DOWLAND, JOHN

born 1562/63, County Dublin, Ire., or Westminster, London died Jan. 21, 1626, London English composer, virtuoso lutenist, and skilled singer, one of the most famous musicians of his time. Nothing is known of Dowland's childhood, but in 1580 he went to Paris as a servant to Sir Henry Cobham, the ambassador to the French court. In 1588 he received a bachelor of music degree from Oxford, and one from Cambridge before 1597. His conversion to Roman Catholicism, he believed, caused his rejection for a post as a court lutenist in 1594. After that disappointment he left England to travel on the Continent. He visited the Duke of Brunswick at Wolfenbttel and the Landgrave of Hesse at Kassel and was received at both courts with esteem. His travels also took him to Nrnberg, Florence, Genoa, and Venice; in 1597 he returned to England. In 1598 Dowland became lutenist to Christian IV of Denmark, but he was dismissed for unsatisfactory conduct in 1606. Between 1609 and 1612 he entered the service of Theophilus, Lord Howard de Walden, and in 1612 he was appointed one of the musicians for the lutes to James I. Working during a time of musical transition, Dowland, though a respecter of tradition, absorbed many of the new ideas he encountered on the Continent. His 88 lute songs (printed 15971612) particularly reflect those influences. The early songs are presented with an alternative version for four voices. Although melodically enchanting, they show simple strophic settings, often in dance forms, with an almost complete absence of chromaticism. Later, in such through-composed songs as In darkness let me dwell (1610), From Silent Night, and Lasso vita mia (1612), the Italian declamatory style, chromaticism, and dissonance are introduced; no alternative four-voice versions are given. Dowland composed about 90 works for solo lute; many are dance forms, often with highly elaborate divisions to the repeats. His famous Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares Figured in Seaven Passionate Pavans (1604), became one of the most widely known compositions of the time. In his chromatic fantasies, the finest of which are Forlorne Hope fancye and Farewell, he developed this form to a height of intensity unequalled by any other writer for the Renaissance lute. His compositions also include several psalm harmonizations and sacred songs printed in contemporary music books.