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Composed by Nicholas Lanier (c.1588-1666). Baroque period. From Select Ayres and Dialogues , Second Book, published by John Playford (1669).
Ellen Hargis, soprano
Paul O'Dette, lute, archlute and theorbo
Further fruit of Lanier's Italian visits may be seen in “No more shall meads be decked with flowers”-one of Carew's lyrics that Lawes did not set, perhaps because Lanier's setting was already well known. Lanier treats this as a ground, repeating a chaconne-type bass for four verses while varying the tune. (One literary source even labels the poem 'Ciacono'.) However, the formal significance of Lanier's song was probably not appreciated at first, as two manuscript sources, obliviously and independently of each other, alter the bass during the course of the song, thus destroying its essential feature.
It was not until Playford printed it that the bass was restored to what must have been its original form or something like it. Basically, the conventional tetrachord of the chaconne bass is combined with a cadential progression. (Later, John Blow followed suit with “Lovely Selina, innocent and free,” published in Playford’s Choice Ayres,1683.)
Reference:
Spink, I. (1986). English Song. London: Batsford.
15 окт 2024
