Pavans and Fantasies from the Age of Dowland John Holloway

• John Dowland (1563 – 1626):
• 1 Dowlands: Lachrimae Antiquae 04:19
• Henry Purcell (1659–1695):
• 2 Purcell: Fantasy upon one note 02:45
• John Dowland (1563 – 1626):
• 3 Dowlands: Lachrimae Antiquae Novae 04:02
• William Lawes (1602 – 1645):
• 4 Lawes: 2Airsfor4 03:23
• John Dowland (1563 – 1626):
• 5 Dowland: Lachrimae Gementes 03:57
• John Jenkins (1592 – 1678):
• 6 Jenkins: Fantasy No. 12 for 2 Trebles and Bass 03:53
• John Dowland (1563 – 1626):
• 7 Dowland: Lachrimae Tristes 05:18
• Thomas Morley (1557/58 – 1602):
• 8 Morley: Lamento for 2 02:34
• John Dowland (1563 – 1626):
• 9 Dowland: Lachrimae Coactae 04:01
• Matthew Locke (1621/3 – 1677):
• 10 Locke: Fantasy for 2 Trebles and Bass 04:11
• John Dowland (1563 – 1626):
• 11 Dowland: Lachrimae Amantis 04:27
• William Lawes (1602 – 1645):
• 12 Lawes: Fantasy in C for 5 02:26
• John Dowland (1563 – 1626):
• 13 Dowland: Lachrimae Verae 04:14
• Total Runtime 49:30

Info for Pavans and Fantasies from the Age of Dowland

John Dowland’s Lachrimae Pavans is considered one of the greatest works in the canon of English chamber music. Based upon his famous song “Flow My Teares”, the seven pavans – Seaven Teares, as Dowland called them – present an extraordinary exploration of the contrapuntal and harmonic possibilities offered by the theme. In this remarkable recording, baroque violinist John Holloway creates a concert programme around the lachrimae Pavans. Threaded between Dowland’s masterpieces are works of other major composers of his era – Henry Purcell, William Lawes, John Jenkins, Thomas Morley and Matthew Locke. In bringing together these works of strongly contrasting colour and character Holloway and company give us a vivid sense of the great flowering of consort music which took place in England in the 17th century.

The composition of Lachrimae Pavans, one of the great works in the canon of English chamber music, was begun in Denmark at the end of the 16th century, while John Dowland was working as a lutenist at the court of King Christian IV. A unique seven-part work developing a theme from Dowland’s famous song “Flow my teares” and exploring all its contrapuntal and harmonic possibilities, it is also music of persuasive emotional power. “How well he seems to have understood the power of music to move us,” writes John Holloway in the liner notes, and “to express otherwise inexpressible emotions. He called them ‘passionate pavans’, and within the stately constrained movements of the slow dance, passions are indeed to be found.”

The music, according to the title page of the folio volume, is “set forth for the lute, viols or violons”. Choosing to emphasize “violons” Holloway and company play the Dowland Pavans on four violas and bass violin; “As has been said of Dowland, his greatest works are inspired by a deeply felt tragic concept of life and a preoccupation with tears, sin, darkness and death. With that in mind, the choice of instruments made itself.”

In this recording, produced by Manfred Eicher at Zürich’s Radio Studio, John Holloway and his ensemble juxtaposed the Pavans with other pieces by Dowland’s contemporaries, in a programme with strong contrasts of character and sound colour – from Purcell’s extraordinary “Fantasy upon one note” to Thomas Morley’s haunting “Lament” – evoking the great flowering of English instrumental consort music of the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

John Holloway, violin, viola
Monika Baer, violin, viola
Renate Steinmann, violin
Susanna Hefti, viola
Martin Zeller, bass violin

Recorded March 2013, Radio Studio Zürich
Engineered by Andreas Werner
Produced by Manfred Eicher

John Holloway
took up baroque violin in the early 1970s. With his baroque ensemble, L’Ecole d’Orphée, he made the first complete recording on historical instruments of Händel’s instrumental chamber music. Since then his growing chamber music and solo discography has ranged from Castello and Fontana to Vivaldi, Telemann and beyond. Since 1997 he has recorded for ECM New Series, with acclaimed albums including The Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo by Bach.

Holloway is one of the most experienced concertmasters in the Early Music world, having led orchestras for such diverse directors as Christie, Hogwood, Leonhardt, Koopman, Malgoire, McGegan. He was for many years concertmaster of Roger Norrington’s London Classical Players and of Andrew Parrott’s Taverner Players, leading groundbreaking performances and recordings of repertoire from the Florentine Intermedii to Brahms symphonies.

This has in turn led to numerous projects featuring Holloway as conductor and/or director from the violin, in repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Britten.

He has taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the Schola Cantorum in Basel, the Early Music Institute of Indiana University in Bloomington, and the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden, Germany. From 2006 to 2012 he was Artistic Director of the International Competition and Masterclass "Violin in Dresden".

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