Lachrimae (Poulton No.15) by John Dowland (1563-1626). PDF sheet music and video for classical guitar. Originally for Renaissance lute. Includes both a notation-only edition with left hand fingering and a separate tab edition. The level is early-advanced (grade 9). This is a PDF Download.
My PDF Sheet Music Edition
John Dowland was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs and lute compositions. Dowland is one of my favourite composers of the Elizabethan era and this work is an excellent set of themes and divisions.
“Of Dowland’s own three versions of the piece the order of their appearance seen is to be: (i) The Lachrimae Pavan for solo lute; (2) ‘Flow my teares’ for voice and lute with a sung bass; and (3) the arrangement for viols and lute in Lachrimæ or Seaven Teares in winch it was given the name ‘Lachrimae Antiquae’.” – Diana Poulton. “John Dowland” 2nd Edition. University of California Press. 1982, p.124-133)
“This solo work was later arranged and composed into the Lachrimæ or seaven teares.The seven pavans are variations on a theme, the “Lachrimæ pavan”, which Dowland had already made well known as a lute solo and a song. (That pavan was reworked into the song “Flow my tears” in Dowland’s Second Book of Songs (1600).” Read more at Wikipedia. Here’s the YouTube Lesson Link if you want to watch it there.
Below is a video on relative lute tuning and capos.
Flow my Tears for Lute and Voice
Below are some examples of Flow my Tears with Ellen Hargis (soprano) and Paul O’Dette (lute) followed by Nigel Rogers (tenor) and Paul O’Dette (lute).
Samples and Promotional Cover
Lovely!