Composer Profiles

John Dowland (1563 – 1626)

Biography

The greatest composer of lute songs in Elizabethan

England was John Dowland. Generally thought to be

born in London, Dowland’s popularity was due

much to his ability to compose rich and sonorous

songs, all using a melancholy theme as its center.

Dowland’s songs mirror his life; only in 1612 after

many years abroad was he able to secure a position

among the musicians of the royal household. This,

Dowland believed, was due to his becoming a

Roman Catholic while he worked for Sir Henry

Cobham, ambassador to the French court, in Paris. Elizabeth’s court was strictly Protestant.

Before returning to Europe, he spent most of his productive years at the Danish court of Christian

IV. Even after his return to England, Dowland described himself as an “unhappy Englishman”, and

set poems filled with despair and sadness. In his later years, he was bitter about being forgotten in

favor of the composers of the new generation. His work, Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares, features the

sad melodies of which he would be associated with. The amount and richness of Dowland’s music

would not be matched again until the songwriters of the 20th century, including George Gershwin,

Jerome Kern, and Cole Porter.

Works

Dowland’s music changed the lute song from what had before been an amateur tradition into a

sophisticated and virtuosic medium never before seen in Europe. Even in the present day, the solo

guitar song is overwhelming popular, using many of the same themes of loss and sadness that

Dowland exemplified. In his songs, Dowland goes beyond the typical strophic structural and

harmonic cadences of his time. Words such as “sorrow”, “despair”, and “woe” set off striking

dissonances that bring the listener into Dowland’s frame of mind. Dowland masterfully captures

the dark mood that pervades all his works. In 2007, the artist Gordon Sumner (known as Sting),

produced a concert DVD entitled The Journey and the Labyrinth with the professional lutenist

Edin Karamazov performing a concert of Dowland’s works. Other artists who have been inspired

by John Dowland include Elvis Costello, Joshua Bell, and Australian composer Percy Grainger.

Suggested Listening

Flow, my Tears

In Darkness Let me Dwell

Come Again

The Lowest Trees Have Tops