Dowland, John

John Dowland

(geb. 1563 – gest. London, Februar1626)

The Book Of Ayres

herausgegeben von Thurston Dart und Nigel Fortune

Während seines Lebens war John Dowland einer der wenigen englischen Komponisten, dessen Ruhm sich in ganz Europa verbreitete. Was sicher auch an seinem Lebenswandel lag, hatte er doch als Lautenist an verschiedensten Königshöfen Anstellung gefunden, so etwa in Kopenhagen, Braunschweig oder sogar in Florenz. Sein nicht immer ganz angepasstes „Betragen“ war der Grund für die vielen wechselnden Stellungen, auch scheint er in finanzieller Hinsicht manches Mal eine unglückliche Hand bewiesen zu haben.

Nichtsdestoweniger verbreiteten sich Kompositionen und Ruhm, sogar nach seinem Tod gelangten einige seiner Lieder und Stücke in der Bearbeitung oder Vereinnahmung durch andere Komponisten zu weiterer Aufmerksamkeit.

Seit seiner Wiederentdeckung in den frühen 20er Jahren und dem neuen Interesse für die Alte Musik sind Dowlands Kompositionen durchaus wieder ins Bewusstsein gerückt, bis hin zu ganz experimentellen Aufnahmen mit modernen Instrumenten. (In Darkness Let Me Dwell: John Potter mit modernen Instrumentalisten singt Dowland, oder: Sting singt Dowland) Auch andere Projekte mit der Dowland’schen Musik zeugen davon, dass seine Musik immer größere Verbreitung findet.

Jeder Chor, jede Gesangsgruppe hat die vier- oder mehrstimmigen Ayres wie selbstverständlich im Repertoire, sei es solistisch, sei es chorisch. Die damaligen Erst- und folgenden Ausgaben waren so gedruckt, dass die Noten, auf einem großen Tisch gelegt, von den Ausführenden – Mann und Frau damals, well-educated wie es sich geziemte – natürlich sofort vom Blatt gesungen werden konnten. Das gemeinsame Singen war also durchaus als verbindungschaffend gemeint, auch vom Druck her.

Die Bücher wurden von 1597 bis 1612 in vier einzelnen Bänden herausgegeben: The First Booke of Songes or Ayres of foure partes with Tableture for the Lute: So made that all the partes together, or either of them severally may be sung to the Lute, Orpherian or Viol da gambo (1597); The Second Booke of Songs or Ayres of 2. 4. and 5. parts: With Tableture for the Lute or Orpherian, with the Viol de Gamba (1600); The Third and Last Booke of Songs or Aires. Newly composed to sing to the Lute, Orpharion, or viols (1603); A Pilgrimes Solace. Wherein is contained Musicall Harmonie of 3. 4. and 5. parts, to be sung and plaid with the Lute nad Viols (1612). Lautenbegleitung und auch die Möglichkeit, den Bass mit einer Viola da Gamba zu verstärken, waren gegeben. Das erste Heft wurde sogar zu Lebzeiten Dowlands vier Mal nachgedruckt, was für einen englischen Komponisten damals einzigartig war. Außerdem in 8 Europäischen Städten: Paris, Antwerpen, Köln, Nürnberg, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Amsterdam und Hamburg, wie der Komponist im Vorwort zum vierten Band „A Pilgrimes Solace“ nicht ohne Stolz vermerkt.

Möge diese neue Ausgabe der Dowland’schen Ayres viele Liebhaberinnen und Liebhaber finden, so wie es diese wundervolle Musik verdient.

Ulrich Hermann im Oktober 2013 München

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John Dowland

(b. 1563 – d. London, February 1626)

The Book Of Ayres

Edited by Thurston Dart and Nigel Fortune

In his lifetime, John Dowland was one of the few English composers to enjoy fame throughout the whole of Europe. This surely had to do in part with his life style as a lute player, which took him to a wide range of royal courts, whether Copenhagen, Brunswick, or even Florence. The reason for his many changes of position was his not always well-adapted “comportment”, and he also seems at times to have lacked a deft touch in money matters.

Nonetheless, his compositions and fame spread apace. Even after his death several of his songs and pieces continued to draw attention in the form of arrangements or borrowings by other composers. Ever since the rediscovery of Dowland in the early 1920s and the rekindled interest in early music, his compositions have again come to the fore, even inviting experimental recordings with modern instruments (e.g. John Potter singing Dowland with modern instrumentalists on In Darkness Let Me Dwell, or Sting on Songs from the Labyrinth). Other projects with his works bear witness to the ever-growing awareness of his music.

Every chorus or vocal ensemble has included Dowland’s Ayres for four or more parts in its repertoire as a matter of course, with one or more voices to a part. The first and subsequent editions of his music were printed in such a way that the music, when placed on a large table, could be sung immediately at sight by the well-educated and well-bred men and women who performed them. Singing was thus a convivial affair, even as regards the printed page.

Dowland’s songs were published between 1597 and 1612 in four separate volumes with lute accompaniment and the option of doubling the bass line with a viola da gamba. The titles read as follows (with orthography taken from the original advertisements): The First Booke of Songes or Ayres of foure partes with Tableture for the Lute: So made that all the partes together, or either of them severally may be sung to the Lute, Orpherian or Viol da gambo (1597); The Second Booke of Songs or Ayres of 2. 4. and 5. parts: With Tableture for the Lute or Orpherian, with the Viol de Gamba (1600); The Third and Last Booke of Songs or Aires. Newly composed to sing to the Lute, Orpharion, or viols (1603); A Pilgrimes Solace. Wherein is contained Musicall Harmonie of 3. 4. and 5. parts, to be sung and plaid with the Lute and Viols (1612).

The first volume was even reissued four times during Dowland’s lifetime – a unique achievement for an English composer of his era. As he proudly noted in the preface to the fourth volume, A Pilgrimes Solace, editions also appeared in eight European cities: Paris, Antwerp, Cologne, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Amsterdam, and Hamburg.

It is our hope that our study score of Dowland’s Ayres will find the many admirers that this wonderful music so richly deserves.

Translation: Bradford Robinson