John Dowland was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. 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
John Dowland (1563 – 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as Come, heavy sleep, Flow my tears, I saw my Lady weepe and In darkness let me dwell. 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. Very little is known of John Dowland's early life, but it is generally thought he was born in London, although Irish historian W. H. Grattan Flood claimed that he was born in Dalkey, near Dublin but no corroborating evidence has ever been found. In 1580 Dowland went to Paris, where he was in service to Sir Henry Cobham, the ambassador to the French court and his successor Sir Edward Stafford. He became a Roman Catholic at this time. Around 1584, Dowland moved back to England and married. In 1594. A vacancy for a lutenist came up at the English court, but Dowland's application was unsuccessful – he claimed his religion led to his not being offered a post at Elizabeth I's Protestant court. From 1598 Dowland worked at the court of King Christian IV of Denmark, though he continued to publish in London. King Christian was very interested in music and paid Dowland astronomical sums; making him one of the highest-paid servants of the Danish court. Dowland performed a number of espionage assignments for Sir Robert Cecil in France, Italy and Denmark; despite his high rate of pay, Dowland seems to have been not only a court musician. However, we have in his own words the fact that he was for a time embroiled in treasonous Catholic intrigue in Italy. Whatever his religion, however, Dowland was still intensely loyal to the Queen. Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563 – 1612) was an English statesman serving as both the Secretary of State for England and Lord High Treasurer. The principal discoverer of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, Robert Cecil remains a controversial historical figure as it is still debated at what point he first learned of the plot and to what extent he acted as an agent provocateur.
In October 2006, Sting, who says he has been fascinated by the music of John Dowland, released an album featuring Dowland's songs titled Songs from the Labyrinth, on Deutsche Grammophon. He described his treatment of Dowland's work in a Great Performances appearance. To give some idea of the tone and intrigues of life in late Elizabethan England, Sting also recites throughout the album portions of a 1593 letter written by Dowland to Sir Robert Cecil. The letter describes Dowland's travels to various points of Western Europe, then breaks into a detailed account of his activities in Italy, along with a heartfelt denial of the charges of treason whispered against him. Science fiction writer Philip K. Dick referred to Dowland in many of his works, including the novel Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said (1974), using the pseudonym Jack Dowland.
