Berkeley Festival Fringe Concert
Thursday, June 7, at 2:00 PM
Chapel of Saint Joseph of Arimathea

 WELL-TUNED WORDS

Amanda Sidebottom, soprano; Erik Ryding, lute
The Dowland-Campion Connection

I
Thomas Campion (1567–1620)
Never Weather-beaten Sail
Oft Have I Sighed
The Peaceful Western Wind

II
John Dowland (1563–1626)
Go, Crystal Tears
Orlando Sleepeth
Awake, Sweet Love
Can She Excuse My Wrongs

III
John Danyel (1564–ca. 1626)
He Whose Desires
Thou Pretty Bird
Francesco da Milano (1497–1543)
Fantasia (Ness 82)
John Danyel
Like as the Lute

IV
Thomas Campion
I Must Complain
It Fell on a Summer’s Day
Shall I Come, Sweet Love, to Thee

V
John Dowland
I Must Complain
Wilt Thou, Unkind, Thus Reave Me
If My Complaints
Now, O Now, I Needs Must Part

Presented by Quill Classics

Note on the Program
This afternoon’s program offers works by three of the finest lute-song writers from the age of Shakespeare. John Dowland (1563–1626) was the greatest lutenist and songwriter of the day, and the publication of his First Book of Songs or Ayres in 1597 inspired other composers to follow his lead. Most of the Dowland songs heard today are from that benchmark collection, the first of its kind in England. One of the poets who contributed commendatory verses to that publication was Thomas Campion (1567–1620), who was almost as prolific a songwriter as his friend John Dowland. (In turn, Dowland would later honor his friend by setting Campion’s poem “I Must Complain.”) Unlike most of his peers, Campion wrote not only the music for his songs but also the words. He was a physician by profession, had studied law, wrote extensively in Latin verse, published a short treatise on music theory, and made a trenchant case against rhyme in English—in short, he was a quintessential Renaissance man. His objections to rhyme prompted an immediate response from the poet Samuel Daniel (1562–1619), who defended rhyme and expressed puzzlement over an attack on it from a poet who—as Campion’s lyrics amply demonstrate—was thoroughly skilled at rhyming. For his part, Samuel Daniel was well acquainted with song lyrics, having collaborated with his brother, John Danyel (1564–ca. 1626), on lute songs and masques. Though John Danyel was less prolific than either Dowland or Campion, his single book of songs, published in 1606, is generally ranked alongside those of Dowland for their superb quality and expressive power.