They may be alluding to depression. -----Original Message----- From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Tom Draughon Sent: 03 December 2009 04:58 To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu Subject: [LUTE] Renaissance Metaphors
A music student at my local college wants me to play lute for her senior capstone recital, and one of her choices of song is Dowland's "In Darkness Let Me Dwell". I have pondered these words for some years now, and it seems obvious to me that "The ground, the ground shall sorrow be..." has multiple connotations - physically ground as in the foundation of a building, and musically ground as in variations on a ground. "The roof despair..." and "...walls of marble black..." are obvious comparisons to a room or building, but could they have musical connotations as well?? Could the roof be the highest note in the range of the song? Following this line of thought, what would "The walls of marble, black" mean? Am I just pulling this out of my hat, or did the Elizabethans talk about their music in terms like these, other than ground? BTW, I love Ellen Hargis' recording of this with Jacob Heringman, lute and Mary Springfels, Viol on "A Candle In The Dark". What are some of your favorite recordings of "Darkness"? Thanks, Tom Tom Draughon Heartistry Music http://www.heartistry.com/artists/tom.html 714 9th Avenue West Ashland, WI 54806 715-682-9362 To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
