The lute cometh...

As I've stated before in another process blog, I'm a very instrument driven musician. So it is with great pleasure that I'm "starting over" again with a new instrument - the lute. As you may know, John Dowland was a very famous lutenist and composed about 90 works for solo lute and 88 songs. The tuning of the first six strings or "courses" are very similar to the guitar except the third course is lowered a half-step. In fact, if you capo the guitar on the third fret and lower the third string a half-step you basically have the renaissance lute setup. Many guitarist choose to perform Dowland's music in such a manner but if I'm going to do really this then I feel I have to go "all in" and find a lute to learn these songs with. My dear friend David Bucher is currently restoring a ten course lute for the purpose of this project. It is a modern replica made in 1976 by Richard Gronning of Northfield, Minnesota.

The biggest challenge for me is the old renaissance lute notation. As you can see below, the vocal part is in standard notation but the lute part is represented in tablature. The top line being the first course and the bottom being the sixth. The letters of the alphabet represent the fret number that the lutenist places his or her left hand fingers on.  ("a" is the first fret, "b" the second, "r" instead of "c" is the third and so on.) The rhythms are notated above the tablature staff. It certainly takes a lot of practice to learn to read music in this way but I soon hope to be able to read this notation as comfortably as standard notation.

 - Beau Bledsoe

Here's the same score in it's original edition.

The Pensive Heart

In 2015, we have every form of communication at our fingertips; Facebook, Twitter, 

Instagram, not to mention the more traditional versions of information delivery like 

CNN, MSNBC, and the like.

During the Renaissance, the best medium for political and social discourse was song. 

Very serious and treasonous complaints of the monarchy, the church, and a host of 

other topics were delivered through the sting of the pen. John Dowland (1563-1626) 

was one of the premiere English Renaissance composers. He was an accomplished 

lutenist , singer, and composer.  His lute songs are considered to be definitive of the 

era, and his books of songs for voice are likewise held in high regard.

Mostly known for his songs of melancholy (Semper Dowland, Semper dolens- 

always Dowland, always doleful was the subject of one of his compositions), 

Dowland could by today’s standards be considered an activist. Many of his pieces 

contain condemnation of Queen Elizabeth, the Catholic Church, and other prevailing 

leaders. His outspoken nature was in part to blame for never receiving appointment 

as an English Court musician. His years were spent in employment as court musician 

around Europe, although the disdain he felt toward the English monarchy never 

seemed to wane. 

The songs of John Dowland, with just a gentle stretch of the imagination, are just as 

poignant today as when composed. The artful melancholy, the pleading for 

acceptance and understanding, and the obvious fiery contempt for the rule of law 

that surface in his musings are truly evidence of The Pensive Heart.

 - David Adams