Page:John Dowland - First Book of Airs.djvu/9



The English School of Lutenist song-writers stands by itself as something which had no parallel in the contemporary Schools of music in Europe. Not the least remarkable feature of this School was the shortness of the period during which it shone so brilliantly; for it began with the publication of John Dowland's first volume in 1597 and practically ended with the same composer's A Pilgrim's Solace published in 1612; John Attey's volume followed this as much as ten years later in 1622 as an isolated and final example of the same class of composition.

During the period between 1597 and 1612 some thirty volumes, or sets, were issued, of which copies have survived to our own time; but no more than a single exemplar of several of these sets is known to exist. The most prolific of this group of song-writers were Thomas Campian and Robert Jones with five volumes each, and John Dowland with four. Campian's song-books are especially remarkable since they represent him in the dual capacity of poet and composer. Among other important composers in this School were Thomas Morley, Philip Rosseter, Thomas Ford, William Corkine, and Francis Pilkington.

We have in this collection of volumes a rich store of national song, the music of which is wedded to superb verse belonging to the finest period of our national literature. And the words were set by these Lutenist composers with a true appreciation of their poetic value; their sole purpose was to enhance the beauty of the recitation of such lines through the medium of simple musical expression as opposed to any idea of elaborate device. It was their wonderful success in carrying out this special purpose that placed this group of English song-writers in the highest rank.

The song-books of the Lutenists each contained, as a general rule, about twenty songs; a majority of the volumes consist of exactly twenty-one numbers, but no reason can now be suggested to explain such a large measure of uniformity in this matter. An accompaniment for the lute was printed below the solo voice-part, the notation employed for this purpose being that known as lute tablature. The lute accompaniment was sometimes reinforced in the bass by a bowed instrument such as the viol da gamba. In many instances the composers also arranged their songs for an alternative method of performance, namely, for four unaccompanied voice-parts, and these voice-parts were printed on a single page on a plan which enabled the four performers to stand in a semi-circle and to sing their music from one book placed in the middle. The harmonies of these additional voice-parts do not quite invariably conform with those of the lute, and occasional examples could be cited to show that the simultaneous performance of the lute accompaniment with the full vocal arrangement would produce a definite conflict of harmony. Moreover, the lutenist, who must necessarily have been seated while playing, would have been put to no little inconvenience in the scheme just mentioned, in which the performers all looked over one book. On the other hand, the title pages of some of the song-boo;s suggest that a good deal of freedom in these matters was sanctioned by the composers themselves, but there can be little room for doubt that the main purpose of these musicians was to write songs for solo-voice with lute accompaniment, while as a secondary interest they also arranged many of them as unaccompanied part-songs. It seems certain that Dowland, the greatest of all the performers on the lute, and also a notable singer, used to sing his songs to his own accompaniment.

In the present Edition two versions of each song are given. In the first, the melody, or cantus-part, is reproduced together with the lute-tablature exactly as it stands in the original editions, and showing the composer's own barring of the music. Immediately over the tablature the Editor has inserted a strictly literal transcription of the lute-part in terms of modern notation, retaining the idiom of the lute even where it is not suited to the Pianoforte. The method of transcription here adopted differs from the usual practice, the Editor having exercised his own discretion in interpreting the individual values of the notes as plucked on the lute; but the percussion of the notes on the Pianoforte precisely corresponds with that on the lute, and nothing further is added except phrase-marks.

This literal version thus very closely represents the Composer's original accompaniment. It will not be found wholly ineffective for practical use on a Pianoforte, and when played upon a Harpsichord the effect quite nearly approaches that of the lute.

But an alternative version of the songs was also considered desirable. In this alternative version the original barring of the voice-part had been somewhat modified with the object of simplifying the interpretation of the music. The principle of irregularity in this matter has been retained, and it is very important that singers and accompanists who may use this Edition should understand that the crotchet (or minim) unit remains constant in value right through each song, whatever may be the variations of rhythm, and regardless of such inequalities of bar-length as will be found throughout these compositions. The rare exceptions to this rule as, for example, in Dowland's Second Book No. 5, are duly noted in each case. In many cases a crotchet unit has been substituted for the original minim unit. In view of the irregularity of bar-lengths so generally occurring, it was considered undesirable to give any time-signatures in this alternative version. The original signatures are reproduced in the literal version, and it must be