elizabethan music experienced a shift in popularity from sacred to secular music and the rise of instrumental music. Professional musicians were employed by the Church of England, the nobility, and the rising middle-class.
"Flow, my tears" is a lute song by the accomplished lutenist and composer John Dowland (1563–1626). Originally composed as an instrumental under the name "Lachrimae pavane" in 1596, it is Dowland's most famous ayre, and became his signature song, literally as well as metaphorically: he would occasionally sign his name "Jo: dolandi de Lachrimae".
Emmanuel Adriaenssen was a Flemish lutenist, composer and master of music. He authored the influential Pratum Musicum, which contains scores for lute solos, and more importantly settings of madrigals for multiple lutes and different ensembles involving lutes and voices. He also had an important influence on the next generation of lutists through his activity as a teacher of music in his own music school.
"I Saw My Lady Weep" is a lute song from The Second Book of Songs by Renaissance lutenist and composer John Dowland. It is the first song in the Second Book and is dedicated to Anthony Holborne. It is an example of Dowland's use of chromaticism.
The Second Book of Songs is a book of songs composed by Renaissance composer John Dowland and published in London in 1600. He dedicated it to Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford.
"Come Again, sweet love doth now invite" is a song by John Dowland. The lyrics are anonymous. The song is bitter-sweet, typical of Dowland who cultivated a melancholy style.
Francis Cutting (c.1550–1595/6) was an English lutenist and composer. during the Renaissance period. He is best known for "Packington's Pound" and a variation of Greensleeves called "Divisions on Greensleeves", both pieces originally intended for the lute.
"My Lord Chamberlain, His Galliard " is a piece by John Dowland for the lute. It was printed in his First Booke of Songes or Ayres. The Lord Chamberlain at the time of publication was George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon who with his wife Elizabeth was the dedicatee of the First Book.
Charles Daniels is an English tenor, particularly noted for his performances of baroque music. He is a frequent soloist with The King's Consort, and has made over 25 recordings with the ensemble on the Hyperion label.
Elizabeth Spencer, Baroness Hunsdon was an English noblewoman, scholar, and patron of the arts. She was the inspiration for Edmund Spenser's Muiopotmos, was commemorated in one of the poet's dedicatory sonnets to the Faerie Queene, and was represented as "Phyllis" in the latter's pastoral poem Colin Clouts Come Home Againe. She herself translated Petrarch. Her first husband was George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, grandson of Mary Boleyn, elder sister of Anne Boleyn, mother of Queen Elizabeth I.
Thomas East,, was an English printer who specialised in music. He has been described as a publisher, but that claim is debatable. He nevertheless made an important contribution to musical life in England. He printed the significant madrigal collection, Musica Transalpina, which appeared in 1588.
Christopher Wilson is a British lutenist who has performed widely and recorded several albums.
"Can She Excuse My Wrongs" is a late 16th-century song by the English Renaissance composer John Dowland, the fifth song in his First Booke of Songes or Ayres. The words are set to a dance-tune, a galliard.
