Dear Ron and All,
I wasn't really questioning attribution, because attribution is just
what we have (though sometimes conflicting, sometimes absent). I'm
quite sure that "Lady Laiton's Almain" is a Dowland piece, also quite
sure that Dowland composed and played lute solos. What is uncertain is
whether the tablature versions we have represent what he composed/played.
Dowland's borrowings are another matter entirely - and very
interesting. For example, Paul O'Dette has pointed out that one of
Dowland's fancies borrows material from a keyboard setting of Felix
namque by Thomas Tallis. And of course "Would my conceit" in the first
book of songs is a borrowing from/tribute to Marenzio.
Best wishes,
Martin
On 16/09/2016 22:30, Ron Andrico wrote:
Dear Martin and all:
Interesting point of view, and one that seems to be based upon the
theme that if the surviving evidence is scant, then we are obliged to
discount the premise. In in thesis, David Tayler posed a similar
question of how much of the surviving music, mostly in manuscript form,
can be firmly attributed to Dowland, and the answer was not much.
Of course Dowland composed for the lute - and he sang and he most
likely wore shoes although there is no firm evidence of any of the
above. But anyone who wades through the "collected works" will detect
a musical personality that emerges, mainly via signature riffs (such as
the Lachrimae motif) and cadential events.
Whether the actual notes written in ms or printed in his books were
those Dowland meant to write, we'll never know for sure. We do know
that all players took inspiration (or purloined tunes) from diverse
sources and I think the question might be stated, "where did Dowland
filch his source material for the surviving lute music that was written
down mostly by others?"
RA
__________________________________________________________________
From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu <lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu> on behalf
of Martin Shepherd <mar...@luteshop.co.uk>
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2016 3:01 PM
To: Lute List
Subject: [LUTE] composed for the lute?
Hi all,
You might find my latest blog interesting:
[1]http://luteshop.co.uk/was-dowland-a-composer-of-lute-music/
Best wishes,
Martin
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References
1. http://luteshop.co.uk/was-dowland-a-composer-of-lute-music/
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