| Biography: |
English composer, singer, and lutenist John Dowland (1563-1626) was one of the few English composers whose fame spread throughout Europe. In 1597, he published his "First Book of Songs" in London. Most of his music is for his own instrument, the lute. It includes several books of solo lute works, lute songs (for one voice and lute), part-songs with lute accompaniment, and several pieces for viol consort with lute. 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". From our site you may download John Dowland's best known instrumental work, Awake Sweet Love in mp3. His music became part of the repertoire of the early music revival with lutenist Julian Bream and tenor Peter Pears, and later with Christopher Hogwood and David Munrow and the Early Music Consort in the late 1960s and later with the Academy of Ancient Music from the early 1970s.
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