David Nadal - Lute Songs of John Dowland

Lute Songs of John Dowland PDF. The Original First and Second Books Including Dowland's Original Lute Tablature (Dover Song Collections). The preeminent lute virtuoso and composer of the early 17th century, John Dowland wrote numerous songs, both gay and melancholy, that dazzled the courts of England and Europe. This rare compilation features 43 of these splendid works in transcriptions for voice and guitar, plus two dances. Original lute tablature and complete song texts included.
These book can be used in a couple different ways. It's written in a systems of 3 clefs - lute tablature, the same notes written in standard musical notation for classical guitar, and a vocal melody. The material can be performed on a 7-course lute, or a modern guitar, or a modern guitar tuned like a lute.
Dowland's works require intermediate to advanced skill level to perform. To play them on classical guitar you'll need a couple years experience. To play them on lute you'll need to have mastered a good portion of Poulton's "Tutor for Renaissance Lute".
These books are a great idea, unfortunately the lute tablature is simply too small to read at arms length (i.e. on a music stand). This is a pretty serious shortcoming.
This is a good book if you can find it. If you also like steel-string acoustic guitar playing, check out the recordings and transcriptions by John Renbourn. There is another book that may be hard to find but worth it called "Complete Anthology for Medieval and Renaissance Guitar" that has some great transcriptions using alternate tunings by Renbourn.
Playing both Lute and Guitar this book is easy to understand with the Guitar notations. This is an interesting collection of Dowland's Lute songs in a format that presents the song in standard notation (classical guitar format) and also in tablature.

Contents:

• Unquiet thoughts
• Who ever thinks or hopes of love
• My thoughts are wing'd with hopes
• If my complaints could passions move
• Can she excuse my wrongs?
• Now, O now, I needs must part
• Dear, if you change
• Burst forth, my tears
• Go crystal tears
• Think'st thou then by thy feigning
• Come away, come sweet love
• Rest awhile you cruel cares
• Sleep, wayward thoughts
• All ye, whom Love or Fortune
• Wilt thou, unkind, thus reave me
• Would my conceit
• Come again
• His golden locks
• Awake, sweet love, thou art return'd
• Come, heavy Sleep
• Away with these self-loving lads
• My Lord Chamberlain his Galliard
• I saw my Lady weep
• Flow my tears
• Sorrow, stay
• Die not before thy day
• Mourn, day is with darkness fled
• Time's eldest son, Old Age
• Then sit thee down
• When Others sing Venite
• Praise blindness eyes
• O sweet woods
• If floods of tears
• Fine knacks for ladies
• Now cease my wand'ring eyes
• Come ye heavy states of night
• White as lilies was her face
• Woeful heart
• A shepherd in a shade
• Faction that ever dwells
• Shall I sue
• Toss not my soul
• Clear or cloudy
• Humour say what mak'st thou here
• Dowland's adieu for Master Oliver Cromwell

Format: PDF, 117 pages