…also available as recital programs
Henry Lawes and John Wilson – friends and colleagues at Oxford, both members of the King’s
Musick and both appointed to the Chapel Royal – make a beautiful pairing of musicians for this
recording: How the Rose Did First Grow Red (Passacaille Records).
Following the emotional thoughts of a young man, perhaps vainly in love with a woman beyond
his social status, this dramatic program takes 22 of the over 430 songs from the hand of Henry
Lawes and combines them with enigmatic and hauntingly beautiful preludes by his fellow
Oxford colleague, John Wilson. This CD, with simple scoring for voice, 12-course lute and viol,
provides a unique and rare insight into the music of mid-17th century England and compliments
the current offering of recordings available in today’s market. In fact, only four of these 22
songs have appeared before on disc.
Indeed, choosing which of the 434 songs by Henry Lawes to add to this program was no small
task. Opening the manuscript facsimiles and singing through several pieces at random, Julian
Behr, Silvia Tecardi and I quickly determined the best way to make a program would be based,
not only on the consistently high quality of the music, but on the descriptive texts. Texts like:
“In Celia’s face a question did arise”, “Pale ink, thou art not black enough of hue, to express a
mournful sadness” or “Keep on your vail and hide your eye” indicated an engaging narrative
about the young lover could run though the disc.
The final piece of the disc implies that
perhaps we shouldn’t take the effusive statements of love, the deep melancholy or even the
despair all too seriously, but enjoy what each emotion brings to the programme on this disc.
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What a unique and wonderful opportunity to share together the music of the most influential composer of the English air. The first to have his songs published together as a collection, John Dowland was at once a figure keenly aware of a long standing tradition of song publication on the continent as well as a man who sensed his position at the cusp of a new tradition back home in England. A composer who was able to look back and harness tradition as well as look forward to bring a new style to his work and popularise what we know now as the English lute song.
Although in England there had been previous publications of madrigals and other music for more than one voice – notably by Byrd, Morely and the like, the publication of music for a single solo voice or primarily a solo singer was hitherto unknown in England until the publication of Dowland’s “First Booke of Songs or Ayres” in 1597. What followed within the next 25 years were not only four more books by Dowland but more than 20 similar books by other composers.
This programme spans the range of Dowland’s output – from his looking back at the tradition of French Airs de Cour, to his final expressions, which point the way forward in a wholly Italianate style. Perhaps we can all benefit by becoming a bit Janus-like in performing and experiencing tonight’s programme!
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