JAVS Fall 1997

18

English hymns: "Lord Jesus, Think on Me," "Eternal Father, Strong to Save," and "The Spacious Firmament on High." 7 He also created many settings of English folk songs. When we turn to Lachrymae, therefore, we might expect to find some connection with Dowland's seven pavanes. This expectation is doomed to disappointment: these pavanes do not play an important role in the piece. It would seem that Britten helped himself to a title that combines the historical significance that makes it memorable with perhaps a touch of humor: while it might be thought typical that a viola piece should have a title like Tears, Lachrymae is anything but "tearful." Call it mischievous, mysterious, even mystical at times: it is clearly mis named if that name was intended to suggest a lachrymose mood. But Lachrymae is subtitled Reflections on a Song ofDowland. Surely there must be some con nection to Dowland and his music? There is, and the connection returns us to Dowland's Lachri mae collection. In addition to the seven pavanes that make up the major work of that collection, Dowland included a number of shorter works. Many of these are instrumental arrangements of vocal works from Dowland's first two books of "Songs or Ayres" published seven and four years before, a sort of "Ayres without Words," if you will. These arrangements were given dedi catory titles by Dowland. Some of the dedicatees are surprising: the dance titled "Captaine Piper His Galiard" is dedicated to a notorious English pirate who raided Danish ships! The music of Captain Piper's galliard is an instrumental arrangement of a song from Dowland's Firste Booke ofSongs or Ayres, called "If My Complaints" from the first line of its text: "If my complaints could passions move, I Or make love see wherein I suffer wrong." It was from this song that Britten took the principal melody upon which his Lachrymae is based (Figure 1; note the bracketed motives). The text of Dowland's song, incidentally, includes no "tears" to suggest Britten's title, although it contains "sighs" that "speak," "wounds" that "bleed," and a "heart" that "breaks." liB 1,&~ II: f F I r.;> F I F r· p liB~~~& II: f r r I f r f r I r t f F f I f' p Ill r r ~J I r· I This is not, however, the sole connection to Dowland's music in the work. Still another melody of Dowland's is heard in the Britten score, taken from Dowland's song "Flow, My Tears," which was published in his Second Booke ofSongs or Ayres. "Flow, My Tears" appears in instrumental arrangement as the first of the Lachrimae pavanes; might it not therefore explain Britten's title? It would seem not: reference to Dowland's melody is deliberately made out of context. The melody is taken from the second strain of the song, not the well-known first strain, and part of it is transposed. The untransposed portion is even enclosed in quotation marks in the score and part! And the quoted music is set to the words "Never may my woes be relieved, I Since pity is fled"-no help there for Britten's title. This gives us, however, no fewer than three references to Dowland in Lachrymae-the title, the Theme, and the quotation as Britten pays homage to his fellow countryman. ~ r ;J I r t f F I r F I~J F FIGUREr. The melody of Dowland's song "IfMy Complaints" (transposed for comparison) X____, liB~~~& r r r I r F ~· D r I ~x'~ ,- ,-------Y_______, I ~J ~j ~ r I r· I t r F r I f' p F ·~ ~y

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