Dowland - Lachrimae or Seven Tears 1604 + Presentation (Century’s record. : Jordi Savall, Hespèrion)

John Dowland (1563-1626) - Lachrimae or Seaven Teares 1604 . [id809759|*Click] to activate the English subtitles for the complete presentation* (00:00-10:15) 1 Lachrimae Antiquae (00:00) 2 Sir John Souch His Galiard (04:41) 3 Lachrimae Antiquae Novae (06:45) 4 Mr. Henry Noell His Galiard (11:36) 5 Lachrimae Gementes (13:35) 6 The Earle Of Essex Galiard (18:01) 7 Lachrimae Tristes (19:26) 8 Mr. Nicholas Gryffith His Galiard (24:47) 9 Lachrimae Coactae (26:41) 10 Mr. Giles Hoby His Galiard (31:34) 11 Lachrimae Amantis (33:03) 12 Mr. Thomas Collier His Galiard (38:25) 13 Lachrimae Verae (39:54) 14 Capitaine Digorie Piper His Galiard (45:07) 15 Semper Dowland Semper Dolens (47:01) 16 The King Of Denmark’s Galiard (53:00) 17 Sir Henry Umpton’s Funerall (55:00) 18 Mr. Bucton His Galiard (1:01:05) 19 Mr. John Langton’s Pavan (1:02:35) 20 Mrs. Nichol’s Almand (1:07:46) 21 Mr. George Whitehead His Almand (1:09:08) Jordi Savall / Hespèrion XX Recorded in 1987, at Spain Find CMRR’s recordings on Spotify: A mirror held up to melancholy or the anamorphosis of a theme, the Lachrimae leave the musician and the listener free to choose the presentation : if you assemble them in set form, you will derive an intense intellectual pleasure from following the elements of their organic unity through en ever-changing polyphony ; if you couple them with the galliards, your attention will be continually solicited by the natural rhythm of tension and relaxation resulting from this association. Jordi Savall has chosen the second solution and — sometimes by means of perfectly licit transcriptions — established new relations of complementarity within this collection of miscellanies. The fourteen pieces following the Lachrimae in the original edition are ordered according to the hierarchy of dances described by Thomas Morley, and are all dedicated to the highest personages of England. The group of pavans is prefaced by the self portrait of the lutenist, Semper Dowlend, semper dolens (Ever Dowland, ever doleful), the most elaborate composition of the whole collection, with, in its third part, a quotation from the In Nomine which tolls like a knell in the alto. Sir Henry Umpton’s Funeral, a tombeau in the style of those composed by Anthony Holborne (1599) seems to have been written directly for the instrumental ensemble and contains echoes of Dowland’s ayre ’In darkness let me dwell’. In this dark and heavy atmosphere the pavan for John Langton, with its major tonality, brings an almost unexpected clarity. The galliards, a favourite form with Dowland, seldom have the playful tone suited for this type of dance. The first in the series, the very martial and picturesque Battle galliard (which was also to seduce the virginalist William Byrd) was renamed for this occasion and most opportunely dedicated to Christian IV of Denmark. Incidentally this is the only piece that Dowland condescended to offer to a foreign high personage. The Duke ofEssex’ galliard is the instrumental version of an ayre from the first book; its words (’Can she excuse my wrongs’) were allegedly written by Robert Devereux on the eve of his execution. For obvious reasons Dowland’s posthumous homage could have been brought in the open only after Elizabeth’s death. Among the other galliards, only two appear here in the original form ; they are dedicated to some obscure, even unknown characters, Nicholas Griffith and Thomas Collier; the second piece is particularly interesting for the treatment in imitation of the two upper parts, in the new manner. The work is rounded off by two allemandes whose simplicity, sturdiness and joviality could almost make us forget that they too were composed by Jo : dolandi de Lachrimae. Medieval Music, Jordi Savall : Llibre Vermell De Montserrat, Stella splendens P° (Century’s recording) : John Dowland PLAYLIST (reference recordings) :