In darkness Melodies

Description

John Dowland was "now entered into the fiftieth yeare of mine age" in 1612 when he published in the A pilgrimes solace, his fourth and final book of lute songs and his last published work. There was a nine year gap between this and the third song book (1603), printed while he was still serving King Christian IV of Denmark (he returned to England in 1606), but he was certainly not inactive during this period: his consort collection Lachrimae or Seaven Teares dates from 1604, in 1609 he published an English translation of Andreas ornithoparcus's musical treatise Musicae activae micrologus (1517), and in 1610 his hand is heavily present, both as composer, theorist and translator, in two works that were printed in the name of his son, Robert - the Varietie of Lute-Lessons, a large collection of English and continental lute music, and A Musicall Banquet, which, as the title page explains, contains a "varietie of delicious Ayres, Collected out of the best Authors in English, French, Spanish and Italian." In his mind, John Dowland was truly living "in darkness," and the theme of darkness permeates of the lyrics of many of his last songs, the most emblematic of which is In darkness let me dwell [Track 1]. I have chosen to accompany this selection of late Dowland songs with solo lute music taken from late sources.