Dowland: Dr Case's Pavan (P 12)

Let the voices sing!

A subtle pavan that looks quite easy at first glance, but is a challenge to play musically and sustain the voices. At least we have only two musical lines to follow: the lutenist has three, but I have simplified the lower voices without, I hope, losing the spirit of the piece. 

I have followed closely the musical format in the transcript (Poulton D, Lam B. 1995. The collected lute music of John Dowland. Faber Music, London), which does help to bring out the musical lines. Setting the temporary change of tempo to triple time in the second half of bars 12 and 13 was a bit of a challenge, so I hope it makes sense to you.

If I were a better sight reader I would be able to anticipate the fingerings well in advance, and use the most efficient ones – but as I'm not, I have pencilled notes on my printout. I have not included them here as you may well have your own solutions. At least a pavane is played at a slow tempo, which does help.

You will probably find that the motif in bars 2, 3 and 11 is the cadence that occurs in Le Roy's "Fantasia" (a generation earlier) and in many Dowland pieces, including "Solus cum sola". 

It's one of those pieces where the more you play, the more you hear.

Dr John Case, surrounded by mementi mori.
(Apologies to Latinists for converting "memento" into a noun.)
You don't often get a child's skeleton in a portrait – all a bit creepy.

The eponymous Dr John Case (c 1540 – 1600) was a Tudor polymath who wrote on Aristotelean logic, ethics, sociology and physics, as well as on music, praising Dowland. He was qualified as a medical doctor (hence, presumably, the bones). He was suspected of RC sympathies, which may have adversely affected his career, as it did Dowland’s. (Biography here.)

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Dowland: Round Battle Galliard (P 39)

 Is this a solo or a consort part?

Another piece (aka 'Doulands rounde battel galyarde') made indirectly from the Matthew Holmes Lute Books in Cambridge University Library. I have used the transcription in Poulton D, Lam B, Eds. 1995. The collected lute music of John Dowland, Edn 3. Faber Music, London. I had almost missed it, until I noticed that Tony Mizen had published a fine version for re-entrant uke. Here it is for the low-4th tuning.

Diana Poulton comments that 

"it may have been played as a solo, and indeed it sounds quite well that way. On the other hand it fits very convincingly with the remaining parts in the Cambridge Consort Books."

This got me to thinking and fossicking, and I found that The Lute Society had published the Consort parts online here. All hail to them for making available something so inaccessible.

So, as well as making a transcription for uke of the lute score, I have mashed together the lute and viol parts to make a playable version with the viol line in the upper voice, and much of the lute part down below. I have, however, kept the first bar/measure of the lute part, as it sounds more like a call to arms. 

DP didn't think that the piece contained much "battle material", but I'm not sure that I agree with her there. Anyway, see what you think.

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Dowland, Robinson, etc.: "Robin" compendium

 Four pieces for the price of one click

These arrangements are built on a song popular at the end of the 16th century, entitled variously "Robin", "Sweet Robin", "Bonny Sweet Robin" and "Robin Hood is to the Greenwood Gone". It is unfortunate that the lyrics are lost, although Ophelia mentions it in Hamlet.

The song may not refer to the Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest, but I can't resist this anachronistic woodcut.

Dowland sticks more closely to the original melody than he does in some of his song adaptations. It can be difficult in his wonderful version to hear at first where the upper voice (melody) lies, so I have made two simple versions, as a kind of primer. 

The first version is basically chord + melody, a style that was found in the more earthy pieces entabulated in in the Osborn Commonplace Book, and other MSS for Renaissance guitar around 1600.

The second includes a second voice, but maintains the melody without ornament or variation. The harmonies are taken from Dowland, as are some of the phrases, often in a simplified form.

The arrangement of Dowland's lute piece "Robin (P70)" fits in all the voices I can, which gives you the option of simplifying. Often the lower voices have been combined, but I have tried to make an interesting line. (Poulton & Lam, 1981. The collected lute music of John Dowland, p 247. Faber.)

The arrangement of Thomas Robinson's "Robin is to the Greenwood Gone" is made from made from a piece in Schoole of Musicke (1603), f.i2v, encoded and edited by the indefatigable Sarge Gerbode. Robinson's harmonies provide an interesting contrast with Dowland's.

ANALYSIS

The structure of the song is simple: a strain (A) of 4 bars, repeated, then followed by a strain (B) of 8 bars, also repeated.  In all arrangements other than the first, the repeats are elaborated. In the Dowland piece, the whole song is repeated twice, with variation.

The arrangements are available as a compendium in the following formats:

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Dowland: Tarleton's Jig (or Tarleton's Willy)

A fairly easy piece, and good fun to play 

This is the partner to another jig, also named for the clown musician and dancer Richard Tarleton (or Tarlton) (d. 1588) that I posted ages ago here.

Richard Tarl(e)ton

It is pretty close to Dowland's lute version, but with some of the bass notes raised an octave or substituted with other notes in the harmony. I hope you enjoy it!

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Dowland: The Shoemaker's Wife (P58)

A "toye"

And now for a bit of fun, with a jaunty piece in 6/8 time. It's made up of three strains, each repeated with elaborations. 

The shoemaker's wife off on her delivery round.

According to Diana Poulton, in the early modern period there was a kind of mystique about the shoe-makers’ trade – “a shoemaker’s son is a prince born” –  but the inspiration for this piece remains unclear.

All I have to say is "just enjoy playing it".

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Dowland: The King of Denmark's Galliard (P 40)

 Dowland's third battle galliard: quite a challenge! 

You can find arrangements of Dowland's other battle galliards in the two previous posts.

The piece is also known as known as “The Battle Galliard” and “Mr Mildmay’s Galliard”. Poulton says that this is the definitive version which Dowland himself prepared for publication.

Christian IV of Denmark, who was quite the party animal.
Dowland was appointed lutenist at his court in 1598, and stayed for several years, until they fell out.
Image: www.frederiksborgslot.dk

There are three 4-bar strains (a, b, c), each derived from published battle tunes (Poulton). Strain a is played once (a1), followed by a variation (a1’), then b1 and b1’, c1 and c1’. The whole process is repeated three times: a2, a2’ ,…, c4, c4’. I have labelled the score accordingly.

The piece has a strong rhythmic and melodic line. It is not difficult to understand, but very hard to play to tempo. It is not really possible to hold some of the notes in the lower voice for their full value, so I just do the best I can. I can't really see a way to get over this problem on a 4-course instrument.

I have transposed the piece to G major (strain a) and Bb major / G minor (strains b and c) to take full advantage of the range of the instrument. In particular, in strain a there is a diapaison drone on the lute, which the open 4th string of our little instrument can attempt to emulate. This does, however, mean you have to go up to the 14th fret – praise be for tabs!

(When the lute fingering is followed as closely as possible on the ukulele, strain a is set in E major, and b & c in G major. E is unfortunately not a key sympathetic to the uke, as we cannot root the E major chord, whereas the lutenist has its equivalent available on an open (low) diapaison D string. We have to make do with B on the 4th string, which is represented in the original, so is not too disconcerting. It is interesting to note that composers for the Renaissance guitar (which was tuned the same as a ukulele, but with double strings) do not seem to have used the key of E, and wisely set mostly in G, A, C and D. They did, however, seem blasé about the lack of roots, so we’re in good company.)

The basic chord sequences for the three strains are given below, transposed from the voicings in the lute original. There are only small variations in harmony between variations.

a:    G      | G       | G   D    | G         |
b:    Bb     | Bb      | Bb  F    | Bb        |
c:    Bb C D | Gm      | C   D    | G5       || 
G5 indicates a chord with no 3rd, and hence neither major nor minor. In the final bar (variation c4’) there is an unambiguous G major chord, but ending rather abruptly with D in the upper voice.

SOURCES
Music: Poulton D, Lam B. 1995. The collected lute music of John Dowland. Faber Music, London, pp 117–119.
Commentary: Poulton D. 1982. John Dowland. London: Faber & Faber, pp 139–142.

DOWNLOADS

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Good luck!

Dowland: Mr Langton's Galliard (P 33)

 The second of Dowland’s battle pieces  

The other battle pieces are P 20 (my last post) and P 40 (fingers crossed, my next post).

The structure is unusual, having §A of 16 bars, followed by a variation with divisions plus closing bar (§A’), and then a section (B) of 34 bars, of which the final 14 bars are repeated. You might want to avoid §A’, which is quite challenging.

Most of the piece, it being a galliard, is set in 3/4 time, but bars 33 – 37 are set in 3/2 (a hemiola?). It is fortunate for me that P & L had sorted this out in their transcription.

There is a strong feeling of horses galloping into battle in the 3/2 segment, which is reminiscent of strain C in “The King of Denmark’s Galliard, P 40”.

Not quite a battle, I admit, but hunting is probably the nearest some toffs got.
This woodcut shows Queen Elizabeth I at the kill.

The percussive start of §B is very similar to the opening of P 20, and probably derived from the same original.

You will notice that there are excursions up the neck, as far as the 14th fret. This is in the original lute version, and not the result of my trying to squeeze in as much music as I can.

SOURCE

Poulton D, Lam B. 1995. The collected lute music of John Dowland. Faber Music, London, pp. 117–119.

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