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One of the grand masters from the Elizabethan golden age is John Dowland (alongside others such as Byrd, Gibbons, Tomkins, Weelkes, Morley, Campion, Bull, Philips), particularly noteworthy are his songs, which can be performed vocally and instrumentally in various ways. He composed a total of Four Books Of Songs (1597, 1600, 1603, and 1612), comprising 85 titles. The authoritative recording of his complete works (including extensive compositions for lute, transcriptions for keyboard instruments, etc.) is probably the one released in 1976 and as a box set of 12 CDs in 1997 by Decca/L’Oiseau-Lyre, performed by the Consort of Musicke under Anthony Rooley (*1944), featuring his long-time partner, the absolutely fabulous (now knighted as “Dame”) soprano Emma Kirkby. A broad selection of Dowland’s songs is available on YouTube in The Best of John Dowland, YouTube playlist, with 47 individually selectable tracks from the aforementioned complete edition performed by Rooley’s Consort of Musicke. Particularly well-known pieces include: No. 8: Come Again: Sweet Love Doth Now Invite (1597), No. 9: Go crystal tears (1597), and No. 24: Can she excues my wrongs (1597).
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The first Songbook, CD 1 of the complete works, is available in its entirety: Dowland: First Booke of Songes, YouTube playlist, with 21 individually selectable tracks, total duration 01:16:04 hours. Besides the titles mentioned above, other noteworthy tracks include: 6. Now, O now I need must part, 11. Come away, come sweet love, and 18. His golden locks. Similarly, the second Songbook, CD 2 of the complete works: The Second Booke of Songs, John Dowland, YouTube playlist, with 22 individually selectable tracks, total duration 01:10:09 hours. Particularly notable tracks from this include: 2. Flow my tears, 12. Fine knacks for ladies, and 17. A shepard in a shade. The third Songbook, CD 3 of the complete works, available on YouTube: Dowland: Third Booke of Songs, YouTube playlist, with 21 individually selectable tracks, total duration 01:12:12 hours, featuring tracks such as: 5. Me, me and none but me, 7. Say, Love, if ever thou didst find, and 11. Lend your ears to my sorrow. Also, “A Pilgrim‘s Solace” is available in its entirety, along with additional compositions: Dowland: A Pilgrim‘s Solace; Mr Henry Noell Lamentations; Psalmes, YouTube playlist, consisting of 38 individually selectable tracks, spanning CD 4 and parts of CDs 5, 6, and 7, with a total duration of approximately 02:02:00 hours, featuring tracks like: 9. Go nightly cares, 24. Lord consider my distress (Miserere mei Deus), and 36. All people that on earth do dwell.
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It is characteristic of Dowland’s songs that they can be performed in various arrangements: from pure vocal a cappella settings as four-part songs to purely instrumental settings, such as with four recorders; moreover, individual voices can be replaced or doubled by instruments more or less arbitrarily, individual voices can be omitted or doubled for variations, and instrumental voices can be further elaborated, embellished, or deconstructed. This is diligently executed in various forms in practice, and on YouTube, there is a plentiful selection of different interpretations and arrangements, especially with a vocal voice and instrumental accompaniment (preferably lute or guitar). If needed, one can practically find endless results under the search term “Dowland” (not only in different musical executions but also understandably in quite different qualities) and extensively utilize them. Here, alternative versions of a particular song are specifically presented and recommended, namely for “Now, O Now I Need Must Part,” also known as Frog Galliard, a theme also used by other composers, and in the Dowland version, available in countless variations on the internet on YouTube. Especially since I myself learned this title almost 60 years ago as Dowland’s first four-part song and also find the version in the above-mentioned complete edition not particularly convincing, two more versions are given here:
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Firstly, a particularly simple and clear version: Now, O Now I Needs Must Part, YouTube link, duration 04:00 minutes, uploaded on 07.11.2018, currently (03.02.2024) with 231 views, taken from the CD “Cantus Thuringia - Time Stands Still” from 2018 on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi / Sony. The entire album Time Stands Still Cantus Thuringia is available on YouTube, YouTube playlist, consisting of 23 individually accessible tracks, with a total duration of 01:01:14 hours. The album includes a number of Dowland’s flagship numbers, alongside Now, O Now I Must Part, also featuring the inevitable Come again, here with a jubilant recorder, from the 1st Songbook, and the eponymous Time Stands Still, No. 2 from the 3rd Songbook - a very delicate love song, which surely also serves as a lullaby. Additionally, there are some lovely instrumental pieces by Mathew Locke (1621-1677) and Henry Purcell (1659-1695) based on an old chorale by Thomas Tallis (1505-1585), which are absolutely worth listening to (No. 10, a beautiful song in itself, unfortunately doesn’t work for me) and are quite suitable for children due to their brevity and recorder-heavy nature - Purcell’s A New Ground’s descending bassline is downright hypnotic. Overall, a convincing compilation with remarkable quality of individual recordings; the low, sometimes only two-digit view counts of the individual tracks apparently are not objectively justified but rather due to the difficulty of finding the recordings on YouTube - all the more reason for me to be pleased that I finally stumbled upon them after much searching.
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Secondly, a particularly lively and relaxed recording: First Book of Songs: No. 6, Now O Now I Needs Must Part, YouTube link, duration 03:25 minutes, uploaded on 29.07.2021, currently (03.02.2024) with only 36 views, appears to be the most convincing of the approximately 100 recordings I checked. It was quite challenging to come across this rarely heard recording; it comes from an Erato/Warner CD from 1996 with the Boston Camerata under Joel Cohen (*1942); the excellent soprano of the ensemble is Anne Azéma, incidentally Cohen’s wife, who has since also taken over the leadership of the Boston Camerata. The entire CD is likely more child-friendly as an introduction than the aforementioned complete works by Rooley et al., and it is also accessible on YouTube - here again, the low view counts suggest that despite exquisite quality, there are issues with discoverability: Farewell, Unkind. Songs & Dances of Dowland, YouTube playlist, consisting of 26 individually accessible tracks, with a total duration of 01:08:44 hours. Convincing, clear voices in all registers that can also stand alone as a cappella, a small ensemble of instrumentalists, convincing arrangements, and sonically balanced recordings - I will probably include this CD in my top 20 selection. Since practically the entire program is convincing, it’s hard to single out specific tracks, but notable mentions include: No. 10: If My Complaints Could Passions Move, No. 14: Come Again, Sweet Love Doth Now Invite, and No. 15: Go, Chrystal Tears from the 1st Songbook. The selection of the CD beyond the songs - e.g., the nice dance No. 19: Mr. George Whitehead His Almand, No. 15 from the Lachrimae - leads directly to the next section. (Curiously, in the present YouTube version, the titular song Farewell, Unkind Farewell, the last track of the CD, is erroneously not included but replaced by a repetition of Now, O Now I Need Must Part. Therefore, for the sake of completeness, here’s a note on the instrumental version Farewell, Unkind, YouTube link, duration 01:25 minutes, featuring the renowned harpsichordist Christiane Jacottet and again with Cohen, this time as a lutenist, from a recording from 1971 (CD 1973), on Vox/Turnabout.)