John dowland biography lutenist

John Dowland, (born 1562/63, Westminster, London, England—died January 21, 1626, London), English composer, virtuoso lutenist, and skilled singer, one of the most famous musicians of his time.

John dowland biography lutenist

Nothing is known of Dowland’s childhood, but in 1580 he went to Paris as a “servant” to Sir Henry Cobham, the ambassador to the French court. In 1588 he received a bachelor of music degree from the University of Oxford. His conversion to Roman Catholicism, he believed, caused his rejection for a post as a court lutenist in 1594, and after that disappointment he left England to travel on the Continent.

He visited the duke of Brunswick at Wolfenbüttel and the landgrave of Hesse at Kassel and was received with esteem at both courts. His travels also took him to Nürnberg, Genoa, Florence, and Venice, and by 1597 he had returned to England.

In 1598 Dowland became lutenist to Christian IV of Denmark, but he was dismissed for unsatisfactory conduct in 1606.

Between 1609 and 1612 he ent