Description

One of the few English musicians whose fame as a composer spread throughout Europe during his lifetime, John Dowland (1563–1626) was also unsurpassed in his day as a lute virtuoso. The composer of 88 lute songs, Dowland had twice applied for the position of lutenist at the court of Elizabeth I and was rejected both times — for religious reasons, it was thought. (He had converted to Catholicism during a Protestant reign.) His talents, however, were welcomed at courts in Germany, Venice, Florence, and Denmark. Since the early 20th century, Dowland s excellence as a song writer has been well established; and many of his compositions for lute — long shrouded in obscurity — have become well known.
This collection of 45 songs includes all the works in his original Third Booke of Songs or Aires; in A Pilgrime s Solace (his fourth collection); three contributions to his son Robert s A Musicall Banquet; plus a lovely galliard — a dance for solo guitar.
Together with Nadal s Lute Songs of John Dowland (First and Second Books), published in 1997, this compilation completes Dover s newly edited and engraved editions of Dowland s lute songs — a rich oeuvre sure to be studied and enjoyed by singers, guitarists, and music lovers alike.