Biography
Other info : Career | Bibliography
John Dowland[1] was an English Renaissance composer, singer, and lutenist. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep" (the basis for Benjamin Britten's Nocturnal), "Come again", "Flow my tears", "I saw my Lady weepe" and "In darkness let me dwell", but his instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and with the 20th century's Early Music Revival has been a continuing source of repertoire for lutenists and classical guitarists.
John Dowland was married and had children, as referenced in his letter to Sir Robert Cecil.[29] However, he had long periods of separation from his family, as his wife stayed in England while he worked on the Continent.[30]
His son Robert Dowland was also a musician, working for some time in the service of the first Earl of Devonshire,[11] and taking over his father's position of lutenist at court when John died.[31]
Dowland's melancholic lyrics and music have often been described as his attempts to develop an "artistic persona" though he was actually a cheerful person,[32] but many of his own personal complaints, and the tone of bitterness in many of his comments, suggest that much of his music and his melancholy truly did come from his own personality and frustration.[33]
