John DOWLAND Lachrimae pavane - The Flautadors Recorder Quartet (Flow My Tears)

John DOWLAND (1563-1626)
Extemporisations and diminutions by Jacob van EYCK (1590-1657)
'Lachrimae pavane'

Performed by The Flautadors Recorder Quartet
Taken from their CD 'Cynthia's Revels' (First Hand Records FHR36)

The image of melancholy was a particularly Elizabethan state, one to be savoured and, oftentimes, sung or written about. The lutenist John Dowland explored this condition in the greatest of depths; his famous Lachrimæ pavane revealing the tortured soul in all its melancholic glory. Such was the popularity of the Lachrimæ that Dowland provided many settings for different combinations of voices and instruments, which were to travel to the far reaches of mainland Europe. In this, The Flautadors version, the expressive qualities of the Pavan are further augmented through the addition of extemporisations and diminutions by Jacob Van Eyck (the great improviser and assimilator of popular melodies of the time).