''Lachrimæ or seaven teares figured in seaven passionate pavans, with divers other pavans,

galliard The ''galliard'' (; french: gaillarde; it, gagliarda) was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from England, Portugal, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. Dance fo ...

s and allemands, set forth for the lute, viols, or violons, in five parts'' is a collection of instrumental music composed by

John Dowland John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", "Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", ...

. It was published by

John Windet John Windet ('' fl'' 1584–1611)Miller. was an English printer, notable for his music publications. He was a close business associate of fellow printer John Wolfe. After 1591, Wolfe ceased printing the lucrative metrical psalter of Thomas Stern ...

in 1604. It consists of a set of seven slow pieces which the composer calls tears ("teares" in Early Modern spelling) plus other pieces including some livelier numbers. The title page of ''Lachrimæ'' is adorned with a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...

: ''"Aut Furit, aut Lachrimat, quem non Fortuna beavit"'' ("He whom Fortune has not blessed either rages or weeps"). Dowland points out in his dedication that there are different types of tears. “The teares which Musicke weeps” can be pleasant; “neither are teares shed always in sorrow but sometime in joy and gladnesse”.

Instrumentation

As the title page suggests, the music is scored for five

viol The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

s, or alternatively

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

s (that is, members of the violin family), and

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

''Lachrimae'' pavans

The seven pavans are variations on a theme, the "''Lachrimæ'' pavan", which Dowland had already made well known as a lute solo and a song. (That pavan was reworked into the song "

Flow my tears "Flow, my tears" (originally en-emodeng, Flow my teares fall from your springs, italic=no) is a lute song (specifically, an "ayre") by the accomplished lutenist and composer John Dowland (1563–1626). Originally composed as an instrumental under ...

" in Dowland's '' Second Book of Songs'' (1600) and begins with a "falling tear" motif of four notes.) The harmonies of the seven are intense, with lines weaving close together. Each was given a title by the composer, and there has been speculation that the group forms a narrative or musical journey, though any meaning remains unclear: * ''Lachrimæ antiquae (Old Tears)'' — already existed as a lute solo and a song * ''Lachrimæ antiquae novæ (Old Tears Renewed)'' — a harmonic

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

of ''Lachrimæ antiquæ'' * ''Lachrimæ gementes (Sighing Tears)'' * ''Lachrimæ tristes (Sad Tears)'' * ''Lachrimæ coactae (Forced Tears)'' — a harmonic

of ''Lachrimæ tristes'' * ''Lachrimæ amantis (A Lover’s Tears)'' * ''Lachrimæ veræ (True Tears)''

Other compositions

The “divers other” compositions are: two ''

allemande An ''allemande'' (''allemanda'', ''almain(e)'', or ''alman(d)'', French: "German (dance)") is a Renaissance and Baroque dance, and one of the most common instrumental dance styles in Baroque music, with examples by Couperin, Purcell, Bach a ...

s'' (“almands”), nine lively ''

s'' (“galiards”), two sombre pavans, and a “funerall.” They are dedicated to people of varying social rank, including a

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

, Digorie Piper, who is not fully named. “M” is mister, “Mss” is mistress. Still the scoring is for lute and 5 viols (or violins): * Pavan ''“Semper Dowland semper Dolens”'' P9 * “Sir Henry Umptons Funerall” ic* “M John Langtons Pavan” icP14 * “The King of Denmarks Galiard” icP40 * “The Earle of Essex Galiard” icP42, dedicated to

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...

* “Sir John Souch his Galiard” icP26 * “M Henry Noell his Galiard” icP34 * “M Giles Hoby his Galiard” icP29 * “M Nicholas Gryffith his Galiard” ic* “M Thomas Collier his Galiard with 2 Trebles” ic* “Captaine Piper his Galiard” icP88 * “M Bucton his Galiard” ic* “Mss Nichols Almand” icP52 * “M George Whitehead his Almand” ic

Publication

From 1598 Dowland was employed as lutenist to

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

, but he still published in London, where he seems to have maintained a family home. The title-page of ''Lachrimae'' states that the book can be purchased from the "author's house" in

Fetter Lane Fetter Lane is a street in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It forms part of the A4 road and runs between Fleet Street at its southern end and Holborn. History The street was originally called Faytor or Faiter Lane, then Fe ...

. In the case of the ''Second Book of Songs'' (1600), we know that Mrs Dowland was in London and handed over the manuscript. In the case of ''Lachrimae'', he may have been back in England long enough to oversee the publication process directly. The book was dedicated to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

, and Dowland mentions meeting her at Winchester, which suggests his involvement in her October 1603 masque, ''

Prince Henry's Welcome at Winchester ''Prince Henry's Welcome at Winchester'' was a masque produced by Anne of Denmark and performed in 1603 at Winchester on a day between 11 and 17 October. Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (1594–1612) was the son of James VI and I and Anne of D ...

''.

Recordings

Recordings include ''Lachrimae, or Seven Tears'' by the viol consort Phantasm with Elizabeth Kenny (lute) directed by

Laurence Dreyfus Laurence Dreyfus, FBA (born 1952) is an American musicologist and player of the viola da gamba who was University Lecturer and Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. Early life Dreyfus was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, and lived in Ch ...

References

* Peter Holman with Paul O'Dette. "John Dowland", Grove Music, ed. L. Macy. * Peter Holman, ''Dowland: Lachrimae (1604)'',

Notes

{{Authority control Collections by John Dowland 1604 works Music books Music with dedications