Dowland and "Cease Sorrows Now"

Author(s): Kenneth K. S. Teo

Source: Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae , 1995, T. 36, Fasc. 1/2
(1995), pp. 5-10
Published by: Akadémiai Kiadó

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 Dowland and Cease Sorrows Now

Kenneth K. S. TEO
Hong Kong

By 1597 John Dowland was already a famous name in England as a

number of eulogies readily testify.l And evidently there must have been
sufficient demand for lute songs in general and his songs in particular to
have led William Barley to publish seven of his works in 1596, and Mor-
ley to add a makeshift lute part in his 1597 canzonet publication. Realis-
ing that the time was ripe, Dowland issued his songs in 1597,2 just a year
after the expiry of Byrd's printing monopoly and, presumably to achieve a
wider circulation, arranged his music as solos with lute accompaniment as
well as in part-song format.
Perhaps the most tangible evidence of Dowland's skilful chromatic
manipulation in The First Book of Airs is to be found in the solo song All
ye whom love (I, 14). The many parallels between this air and Thomas
Weelkes' three-voice Cease sorrows now from the English madrigalist's
first publication, the The Madrigals to 3, 4, 5 and 6 Voices is particularly
noteworthy, and it is quite possible that Dowland's work might have
served as a vital catalyst in Weelkes' experimentation with conspicuous
chromaticism in as early as around 1597.
In his first set of 1597, Weelkes seems to be feeling around the task
of composition. Unlike Morley who had prior experience in writing
motets, and who perhaps possessed an easy capacity for ideas (if some-

' Among those who admired him were Thomas Whythorne and Thomas Campion. The two men sang
their praises in 1593 and 1595 respectively. See Diana Poulton, John Dowlclnd, London, 1972, pp. 30, 46, 5 1 et
pclssim.

2 Altough The First Bowk of Airs were printed in the same year as Weelkes' Mcldrigclls to 3
Voices, there is little doubt that many of his songs were already in circulation as his remarkas in
indicates and Barley's illegal publication confirms.

Stuclia Mu.ic olos,^ics Acs(lemise Scientiarum Hun^aricae 36/1-2, I 9MS. pp. S-l ()
(X)39-3266851$ 5.(X) o 95 Atademiai Kiado, Budape.vt

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6 K. Teo: Dowland and Cease Sorrows Now

times of a facile sort), he appears to have experienced some difficulty in

inventing and sustaining thematic motives. Perhaps, as David Brown has
noted,3 this initial inadequacy may explain why he reserves the longer ver-
ses for the three-voice pieces, leaving the manipulation and control of the
bigger five- and six-voice forces to the simple canzonet style which, with
the relative constraint imposed by its brief structure and repetitive section-
al character, frees him to some extent from having to invent or develop
complex ideas, such as would be required in an open form like the
madrigal. As it is, the formal nature of the canzonet acts as a light to guide
him along the way. But even so, such a piece as Your beauty it allureth
(no. 1 3 ) suggests more a student exercise than the work of an ac-
complished master. Not surprisingly, it has recently been discovered that
Weelkes leaned heyvily on the work of Salamone Rossi, paricularly for
the six-voice pieces in the Madrigals to 3, 4, 5 and 6 Voices.4
Given his relative lack experience, it would not be altogether surpris-
ing that Weelkes appears to have turned to the example of John Dowland
for help. Even though Douwland's first publication, The First Book of
Airs, only appeared in 1597, the same year as Weelkes' Madrigals to 3, 4,
S and 6 Voices, we can be certain that some of his compositions must al-
ready have been in circulation. This is confirmed by the publication of
William Barley's A New Book of Tablature in 1596 which includes, among
the work of other English composers, seven lute solos by Dowland. Al-
though only one of these appears in The First Book of Airs,s it does not
necessarily mean that no other compositions in the songbook, including
the more serious numbers, were not already in circulation. Resemblances
in thematic material between a number of pieces from Weelkes' 1597 set
and Dowland's first songbook suggests that Weelkes probably came
across some Dowland's work before they were published.6

5 Thomas Weelkes, A Biogrclphiccll cmd Criticcll Study, London, i969.

4 See Judith Cohen, Thomas Weelkes'Borrowings from Salamone Rossi, Music & Letters, lxvi (1985),
pp. 110-117. Weelkes based much of his text and music of his six five-voice madrigals on the Primo libro delle
cclnzonette Cl tre voci (Venice, 1589). (For a modern edition of Rossi's work, see H. Avenary, ed., Tel-Aviv,
1976.) Cohen's findings suggest that Weelkes may have shown a more widespread interest in the work of other
composers, both native and continental, than is generally realised.
5 Ccln she excuse my wrongs? (I, 5), labelled originally in Barley's publication as 'A Galliarde'. For
commercial reasons, it would have been quite natural for Barley to have selected the more popular works of
Dowland for publication. Not surprisingly, among the other Dowland pieces included in Barley's book were
such well-known works as Cofrom my window and Lczchrimcle
6 Cf. nos 5, 8, 13, 20, 21 & 23 with the corresponding Dowland airs: I 19, I 2, I 13, I 7, I 2, & I 8..

Stutlis Mu. icologics Acutlemise Scientisrum Hunguricse 36/1-7, 1 'J95

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 j S rJ I j j 2 X1 iJ j WsJ I
K. Teo: Dowland and Cease Sorrows Now 7

As far as chromaticism is concerned, Dowland seems to have made

some impression on Weelkes's use of the device. Two of his more serious
airs from the First Book, Burstforth, my tears (I, 8) and Go, crystal tears
(I, 9) probably paved the way for Weelkes' use of expressive chromatic
notes in My tears do not avail me (no. 23) from the 1597 publication, and
O Care, thou wilt despatch me from the 1600 publication,7 and a mucll
later work, WhenDavid heard, which was probably written to com-
memorate the death of Prince Henry in 1612. But to return to the only
truly chromatic number in Weelkes' first publication and its possible con-
nection with All ye whom Love or Fortune and other possible models.
Perhaps the first connection with Dowland's All ye is in the same use
of sixain verse form, each line of stanza being given in a regular metrical
pattern of ten syllables. Both Dowland and Weelkes dwell on the similar
themes of despair, hopelessness and so forth. The key words that link the
two poems are "care", "consume", "hopes", "sorrow" and "sing".
Musically, there is some resemblance between the opening ideas of
the two pieces (Exx. I a, lb).

4 ; L 2 I4J j o #J o I-
All ye, whom Love or For - tune hath be - tray'd

9 , s8 e! rJ 1# o f hJ 42 J 1.
Ex. la: Dowland, All ye, whom Love or Fortune (I, no. 14, 1597)
After The English Lute Songs, ed. Edmund H. Fellowes, rev. Thurston Dar
1st series, i & ii, London, 1965, p. 28, bb. 1-2

After the opening bars, Weelkes brings his music to rest on a

dominant half-close in A insted of resuming in the same key as Dowland
does. The next line "lo care hath now comsum'd my carcase quite" shows
some similarity in its theme to material from the third text-line of
Dowland's music, "All ye whose hope...". Here Weelkes develops his mo-

7For further details, see Kenneth K. S. Teo, Chromaticism in Thomas Weelkes' 1600 collection:
possible models, Musicology Australia, xiii (1990), 2-14.

Studia Musicologica Acaulemiac Scientiarum Hungaricae 36/1-2, 1995

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8 K. Teo: Dowland and Cease Sorrows Now

4; s} I J j 1 z I - f I f 5
cease sor rows now cease sor- rows

; - I - 18s} I"J I lo I
cease sor rows now

-A; - I - I ° I f t lo I
cease sor rows now
Ex. lb: Weelkes, Cease sorrows now (no. 6, 1597)
After The English Madrigalists, ed. Edmund H. Fellowes, rev. Thurston Dart,
Vol. 9, London, 1965, p. 29, bb. 1-5

tive organically in Byrd's manner, probably to emphasise the emotional

connotation of the text. The sequential repetition of each line, a step
higher in pitch every time, is exciting. The third line may have been
adopted from a melodic point in the lute accompaniment in the first sec-
tion of Dowland's work (between the first and second textlines), but
Weelkes lands briefly on F, through a perfect dacence. The fourth line "for
doleful death..." again seems to derive material from the accompaniment,
this time from the fourth line "All ye whom sighs..."; here Weelkes allows
the music to flow imitatively in madrigal style and even indulges in a little
wordpainting in his characteristic triple measure at the cue of "pleasure".
For this fifth line, the music is basically in F and does not seem to bear
any affinity with Dowland's work. Probably he bases this passage upon
the work of Robert Parsons' Pandolpho, a pre-1570 viol-accompanied
song, as David Brown has pointed out.8
We now arrive at the extended chromatic passage in Weelkes's piece,
in which all three voices participate. The main interest hinges on the
similar use of the chromatic fourth figure in the second half of both
Weelkes' and Dowland's compositions, which suggests that Dowland's
song could have inspired the chromaticism of Weelkes' madrigal (note
particularly the similar use of the ascending chromatic fourth figure which
suggests an association with Dowland's fifth text line "Lend ears and
tears..." (Exx. 2a, 2b).

8 David Brown, op. cit., p. 66, note 1.

Stutliu Mu.zicolcsgica Acu(lemiae Scientiurum Aluns,uricue Sf5/1-2, IYY5

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 i; 1 1 1 - 1- j IJ 2 12 tj 1., 1
K. Teo: Dowland and Cease Sorrows Now 9

i;1l- - J {f hf Ir Xr | Lend ears and tears to

+ f f JgJ 1$z J DIJxJ I

'9S110 U tJI 21H44

Ex. 2a: Dowland, All ye, whom Love or FoItune (I, no. 14, 1597)
After The English Lute Songs, ed. Edmund H. Fellowes, rev. Thurston Dart,
1st series, i & ii, London, 1965, p. 29, bb. 1-3

i; o 1- SIJtJ IJtJ l l - l.. l.. I

die, I'll sing my faint fare- well, I'll sing

die, I'll sing my faint fare- well

+ t 1 1 1- J lJ#J IJwJ I 19
die, I'll sing my faint fare - well

Ex. 2b: Weelkes, Cease sorrows now (no. 6, 1597)

After The English Madrigalists, ed. Edmund H. Fellowes, rev. Thurston Dart,
Vol. 9, London, 1965, p. 33, bb. 9-15

One other interesting point is that the words in Weelkes's chromatic

section read "I'll sing my faint farewell". Could it have anything to do
with another of Dowland's works, his so-called Farewell fancy? This fan-
tasia for solo lute is found in the relatively early manuscript source Dd
5.78, probably compiled around 1595 to 1600, together with another solo
lute piece the Forlorn Hope fancy.9 Both lute pieces contain examples of
the chromatic scales, with the descending chromatic fourth appearing in
the Forlorn Hope, and the ascending fourth in the Farewell. The Farewell
fancy also begins with an ascending chromatic fourth from note A, as in
the air All ye, and altough one cannot be certain that this instrumental

9 See Diana Poulton, London, 1972, pp. 21s11.

Stutliu Mu.viccslcsgiccx Acc(lemicxe Scienticxrum liungcxricue 3tS/1-2, ISJSJ5

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10 K. Teo: Dowland and Cease Sorrows Now

work was already in circulation before Weelkes composed Cease sorrows

now, the possibilities should nevertheless be borne in mind.
In Cease sorrows now, Weelkes appears not only to have derived
most of his ideas from Dowland, but also follows some of his harmonic
organisation and tonal plan. It is perhaps no evidence that he could have
taken an idea from Parsons' work for, at this point, Weelkes may have ex-
hausted most of the thematic ideas from All ye. This deep concern for
selecting and ear-making of motivic figures for imitation may partly ex-
plain the rather segmented (and occasionally shortbreathed) character of
the piece. There are too many cadences and there is little of the flow and
continuity of Dowland's piece.
Besides the chromatic fourth treatment, which obviously marks the
climax of Cease sorrows now, Weelkes' introduction of the chromatic
notes C# and F# "for doleful death", the single Bv just before the
chromatic passage, and the prolonged simultaneous false relation of C# C
at the end, affords us glimpses of an independent spirit at work and, more
importantly, shows us that even at this early stage, he is capable of such
poignant effects. Apart from the chromatic fourth and expressive use of
chromatic notes, Weelkes may also learnt the use of the "alternate" degree
inflections from All ye, Burst forth and other Dowland airs like His golden
locks (I, 18). In addition, the single G-B progression employed in In black
mourn I (the second part of My flocks feed not)l° has an antecedent in
Dowland's Come, heavy Sleep (I, 20), altough the device occurs at the
division of two major sections in Dowland's work, and ther is insufficient
thematic afiTinity to suggest that it definitely derives from Dowland.
Cease sorrows now and All ye whom Love and Fortune are sig-
nificant for being the first English compositions in print that contains ex-
pressive and extended chromatic writing. Indeed, it may not be too much
to say that along with several other vocal and instrumental compositions
of Dowland, their passionate utterance represent a new experience in
English vocal music just before the turn of the century.

to The tripartite My flocks feed not is perhaps the notable of a number of pieces other than Cease sorrows
now, in the 1597 set that contain expressive chromaticism. Chromaticism is employed to telling effect in this
three-art work, particularly the chromatic notes and the "alternate" degree inflections.

Stubliu Mu.vicol )<gica Acublemicle Sc ientiurum Bungclric cle 3<5/1-2, I YY5

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