A quiet melancholy shrouds many of the songs of the English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer John Dowland (1563-1626). Denied employment in the court of Elizabeth I, perhaps because of his Catholicism, Dowland worked in France and later at the court of Christian IV of Denmark. Returning to England in 1606, Dowland secured a position in the court of James I.
Weepe you no more, sad fountaines was published in Dowland’s 1603 Third Book of Songs. It is popular music which has endured for over 400 years. Anne Sofie von Otter’s performance with lutenist Jakob Lindberg drifts into a serene lullaby:
Dowland to thee is dear, whose heavenly touchUpon the lute doth ravish human sense
– lines from Richard Barnfield’s 1598 poem, “If Music and Sweet Poetry Agree”
Recordings
- Dowland: Weepe you no more, sad fountaines, Anne Sofie von Otter, Jakob Lindberg Amazon