Akadmiai Kiad

Dowland and "Cease Sorrows Now" Author(s): Kenneth K. S. Teo Source: Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, T. 36, Fasc. 1/2 (1995), pp. 5-10 Published by: Akadmiai Kiad Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/902388 . Accessed: 25/10/2011 16:14
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DowlandandCeaseSorrows Now
Kenneth S. TEO K.
Hong Kong

By 1597JohnDowlandwas already famousnamein Englandas a a number eulogies readilytestify.lAnd evidentlytheremusthave been of sufficientdemand lute songs in generalandhis songs in particular for to have led WilliamBarleyto publishsevenof his worksin 1596,andMorley to adda makeshift partin his 1597 canzonet lute publication. Realising thatthe time was ripe,Dowlandissuedhis songsin 1597,2 a year just aftertheexpiryof Byrd'sprinting monopoly and,presumably achievea to widercirculation, arranged musicas solos withluteaccompaniment his as well as in part-song format. Perhaps most tangibleevidenceof Dowland'sskilful chromatic the manipulation TheFirstBookof Airs is to be foundin the solo songAll in ye whomlove (I, 14). The manyparallelsbetweenthis air and Thomas Weelkes'three-voiceCease sorrowsnow from the Englishmadrigalist's firstpublication, TheMadrigals 3, 4, 5 and 6 Voicesis particularly the to noteworthy, and it is quite possible that Dowland'swork might have servedas a vital catalystin Weelkes'experimentation conspicuous with chromaticism as earlyas around in 1597. In his first set of 1597,Weelkesseems to be feeling around task the of composition.Unlike Morley who had prior experiencein writing motets,and who perhaps possessedan easy capacityfor ideas (if some' Among those who admiredhim were Thomas Whythorneand Thomas Campion. The two men sang theirpraises in 1593 and 1595 respectively. See Diana Poulton,John Dowlclnd,London, 1972, pp. 30, 46, 5 1 et
pclssim. 2 Altough The First Bowkof Airs were printedin the same year as Weelkes' Mcldrigclls 3, 4, 5 cmd6 to Voices, there is little doubt that many of his songs were already in circulation as his remarkasin the Prefclce indicatesand Barley's illegal publicationconfirms.

StucliaMu.icolos,^ics Acs(lemise ScientiarumHun^aricae36/1-2, I 9MS. S-l () pp. (X)39-3266851$ 5.(X)o 95 Atademiai Kiado, Budape.vt

K. Teo: Dowland and Cease SorrowsNow

times of a facile sort),he appears have experienced to some difficultyin inventingand sustaining thematic motives.Perhaps, David Brownhas as noted,3 initialinadequacy explainwhy he reserves longerverthis may the ses for the three-voice pieces, leavingthe manipulation controlof the and biggerfive- andsix-voiceforcesto the simplecanzonetstyle which,with the relativeconstraint imposedby its briefstructure repetitive and sectional character, frees him to some extentfrom havingto inventor develop complex ideas, such as would be requiredin an open form like the madrigal. it is, theformalnature thecanzonet as a lightto guide As of acts him along the way. But even so, such a piece as Your beautyit allureth (no. 13) suggests more a studentexercise than the work of an accomplished master. Not surprisingly, has recentlybeen discovered it that Weelkesleanedheyvily on the work of Salamone Rossi, paricularly for the six-voicepiecesin theMadrigals 3, 4, 5 and6 Voices.4 to Givenhis relativelackexperience, wouldnot be altogether it surprising thatWeelkesappears have turned the exampleof JohnDowland to to for help. Even thoughDouwland'sfirst publication, The First Book of Airs,only appeared 1597,the sameyearas Weelkes' in Madrigals 3, 4, to S and 6 Voices,we can be certainthatsome of his compositions mustalreadyhave been in circulation. This is confirmed the publication by of William Barley's NewBookof Tablature 1596whichincludes, A in among the workof otherEnglishcomposers, seven lute solos by Dowland.Althoughonly one of these appears TheFirst Book of Airs,sit does not in necessarilymeanthat no othercompositions the songbook,including in the moreseriousnumbers, were not already circulation. in Resemblances in thematic material betweena number pieces fromWeelkes'1597 set of and Dowland's first songbook suggests that Weelkes probablycame acrosssomeDowland's workbeforetheywerepublished.6
5Thomas Weelkes, A Biogrclphiccll cmdCriticcllStudy,London, i969.

See JudithCohen, Thomas Weelkes'Borrowingsfrom Salamone Rossi, Music & Letters, lxvi (1985), pp. 110-117. Weelkes based much of his text and music of his six five-voice madrigalson the Primo libro delle cclnzonetteCltre voci (Venice, 1589). (For a modern edition of Rossi's work, see H. Avenary, ed., Tel-Aviv, 1976.) Cohen's findings suggest that Weelkes may have shown a more widespreadinterestin the work of other composers, both native and continental,thanis generallyrealised. 5 Ccln she excuse my wrongs? (I, 5), labelled originally in Barley's publication as 'A Galliarde'. For commercial reasons, it would have been quite naturalfor Barley to have selected the more popular works of Dowland for publication. Not surprisingly,among the other Dowland pieces included in Barley's book were such well-known works as Cofrom my windowand Lczchrimcle 6 Cf. nos 5, 8, 13, 20, 21 & 23 with the corresponding Dowland airs:I 19, I 2, I 13, I 7, I 2, & I 8..
4

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K. Teo:Dowland CeaseSorrows and Now

As far as chromaticism concerned, is Dowlandseems to have made some impression Weelkes's of the device.Two of his moreserious on use airsfromthe First Book,Burstforth, tears(I, 8) andGo, crystaltears my (I, 9) probably pavedthe way for Weelkes'use of expressivechromatic notesin My tearsdo not avail me (no. 23) fromthe 1597publication, and O Care, thou wilt despatchme from the 1600 publication,7 a mucll and later work, WhenDavid heard, which was probablywrittento commemorate deathof PrinceHenryin 1612. But to return the only the to trulychromatic number Weelkes'firstpublication its possibleconin and nectionwithAll ye whomLoveor Fortune otherpossiblemodels. and Perhaps firstconnection the withDowland's ye is in the sameuse All of sixainverseform,each line of stanzabeinggiven in a regular metrical pattern ten syllables.BothDowlandandWeelkesdwell on the similar of themesof despair, hopelessness so forth.The key wordsthatlinkthe and two poemsare"care", "consume", "hopes", "sorrow" "sing". and Musically,thereis some resemblance betweenthe openingideas of thetwo pieces(Exx. Ia, lb).

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Ex. la: Dowland, All ye, whom Love or Fortune(I, no. 14, 1597) After TheEnglish LuteSongs, ed. EdmundH. Fellowes, rev. ThurstonDart, 1st series, i & ii, London, 1965, p. 28, bb. 1-2

After the opening bars, Weelkes brings his music to rest on a dominant half-closein A instedof resuming the samekey as Dowland in does. The next line "lo carehathnow comsum'd carcasequite"shows my some similarityin its theme to materialfrom the third text-line of Dowland's music,"Allye whosehope...".HereWeelkes developshis mo7For further details, see Kenneth K. S. Teo, Chromaticism in Thomas Weelkes' 1600 collection: possible models, Musicology Australia,xiii (1990), 2-14.

StudiaMusicologica Acaulemiac ScientiarumHungaricae36/1-2, 1995

K. Teo: Dowland and Cease SorrowsNow

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now

Ex. lb: Weelkes, Cease sorrows now (no. 6, 1597) After TheEnglish Madrigalists,ed. EdmundH. Fellowes, rev. ThurstonDart, Vol. 9, London, 1965, p. 29, bb. 1-5

tive organically Byrd'smanner, in probably emphasisethe emotional to connotation the text. The sequentialrepetitionof each line, a step of higher in pitch every time, is exciting. The third line may have been adopted froma melodicpointin the lute accompaniment the first secin tion of Dowland'swork (betweenthe first and second textlines),but Weelkes landsbrieflyon F, through perfectdacence. fourthline "for a The dolefuldeath..."againseemsto derivematerial fromthe accompaniment, thistimefromthe fourthline "Allye whomsighs...";hereWeelkesallows the musicto flow imitatively madrigal in style andeven indulgesin a little wordpainting his characteristic in triplemeasure the cue of "pleasure". at For this fifth line, the music is basicallyin F anddoes not seem to bear any affinitywith Dowland'swork.Probably bases this passageupon he the work of RobertParsons'Pandolpho,a pre-1570viol-accompanied song,as DavidBrownhaspointed out.8 We now arriveat the extended chromatic passagein Weelkes's piece, in which all three voices participate. The main interesthinges on the similaruse of the chromaticfourthfigure in the second half of both Weelkes'and Dowland'scompositions,which suggests that Dowland's song could have inspiredthe chromaticism Weelkes'madrigal(note of particularly similar of the ascending the use chromatic fourth figurewhich suggests an associationwith Dowland'sfifth text line "Lendears and tears..."(Exx.2a, 2b).
8

David Brown, op. cit., p. 66, note 1.

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K. Teo: Dowland and Cease SorrowsNow

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Ex. 2a: Dowland, All ye, whom Love or FoItune(I, no. 14, 1597) After TheEnglish Lute Songs, ed. EdmundH. Fellowes, rev. ThurstonDart, 1st series, i & ii, London, 1965, p. 29, bb. 1-3

i;

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die,

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I'll sing my

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I'll

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die,

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faint fare- well

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sing my

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faint fare - well

Ex. 2b: Weelkes, Cease sorrows now (no. 6, 1597) After TheEnglish Madrigalists,ed. EdmundH. Fellowes, rev. ThurstonDart, Vol. 9, London, 1965, p. 33, bb. 9-15

One otherinteresting pointis thatthe wordsin Weelkes's chromatic sectionread "I'll sing myfaint farewell".Could it have anythingto do with another Dowland'sworks,his so-calledFarewellfancy?This fanof tasia for solo lute is found in the relativelyearly manuscript sourceDd 5.78, probably compiledaround1595to 1600,together with another solo lute piece the ForlornHope fancy.9 Both lutepieces containexamplesof the chromatic scales, with the descending chromatic fourthappearing in the ForlornHope,andthe ascending fourthin the Farewell.TheFarewell fancy also beginswith an ascending chromatic fourthfromnote A, as in the air All ye, and altoughone cannotbe certainthat this instrumental
9 See

Diana Poulton,London, 1972, pp. 21s11.

Stutliu Mu.viccslcsgiccx Acc(lemicxe Scienticxrum liungcxricue 3tS/1-2, ISJSJ5

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K. Teo:Dowland CeaseSorrows and Now

workwas already circulation in beforeWeelkescomposedCeasesorrows now,the possibilities shouldnevertheless bornein mind. be In Cease sorrowsnow, Weelkesappearsnot only to have derived most of his ideas from Dowland,but also follows some of his harmonic organisation tonalplan.It is perhaps evidencethathe could have and no takenan ideafromParsons' workfor,at this point,Weelkesmay haveexhaustedmost of the thematicideas from All ye. This deep concernfor selectingand ear-making motivicfiguresfor imitation of may partlyexplain the rathersegmented(andoccasionallyshortbreathed) character of the piece. Thereare too manycadencesandthereis littleof the flow and continuity Dowland's of piece. Besides the chromatic fourthtreatment, which obviouslymarksthe climax of Cease sorrowsnow, Weelkes'introduction the chromatic of notes C# and F# "for doleful death", the single Bv just before the chromatic passage,andthe prolonged simultaneous false relation C#C of at the end, affords glimpsesof an independent us spiritat workand,more importantly, shows us thateven at this early stage,he is capableof such poignanteffects. Apartfromthe chromatic fourthand expressiveuse of chromatic notes,Weelkesmayalso learnt use of the "alternate" the degree inflections fromAll ye, Burst forth andotherDowland like His golden airs locks(I, 18). In addition, singleG-B progression the employedin In black mournI (the second partof Myflocks feed not)l has an antecedent in Dowland'sCome, heavy Sleep (I, 20), altoughthe device occursat the divisionof two majorsectionsin Dowland's work,andtheris insufficient thematic afiTinity suggestthatit definitely to derivesfromDowland. Cease sorrowsnow and All ye whomLove and Fortune are significantfor being the firstEnglishcompositions printthatcontainsexin pressiveandextendedchromatic writing.Indeed,it may not be too much to say thatalong with severalothervocal and instrumental compositions of Dowland, their passionateutterance representa new experiencein Englishvocalmusicjust beforetheturnof thecentury.

toThe tripartite flocks My feednotis perhapsthe notableof a numberof pieces otherthan Ceasesorrows now, in the 1597 set that contain expressive chromaticism.Chromaticismis employed to telling effect in this three-artwork, particularly chromaticnotes and the "alternate" the degree inflections.

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