The "Curious" Art of John Wilson (1595-1674): An Introduction to His Songs and Lute Music

Author(s): Vincent Duckles

Source: Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Summer, 1954), pp. 93-
112
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the American Musicological Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/829764 .
Accessed: 15/06/2014 08:51

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

University of California Press and American Musicological Society are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,
preserve and extend access to Journal of the American Musicological Society.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The "Curious"Art of JohnWilson (1595-1674):
An Introduction to His Songs and Lute Music
BY VINCENT DUCKLES
JOHNWILSON'SSMALLPLACEin
sical and literary history has been
due in large part to reflected glory
from the light of Shakespeare. A few
slight and charming settings by Wil-
son of such lyrics as "Take, O take
those lips away," "Where the bee
sucks," and "Lawn as white as driven
snow," are mentioned in all studies
of Shakespeare music. Rimbault held
an attractive theory, which has never
been fully substantiated, that John
Wilson could be identified with Jack
Wilson, a singing boy in Shake-
speare's company; whether true or
not the theory has given further
weight to the association with the
great dramatist.' But Wilson's status
as a composer in his own right has
never been appraised. The long ca-
reer of this musician, which coin-
cided with one of the most eventful
periods in British history and in-
volved responsible posts in city,
court, and university music, deserves
more attention that can be claimed
by a mere eddy in Shakespeare schol-
arship. His songs in the printed col-
lections from 1652 onwards are sec-
ond only to those of Henry Lawes in
number, and the manuscript sources
sustain the impression of his popu-
larity.
Wilson's musical activity, except
during the interval of the Common-
wealth, was closely connected with
the life of the court either in Lon-
don or in Oxford. Before he was
1 Edward F. Rimbault, Who was Jack Wil-
son, the Singer of Shakespeare's Stage? (Lon-
don, x86I).
This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
mu- twenty he collaborated with Lanier
and Coperario to provide music for
the Masque of Flowers (1614). In
1632 he appeared as the composer of
the songs for Richard Brome's play,
The Northern Lass. In 1622 a John
Wilson, presumably the composer
under consideration, was appointed
to the company of the London waits
"upon trial had of that his sufficiency
and judgement."2 Although men-
tioned as a musician in the court
records as early as I635, he did not
achieve the eminence of a "Gentle-
man of the Royal Chapel" until after
the death of his colleague, Henry
Lawes, whose place he assumed in
1662. Like Lawes, Wilson was a
lutanist and a counter-tenor, and as
such took part in numerous court
masques and entertainments in the
years preceding the Civil War. He
was highly regarded at court as a
chamber singer, a man with a good
voice and a skillful hand on the lute,
who delighted court society with his
performance of the light love lyrics
of the day. It was reported by An-
thony Wood that Charles I used to
stand with his hand on Wilson's
shoulder while the musician sang, not
an uncommon mark of royal ap-
proval since Nicholas Lanier and the
Lawes brothers enjoyed the same
favor. During the Civil War, Wilson
retreated to Oxford with the court
and for a period of about ten years
lived in the residence of Sir William
2 Walter L. Woodfill, Musicians in English
Society from Elizabeth to Charles I (Prince-
ton, 1953), p. 42.
93
94 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Walter, a wealthy music-lover near
the city. An Oxford Doctor of Music
degree was conferred upon him in
I644, and in i656 he was made Pro-
fessor of Music at that University,
relinquishing that post at the Restora-
tion to return to the King's Musick
in London.
John Playford, the publisher, was
quick to recognize the popularity of
Wilson's songs and printed more than
50 of them in his series of collections
beginning with Select Musical Ayres
and Dialogues in i652. Wilson him-
self appeared as editor of a collection
printed in Oxford in I66o under the
title, Cheerful Ayres and Ballads, and
described as the first piece of music
printing to issue from that city. It is
devoted almost entirely to songs
composed early in Wilson's career,
with several additional pieces by
Robert Johnson and Nicholas Lanier.
Three years earlier, in 1657, Wilson
had provided musical settings for
Thomas Stanley's version of the
eikon basilike, issued as Psalterium
Carolinum, the Devotions of his
Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and
Sufferings. The composer was 62
when this publication appeared, and
he resolved, according to a statement
in his preface, that this tribute to the
murdered Charles would be "the last
of his labours." Although he lived for
another sixteen years at least, there is
little evidence that he departed from
this resolution. There were musical
as well as personal reasons why he
should have ceased activity as a com-
poser. Wilson's serious song style had
become old fashioned by the time he
returned to the court in 1662. A new
taste in verse of a more popular, semi-
political kind was growing; the court
demanded ballads and French dance
tunes-the kind of thing Charles II
could tap his foot to. No doubt Wil-
son's Restoration appointment was
This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
more in the nature of a sinecure, a
reward for his royalist sympathies,
than for any real demand for his
services.
A vivid picture of Wilson as a
musician and as a personalitystems
from his period at Oxford, thanksto
the observationsof that alert musical
amateur, Anthony Wood. Wood
makes it clear that Wilson was the
leading spirit of the little group of
Oxford musicians who met at the
home of Will Ellis to make music
during the troubleddays of the war.
Here we see Wilson as a vigorous
and forceful character,who "some-
times played the lute, but mostly
presided the consort." In Wood's
phrase,"he was a great pretenderto
buffonery,and the greatestand most
curious judge of music that ever
was."• The I8th century, however,
madeshort work of Wilson'sreputa-
tion. It was Dr. Burney's view that
the only thing which could account
for the prestigeof a musicianof Wil-
son's caliber was the extraordinarily
low level of musicallife in Oxford in
the i7th century. "Little had been
heard,and but little was expected."4
More recent historianshave soughtto
justify his fame in reasonsother than
his musicalgifts. Nagel suggeststhat
it was his strong personalityand his
talents as an administratorwhich
brought him into eminence.5It is
certainthat he had a great deal to do
with establishingthe music school at
Oxford; there are receiptsin his own
hand for the purchaseof instruments
and the construction of improve-
ments in the buildings.
One can see the extent to which
3 Anthony ' Wood, "Lives of English Mu-
sicians." Oxford, Bodleian Library, Ms. Wood
D. I9 (4).
4 Charles Burney, A General History of
Music, ed. Frank Mercer (London, 1935),
Vol. II, p. 314.
5 Wilibald Nagel, Geschichte der Musik in
England (Strassburg, 1897), Vol. II, p. 212.
 THE "CURIOUS"7 ART
OF JOHN WILSON
Wilson's fame has lapsed since his
own time by reading some of the
17th-century tributes to his art. A
manuscript in the Bodleian Library
contains the versified impressions of
Sir Robert Southwell written while
he was an undergraduate at Queen's
College." The subject which moved
this amateur poet to the heights of
artificial eloquence was "Dr. Wilson
and his lute at Ellis his meeting, Dec.
31, [i6]55." The phrases, extrava-
gant as they are, still convey the
writer's vivid experience:
Silence! I saw from its dark coffinrise
This prison'd Lute: and then I lost my
eyes.
All senses did unite to bear a share,
And throng'd into the portals of mine ear.
The Profound Orpheus, seated with con-
tent,
Deign'dto embracethe silent instrument,
But by the virtue of his hand'sex'cute,
Life trickledfrom his fingerson the lute,
Which, being inspired,first each grateful
string
His power,his bounty,andhis praisessing.
Rhetorickof Raptures(at first dash) was
there
Drown'd in the wondering whirlpool of
mine ear;
Then he a new-born voluntary hurls
Through the conduit of its inward curls.
His curious hand his fancy did bedeck,
And Musick followed every finger beck.
He ruled that Sphere, and his command
was such
That, by the influence of a flying touch,
Each gut ensnared a soul: never evok'd
string
But to embrace his fingers with a. ring.
I stood amazed such power in gut to see,
That from the Dung-hill took its pedegree.
Fountain of Pleasure, all whose parts and
themes,
Whose slender strings are thy enchanting
streams;
Thy lustrous melody all Bliss can sum,
And waft a soul to its Elisium.
e Oxford, Bodleian Library, Ms. Eng. poet.
f. 6.
This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
95
The phrase, "His curious hand his
fancy did bedeck," strikes a familiar
note in contemporary opinion. More
than one writer of the time uses the
word, "curious," in alluding to Wil-
son's work. It appears in some verses
by Robert Herrick addressed to
Henry Lawes: 7
Then if thy voice comminglewith the
String
I hear in thee the rare Laniere to sing
Or curiousWilson....
It must be stated that the ordinary
objective sense in which we use the
term "curious" today, as suggesting
something novel, strange, or queer,
was not the common I7th-century
usage. At that time it referred to a
quality of workmanship that was
skillful or ingenious, or to a product
that was choice, excellent, or fine. It
also had a subjective meaning in
which it signified an act of judgment
that was precise, clear, and well-de-
fined-the usage intended by Wood
in praising Wilson as a "most curious
judge of music." Still another conno-
tation of the term suggested the ab-
struse, intricate, or subtle qualities
which Henry Lawes must have had
in mind when he wrote in his com-
mendatory verses to Wilson's Psalte-
rium Carolinum (1657):
From long acquaintance and experience, I
Could tell the World thy known integrity;
Unto thy Friend, thy true and honest heart,
Ev'n mind, good nature, all, but thy great
Art;
Which I but dully understand...
And further:
For this I know, and must say't to thy
praise,
That thou hast gone, in Musick, unknown
ways,
Hast cut a path where there was none
before,
Like Magellantraced an unknown shore...
7 Hesperides (1648).
96 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Henry Lawes was no mere layman
in musical matters. The fact that the
most admired composer of his age
should praise his colleague for mov-
ing into music's "unknown ways"
should prompt a restudy of the songs
dismissed so emphatically by Burney.
But it is difficult for modern ears
to appreciate what was exceptional
about Wilson's style, at least on the
ground of his published songs. His
settings in the Playford publications,
and in his own Cheerful Ayres, are
certainly no better than the kind of
thing his fellow court musicians were
producing in great quantity during
the first half of the i7th century.
One is tempted to conclude that
much of the attraction Wilson held
for his contemporaries was due to
the art of a performer with a per-
sonal, somewhat idiosyncratic style,
the aspect of his work which is, un-
fortunately, beyond recovery today.
A skillful musician with a lute in his
hands and his own voice as the solo
instrument could bring quality and
conviction to the most unpromising
score; and it must be admitted that
many of Wilson's scores are sadly in
need of that added ingredient.
There is, however, one source
which provides a clue to Wilson's
reputation as a composer of rare and
curious songs, as well as a lutanist of
deep skill. This is the autograph
manuscript which he presented to the
Bodleian Library in about 1656 when
he accepted the Oxford professor-
ship.8 He stipulated at that time that
the manuscript was not to be con-
sulted by anyone until after his death,
an attitude which suggests the de-
liberate breaking off of at least one
phase of his life as a composer. The
manuscript contains some 220 songs,
including a number of dialogues, and
30 solo lute pieces, the latter all
8 Oxford, Bodleian Library, Mus. B. I.
This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
groupedtogetherin the first 22 pages
of the volume.
It is evident that Wilson's manu-
script was not, like some of the other
sources of the period, a composer's
workbook full of miscellaneousjot-
tings for his daily use as a performer.
It has the characterof a deliberately
contrived opera omnia, a collection
which was compiled as an authorita-
tive source by the composerhimself.
The calligraphy is extremely neat
and legible, and the manuscript is
unmarkedby practical use. In one
respect, however, it seems to be in-
complete.Most of the songs aregiven
in the treble and unfiguredbass ar-
rangement common to song collec-
tions of the time, but in Wilson's
manuscriptspace has been left for
the insertion of the lute tablature.
Not until the latterpart of the manu-
script is the tablature added for a
group of eighteen Englishsongs and
nineteen settings of Latin verse,
chiefly from Horace. The lute bass
differs slightly from the continuo
bass, which was presumablyplayed
on a viol. These English lute songs
and Latin settings were never pub-
lished, nor are they found in any
other contemporary manuscript
source. One can only conjecture as
to why a full harmonizationwas sup-
plied them and not the other songs
in the collection. Perhapsthe com-
poser felt that these works demanded
an elaborateand studied accompani-
ment beyond the range of the ordi-
nary formulas for a lute continuo.
Whatever his reasons, we can be
grateful for them, because there is
all too little evidence of the kind of
harmonicthinkingthat existedin the
minds of the song composersof Wil-
son's generation. Mid-I7th-century
songs with lute tablature are com-
parativelyrareoutside of a few ama-
teurs' collections in which the lute
 THE c'CURIOUS ' ART OF JOHN WILSON
writing is of the most primitive kind.
The song, "Beauty which all men
admire," is a convenient starting
point for the study of Wilson's bi-
zarre harmonic imagination. It is not
among those provided with tablature.
At least two other manuscript ver-
sions are preserved, indicating that it
had some currency among the com-
poser's fellow musicians., It is ob-
Ex. IW
97
The text is a trivial Cavalier lyric
and one wonders why it should have
been selected for treatment in such
an unconventional fashion. If there
is some descriptive intent behind the
strange harmonic progressions it is
too subtle for the modern listener to
grasp. The harmonic structure de-
rives from a chromatically rising bass
which arrives at full cadences suc-

Beau-fy
which all men
od-mire coar-rec on chos - fns my de- sire.

Pride Scorn the serveva are that ush-erus un-+ofte fir. lndto so
a•nd
,I I , I

cer-fain loss we runtha+ + 9oughwe thrive we are un - done.

Servile
`nures love +hemmost, and but of bondage can - not boost;

ove them s)ill and live in scorn, for such vile use
--69"1I !
viously a tour de force, an experi-
mental work of the kind composers
in all ages have devised for their own
amusement and for the amazement
of their friends (see Ex. i).
9 The song is found in New York Public
Library, Ms. Drexel 4041, and in Oxford,
Library of Christ Church College, Ms. i7.
us they're born.
PCJ Hto,.
, .
cessively in G, Ab, A, Bb, B, and C
in rapid succession. There is no mod-
ulation in the ordinary sense; instead,
the ear is wrenched from one tonal
level to the next with no opportunity
to establish itself in the home key
until the final cadence. At the same

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
98 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
time, the melody is completely dia-
tonic, and the cadence formulasare
all quite conventional.This pre-tonal
harmonic style, in which the triads
are ambiguousas to mode, and every
tone can take on the characteristics
of a leading tone, is not peculiar to
Wilson. It exemplifiesthe Early Ba-
roque range of harmonic freedom
but carriedto a degree rarely found
in English music. The outcome in
this instanceis hardlya work of mu-
sical distinctionbut such was proba-
bly not intended.Here is John Wil-
son, "the pretender to buffonery,"
playing a lutanist'strick on his lis-
teners. It reveals a musicianwith a
droll and rationalisticturn of mind
who delightedin framinghis musical
ideasin patternssometimescarriedto
the point of absurdity.The signifi-
cance of this approachto composi-
tion will becomemoreapparentwhen
we consider his solo lute music.
Ex. 2
,•', e, •
the firs+ woV
Ojc;
j~
I'-"
Wilson is considerablymore artful
in his use of harmony in the lute
songs of the Bodleian manuscript.
The tablaturesreveal an astonishing
amount of harmonicinterestand va-
riety concealed between the rather
pedantic declamatory melodies and
the continuo bass lines, qualities
which could scarcely be deduced
from the lines themselves.The lute
part is spiced with accented passing
tones and non-chord tones. He is
fond of the sonorities of parallel
tenths and chainsof sixth chords;his
This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
favorite cadence chord is the domi-
nant seventh,frequently unprepared.
His dissonance seems crude when
transferredto the modern keyboard
instrumentbut quite appropriateto
the transparenttexture of the lute
writing. It is a dissonancewhich is
harmonicallyconceived and does not
develop from the continuity of the
inner voices. Sometimes it is moti-
vated by the text, but there is no
slavishpictorialism.It is evident that
the quality of the lyric as a whole in-
fluences the composer's choice of
harmoniesand selection of key. He
uses much greater freedom in the
choice of key than is found in the
work of the earlierlutanistsong com-
posers;F minor is a favorite tonality
for the setting of melancholyor ex-
pressive texts. A few excerpts, se-
lected from a great many possibili-
ties, can serve to illustrateWilson's
skill as a harmoniccolorist.
_ .,. j, I, ' •
I.
I
bu+ hec - - vyfo worn
:e
~ T1
Note the expressivedissonancein
Ex. 2 on the word "heavy,"brought
about by the unprepared 2nd be-
tween the f# in the lute part and the
gg in the voice, furtherintensifiedby
the delayed resolutionof the ascend-
ing bass moving from d# to, e.
The suspension on the word
"strikes,"at the end of the second
measure of Ex. 3, is correctly pre-
pared accordingto the rules of i6th-
century counterpoint,but the abrupt
introduction of a new voice in the
lute part,the f, gives a sharpand pun-
 THE
"cCURIOUS" ART OF JOHN WILSON 99
-
Ex.

1lift IAA
190. .

-d - U
IL-•

gent effect to the emphatic word of
the text.
The excerpt from one of the Latin
settings in Ex. 4 illustrates a device
which the composer was particularly
fond of using. Over a single harmony
in the lute part, the voice moves
freely through prominently placed
non-chord tones, in this case the note
d on the third beat of the first and
second measures. Although the lute
Ex. 4
max he often introduces a sharp dis-
sonant progression in the closing
measures of his songs. Here with ob-
vious pictorial intent the lute part
descends to the earth while the voice
rises to the stars, creating a spread of
three octaves between the solo and
the lute bass. The emergence of the
F major triad out of the harsh dis-
sonance preceding it is a striking
effect.

e
. te, pa-+er Sil -
vo-• ne, u-+or fin - i-urn

A)

sound would not sustain itself as sug-
gested in the score, the clash of the
minor sixth against the f# major triad
is pronounced.
The next example (Ex. 5) illus-
trates one of Wilson's most dissonant
cadences. With a fine feeling for cli-
Ex. 5
It would be unjust to a song com-
poser to demonstrate his style by
means of fragments; at least one com-
plete setting is required. A song
which reveals many of the elements
of Wilson's harmonic and melodic
technique is his setting of Thomas

would think.. h RP - res-+ri-ol

i+ a ter- s i gal - ax - y.

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 1 00 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Stanley's "Draw near, you lovers,
that complain," a metaphysical lyric
which would make severe demands
upon any composer. Stanley, a lesser
member of the school of John Donne,
wrote verse which was conspicuously
lacking in musical quality, full of ob-
scure imagery and strained conceits.
Nevertheless the musicians of the time
vied for the honor of collaborating
with him.'0 The particular lyric un-
der consideration (Ex. 6) is a typical
product of his pen, an epitome of
I7th-century melancholy, with the
virtue of sustaining a single emotional
quality throughout.
Wilson gives the text a modified
strophic setting. The first two stanzas
are set to the same music, with altered
declamation in the second; the third
stanza achieves an effective contrast
by meansof a change in tonality
from the dominant of A minor to G
major. The slow descending line of
the first phrase, with its sudden quick-
ening and return to the high register
on the words, "and to my ashes lend
a tear" (mm. 5-6), gives a sensitive
expression to the meaning of the text.
The unexpected dissonance of the
note c in the lute part in m. 13, first
beat, and again in m. 30o,adds a touch
of poignancy, as do the slow synco-
pations in the second stanza at the
words, "softly, O softly mourn"
(mm. 29-3i). The coda-like section
of eight measures which concludes
the song reveals an intensity of feel-
ing found in certain Italian monodies
of the period. The voice enters on an
f over an A minor triad and then falls
to the g# a diminished seventh below,
and the final measures are heightened
with expressive dissonance. Dowland
in his most doleful and
melancholy
10
Henry Lawes set a number of Stanley
lyrics, and the entire contents of John Gam-
ble's First Book of Ayres and Dialogues (1656)
consists of settings of Stanley's verse.
This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
vein seems restrainedin comparison
with this song. The emotionseemsall
the more intense because it is af-
fected. The conventionalizedexcess
of Stanley'slyric is perfectly matched
in Wilson's music.
The song exhibits one feature of
style distinguishingWilson from his
English contemporaries,namely his
feeling for long, continuousmelodic
phrases.The declamatoryair in the
handsof Henry Lawes, for example,
tends to break down into a succes-
sion of short-windedfragmentssep-
arated by strong cadences. Wilson,
on the other hand,never fails to ob-
serve the continuity of line, which in
turn dependsupon the broadunitsof
poetic thought. In Stanley's lyric
there is only one full stop midway in
the first stanzaafter the word "tear."
Here the music comes to a momen-
tary rest, but elsewhere its flow is
maintained by means of deceptive
cadences.There is a certainflexibility
in the vocal line which grows out of
the sensitive declamation;but if one
placesthis song besidean airof Dow-
landor Daniel,its rhythmicregularity
immediatelybecomes apparent.The
lute part performsthe function of a
true continuo;the harmonyis firmly
supportedby the bass, and the inner
voices do not sustainmelodic lines of
any interest as such. These observa-
tions are importantin placing Wil-
son's work in its proper historical
perspective. He does not belong
among the lutanist song writers of
the first decades of the century; he
is a true representativeof the English
Early Baroque,althoughsome of the
moredistinctivefeaturesof the Italian
song style, which have been taken as
definitive marksof the new era, are
lacking in his work.
Baroquesong in all the European
countrieshadits beginningsin literary
theory, and it progressed, at rates of
 THE "CURIOUS"1 ART OF JOHN WILSON 101

Ex. 6
5 f
I4I O lif

I"
PWI I "ilkI I" I"

Drwner +h+ o -pI inoff -n, o

addi~~
L 20'*Pmdb yes
yu- .r you sod -•
ledotm-Metteroble. "t "l'ho'lnpdsotethrlenty

A
sones, whose cold em-roces__ do victim. hid th? poi to Bou yon Love'
TLL
I101%
1 W
r=I F, 15 - = = = I -'. rJ '

j
J
l~l 1I,nor
l, ' j !+law
I71 sing to
"J _ died.
l-to• * No
I, ~ no Epicedium
I , bring, ,
peoaceful
recjuiem AL
rF*verse,__

chodrmthe terrors of my hearsle; no pro-phone numbers mustflow neolrthe soced

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
102 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Ex. 6-Continued

silence hat dwells here. Vasa griefsare dumb; soff-ly Oh soft -

45

MJIV% I lie
Id

A•- - I !•
FEW.. . i
J J I ll l
_ _ ,, l
. ,,L
I I
on mydismol grve such s you hove fors ken Cypress, and
k off'rings
... ,,
.--q ••
. ..
, '
. ?I.140.
or
q • Ir , j
-I FA
7 l , FI

on m imlgaesc f rng syuhv os pes n

eo mr. u rdufset,
my toke no ot weep my
e growth nd syre Here
sad yew, for kinder
ou frees
Weepyur can tirth or duostk fromthis unhappy

50

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 THE "CURIOUS" ART OF JOHN WILSON
Ex. 6-Concluded
lies po Love and
Fa•e
IL.II&l_1
speed governed by the varying na-
tional traditions, in the direction of
pure musical form. In Wilson's songs
few of the decisive steps in that prog-
ress were taken. Apart from his de-
veloped sense of harmonic color and
an incipient feeling for form based on
tonality, he used none of the devices
which led the Italians along the path
to the opera and the chamber cantata.
There is no antithesis between aria
and recitative, no recitative as such,
no forms developed by means of
ostinato, sequence, or the use of ritor-
nello. The unrelieved effort to trans-
late word rhythms into melody set
a limit upon the degree to which his
art could develop. He was caught
between two incompatible trends, a
song tradition which demanded the
artistic fusion of words and music
and a new spirit in lyric verse which
was moving in a direction music could
not follow. Since the poets could not,
or would not, modify their require-
ments, the musicians had to adjust as
best they could. But it was not until
composers like Purcell and Blow had
the audacity to rip a text to pieces
and reassemble it in conformity with
their musical ideas that the transition
to the Middle Baroque style became
complete in England. John Wilson
was one of the last of the
English
to writetruedeclam- (1655).
songcomposers 12
atory airs designed, as Henry Lawes
put it, "to shape notes to the words
This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
103
an - qual soc-
ri-lice.
and sense."1 In the pagesof Wilson's
autographmanuscriptmidway in the
I7th century, one can trace the dis-
integrationof the last elementsof the
Renaissancelute ayre and observethe
transformationof the lute from a
polyphonicto a continuoinstrument.
Looking toward the other end of the
century, one can see in his harmonic
skill, his treatmentof dissonance,and
his love of sonority the elements in
Englishmusicwhich persistedin spite
of the increasingpressureof foreign
influences.But it would be smallsatis-
faction to any composer to be re-
garded merely as a transitionfigure.
Does Wilson deserve any more than
that? In my opinion he does, and the
evidenceis found not only in his lute
songs in the Bodleianmanuscriptbut
in his solo lute music as well, pre-
servedin the samesourceandthus far
ignored by studentsof 17th-century
English music.
The full story of the lute in Eng-
land has never been told; nor can it
be told until scholarshave completed
the investigationof the rich body of
source material to be found in the
BritishMuseum,the CambridgeUni-
versity Library, and other British
and continentalcollections.12 Richard
11 The phrase occurs in Lawes's preface to
his Second Book of Ayres and Dialogues
A comprehensive study of solo lute music
in England has recently been undertaken by
a young Cambridge University scholar, David
104 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Newton,in 1938,wasoneof the first others have the characterof mono-

to explorethis fieldanddrawatten- thematic ricercars,tightly organized
tion to a great wealth of solo lute polyphonic works in which a single
musicworthyof consideration along melodic idea displays itself in all
with the vocalmusicof "thegolden voices. Sometimes the composer
age."13John Wilson'swork in this adopts the "broken" style so well
veincomesattheendof thatdevelop- suited to the naturalcapacitiesof his
ment(if, indeed,it belongswithinthe instrument.Here the harmonyis out-
sameframeof reference);a full ap- lined in arpeggiosand other broken
preciationof his contributionmust chord figurations, and the normal
awaitthe roundingout of the earlier three-voice writing is reduced to
detailsof the picture. two. Passagesof this kind are often
All thatwe knowof Wilson'ssolo introduced for purposes of contrast
lute compositionis containedin the between sections of chordal struc-
opening22 pages of his autograph ture.14
manuscript. Here is a set of 30 lute The most remarkablefeature of
pieces,actually 28 different composi- this group of lute pieces is the fact
tionssince2 of themarerepeatedin that they are all part of a large-scale
variantforms.They bearno distinc- tonal plan-a featurewhich does not
tivetitlesbutexamination revealsthat become apparentuntil one has ana-
they are freelycomposedlute fanta- lyzed the set as a whole. They com-
sias or, as Wilson'scontemporariesprise a unified collection of fantasias
mightprefer,lute voluntaries. They in every single major and minor key
areall in duplemeterandshownone and thus belong to that select group
of thecharacteristicsof stylizeddance of works of which Bach's Well-tem-
or variationforms,nor do they seem pered Clavieris the best known ex-
to be basedon specificvocal or in- ample.John Wilson's"well-tempered
strumental models.Harmonicinterest lute"may in fact claimthe distinction
outweighsmelodyas a rule,although of being the earliesteffort at
therearea numberof piecesin which matic compositionin all keys.15syste-
the uppervoice carnes a song-like The sequencefollowed by the com-
melody accompaniedby the lower poser in moving through the com-
voices.The typicalthree-voicelute plete system of keys is puzzling.The
style predominates, but the texture first fantasiais in A minor, the sec-
occasionallythickensto fouror even ond in Bb major, which seems to
fivepartsor thinsto a passagein two- promisean ascendingseriesof tonali-
voice writing. Apart from certain ties. The next three pieces, however,
generalsimilaritiesin style the pieces returnto the key of A (minor,
differwidelyin textureandconstruc- minor), followed by two in Ebmajor,
tion. Somemove in solemnchordal major
14 A detailed analysis of Wilson's lute style
treatmentfrom beginningto end; cannot be attempted here. The author is pre-
paring an edition of Wilson's lute music for
Lumsden. The first fruits of his research have publication in the near future, at which time
appeared in two articles, "The Sources of a fuller analysis will be undertaken.
English Lute Music (1540-1620)," The Galpin 15 It is impossible to determine the exact
Society Journal VI (July, 1953), pp. 14-22; date at which Wilson's lute pieces were writ-
and "The Lute in England," The Score, No. ten. They are found in a manuscript that was
8 (Sept., 1953), pp. 36-43. completed sometime before 1656, the date at
13 Richard Newton, "English Lute Music which it was accessioned by the Bodleian Li-
of the 'Golden Age,' " Proceedings of the brary. They are entered first in a collection of
Musical Association LXV (1938-9), pp. 63- more than 2oo songs. Probably they were com-
90. posed between 0640 and
I65o.

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 THE ART OF JOHN WILSON 105
"CURIOUS"7
and three in C (minor, minor, major). "tonality" must be used with some
Thereafter the compositions occur in qualifications in any discussion of
pairs with the minor key usually pre- mid-i7th-century music. The two
ceding the major, but the order of principal modes, major and minor,
key succession seems to have no ra- were well defined by this time, and
tional basis. The original order can they had begun to take on something
be observed in Table I below. of the affective contrast which we
TABLEI
ORIGINAL ORDER OF WILSON'S LUTE FANTASIAS*
I A minor [ 9] ii D minor [19] 21 Ab major
2 Bb major [Io] I2 D major 22 Ab minor
[ ] 3 A minor [II] 13
G minor [2o] 23 B minor
[ 2] 4 A major [21] 14 G major [21i] 24 B major
[ 3 5 A minor [13] 15 E minor 25 Cg (or Db) major
[4] 6 Eb major [14] 16 E major 26 CGminor
[ 5] 7 Eb major [15] 17 F minor 27 C# (or Db) major
[ 6] 8 C minor [16] 18 F major 28 F# minor
[ 7 1 9 C minor ['7] I9 Bb minor 29 Fg (or Gb) major
[ 8] io C major [18] 2o Bb major 3o Eb minor
* The fantasias have been numbered consecutively from I to 30 for purposes of
identification in the present paper. The numbers in brackets, from [11 to [z21], are
assigned in the original Ms. Nos. 2 and 20o are variants of the same composition; so
also are Nos. 25 and 27.

It is possiblethatthe orderin which ascribe to them today; but the har-

these pieces were enteredin the Bod-
leian manuscriptwas tentative, and
that the composerintended to make
a final selection of 24, one in each
major and minor key, to constitute
the set. One can do no more than
conjecture on this point, but there
can be no doubt that the set was con-
ceived as a whole to demonstratethe
capacitiesof the lute for performance
in all keys. The terms "key" and
Ex. 7
.. --
monic relationshipswithin any given
tonality were infinitely subtle and
varied, not yet having taken on the
simple tonal perspective enforced
upon the harmonyof the classic pe-
riod. Wilson pays his respectsto the
home key in the opening and closing
measuresof his fantasias,but between
these points he moves freely through
almost every triad in the chromatic
spectrum (see Ex. 7). After the point
From FantasiaNo. 5 in A Minor
, I I IF 1 • i
Fq. •

j j ,J d ,,j b
_.
d"
; i
, I - • I,,
r
_.IJ.. 4 g" i 97
III I
_::| I r

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 IO6 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
where the example breaks off, the
bass descends by semitones for ten
measures.
Wilson was a practical,not a theo-
retical, musician.So far as we know
he had no theory of equal tempera-
ment to advance,no new system of
lute tuning such as Thomas Mace at-
tempted to promote as a means of
playing easily in remote keys.'6 His
approach was that of the virtuoso
anxiousto prove to his own satisfac-
tion that no technical problem was
beyond his skill. His accomplishment
was probablyuniquefor its time, but
it cannot be said that he was out of
touch with the spirit of his age, for
the I7th-centurywas as prone to ex-
perimentin the artsas in the scientific
fields. Wilson's set of fantasiaswas a
kind of thesaurusof harmonicprac-
tice which had its precedentin some
of the scholastic pieces in the Fitz-
william Virginal Book, for example,
John Bull's hexachordfancy, which
introduces twelve statements of its
subject, each on a differentdegree of
the chromatic scale;"7 or, in another
medium, the younger Ferrabosco's
fantasia for viols which employs a
similar series of hexachordson suc-
cessive steps of the chromaticscale,
both ascendingand descending.'"But
such hexachordcompositionscontain
an element of archaismin the fact
that their technique is basically an
extension of the old cantus firmus
16 Mace advocated what he called the "Flat
Tuning" as superior to the customary tuning,
particularly for playing in keys with many
flats or sharps. See Musick's Monument
(1676), pp. 172-3.
17 Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (London and
Leipzig, 1899), Vol. I, p. 183.
is See Ernest Walker's description of this
fantasia in "An Oxford Book of Fancies,"
Musical Antiquary III (i912), pp. 65-73. An-
other 4-part version of the same work is found
in Cambridge, King's College, Rowe Library;
and a 5-part version occurs in the recently
discovered Tregian Anthology (British Mu-
seum, Ms. Eger. 3665),
This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
technique. Wilson has freed himself
completely from any dependence
upon the scholastic forms, and his
venture into remote keys is restricted
only by the skill of his hand and the
capacity of his instrument.
The lute was of course the ideal
instrumentfor harmonicexperimen-
tation. Charles van den Borren has
observed:19
The lutanists, who were not troubled
by the restrictive rules of vocal music and
of the traditional notation, and who had
not to pay attention to the limits imposed
by unequal temperament of the keyboard
instruments, preceded the virginalists in
the use of exceptional modifications. From
the first half of the, 6th century we find
them making use of A-sharp, of D-flat, of
E-sharp, and even of F-double sharp.
With such a flexiblemediumat their
disposal,it is surprisingto find that
the English lutanistsbefore and after
Wilson were quite conservative in
their use of chromaticismand remote
keys. It may be that furtherexamples
will come to light as our knowledge
of the lute repertoire grows, but
David Lumsdenin a recent paperon
solo lute music in England calls at-
tentionto only two chromaticfancies
by Dowland as exemplifyingthe use
of "a device found nowhere else in
English lute music."20 Thomas Mace,
writing some 20 years after Wilson
presentedhis manuscriptto the Bod-
leian, and not more than two years
after the composer'sdeath, presents
his readers with some examples of
lute lessons in the key of B major
with the following statement: "And
now shall follow a sett in B-mi-key,
Natural; which I never yet see set
upon the Lute. It being a key (as
some say) very Unapt, andImproper
19 Charles van den Borren, The Sources of
Keyboard Music in England (London, 1913),
p. 323n.
o0David Lumsden, "The Lute in England."
 THE iCURIOUS7
to Compose anything in."21 What
would Mace have had to say about a
fantasia in CQ major or Eb minor? It
is obvious that he had no knowledge
of Wilson's work. His only purpose
in introducing what he considered an
exceptional key was to demonstrate
the advantages of his own system of
"Flat Tuning." Elsewhere in Musick's
Monument (1676) he singles out
John Dowland and Robert Johnson
as outstanding lute performers of the
old school, but there is no mention
of John Wilson. There may be an
unwitting reference to our composer,
however, in Mace's complaint that
the lute's decline in popularity was
due largely to the fact that it had
been cultivated as an esoteric instru-
ment by virtuosi who did everything
to encourage the belief that it was
difficult to play. Wilson may have
been one of those who kept his art
as a jealously guarded trade secret.
Satisfied to be known as the "Pro-
found Orpheus" who could "ensnare
the souls" of his listeners, he had no
interest in sharing the secrets of his
technique with any other musician.
Wilson's virtuosity does not reveal
itself in the expected ways. It is
strange to find a skillful lutanist who
does not seek to exploit the brilliance
of his treble course, but Wilson rarely
moves above the third fret of his top
string. On the lower strings, how-
ever, he does not hesitate to go as
high as the tenth or eleventh fret.
Evidently he preferred the richer
quality of the lower registers of his
lute. The instrument was a 23- or
24-stringed tenor lute with six bass
courses; it must have been character-
ized by a fine resonance. The upper
six courses were tuned in the G-tun-
ing common to most English lute
music (G c f a d' g'), but the
tuning
21 Thomas Mace, Musick's Monument
(1676), p. I73.
This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ART OF JOHN WILSON 107
of the basses was variable, determined
by the key in which the performer
was playing. Each tablature bears an
indication of the proper tuning for
the particular piece involved. As one
might expect from the character of
his lute songs. Wilson's forte as a vir-
tuoso lay in his harmonic ingenuity.
The melodic writing is not ornate,
decorated with embellishments or
rapid divisions, but the complicated
finger positions (stops) call for a left
hand of considerable skill. Thomas
Mace could have had Wilson's music
in mind when he said: "Yea, such
Stops have I seen, that I do still won-
der how a Mans Hand could stretch
to perform some of them, and with
such swiftness of Time as has been
set down."'22
Unhampered by the requirements
of text setting or the rhythms of dec-
lamation, the composer could give
free rein to his harmonic imagination.
But there were problems as well as
advantages resulting from the absence
of a text; the composer was forced to
organize his materials in purely mu-
sical terms since he had no lyric form
to support the structure or dictate
the details of expression. It is ex-
tremely interesting to see how Wil-
son, an habitual song composer, met
the problems of free composition.
His approach is definitely construc-
tive rather than rhapsodic. The fan-
tasias seem to have an improvisatory,
almost aimless, character at first
glance, but closer analysis reveals
them to be organized with great care.
A favorite device, and one which can
be recognized as a stereotype of Wil-
son's style, is the use of long ascend-
ing or descending lines in the bass,
sometimes chromatic as in Ex. 7,
sometimes diatonic as in the fantasia
No. 27, in Db, where the Db major
scale mounts in half notes through
22 Mace, op. cit., p. 41.
IO8 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
two full octaves against eighth-note lead to an emphatic return to B ma-
passage work in the upper voice. Ex- jor, but the conclusion is prolonged
tended pedal points are fairly com- by the abrupt introduction of a ma-
mon, and sequential figures occur jor triad on the flat 7th degree (four
much more frequently than they do measures from the end). This par-
in the lute songs. The effect of con- ticular chord, not used elsewhere in
tinuity produced by the use of de- the piece, strikes the listener com-
ceptive cadences, so noticeable in the pletely unawares. In spite of the flag-
vocal pieces, is also present in the rant use of parallel 5ths in moving
lute solos. The sureness of Wilson's from a B major to an A major triad
harmonic sense is particularly evident in root position, the effect is calcu-
in the closing sections of his pieces. lated and sounds well in lute per-
He may wander far afield in his formance,
From Fantasia No. 24 in B Major
Ex. 8

modulations but he knows how to Several of the fantasias can be de-

dramatize the return to the tonic key scribed as 6tudes, or preludes, unified
-witness the concluding measures by the predominant use of a single
of fantasia No. 24 in B major (see idea: motif, rhythmic figure, or
Ex. 8). structural device. One of the most
Four measures of dominant pedal successful is No. 17, in F minor,

Beginning of Fantasia No. 17 in F Minor

Ex. 9

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 THE "CURIOUS)) ART OF JOHN WILSON 109
which is a study in suspensions. The is devoted to it. The passage moves
first thirteen measures are given in in a typical lute configuration of
Ex. 9. closely spaced triads in root position
Here again the bass is essentially and first inversion (see Ex. io).

From Fantasia No. 26 in C# Minor

Ex. io

a long descending line; the phrase An even more extreme example is

structure is irregular. Melodic in-
terest is reduced to a minimum,but
an effect of great expressivebeauty
is achieved through the use of de-
layed resolutionsand accented pass-
ing tones.
The texture becomes more com-
plicated and the dimensionsof the
works enlargeas the composermoves
into the more unusual keys. The
fantasiasare thus arrangedroughly
in an order of increasingdifficulty,
beginning with the simple, prelude-
like fantasiaNo. I in A minor to the
rich and highly involved No. 30 in
Eb minor.The chromaticismlikewise
becomes more conspicuous toward
the end of the series. When Wilson
uses chromaticismhe uses it to ex-
cess. All voices participate in the
chromaticmotion. In his fantasiaNo.
26, in Cg minor, a complete section
found in the last fantasia, No. 30 in
Eb minor. Here a passage very much
like the preceding is further clouded
by the use of appoggiaturas and aux-
iliary notes. The result is a bewilder-
ing flight into the realm of atonality
which must have been extremely
confusing to the ears of I7th-cen-
tury musicians. One can begin to ap-
preciate Henry Lawes's complaint
that he had but a dull understanding
of some of the departures in Wilson's
music (see Ex. i i).
It should be stated that this ex-
ample and the one precedingare
contrastingsectionsof chromaticism
placed between passages of chordal
diatonic harmony. Wilson knew bet-
ter than to sustainsuch progressions
throughout the length of a complete
piece.
One final exampleis requiredto

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
IIO JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
From Fantasia No. 30 in Eb Minor
Ex. ii
show the way in which the com-
poser handled a composition in poly-
phonic style. Polyphony on the lute
is at best a compromise. The lines
can be suggested but not sustained as
they can be by a group of voices or
viols. Wilson accepts this limitation;
his polyphonic ideas are motific
rather than linear. In this instance a
short theme, two measures in length,
is tossed from voice to voice, under-
going a series of harmonizations
which reveal it in all possible tonal
perspectives. The composer treats
the theme as though it were an ob-
ject held up to the light, turned over,
examined from every point of view
(see Ex. I2).
This fantasia, No. I6 in E major,
is remarkable for the compactness of
its design. The whole organization is
centered in a series of statements of
the brief theme. In the example the
principal statements are indicated by
a line drawn above or below the no-
tation; secondary or derived state-
ments, by a dotted line. The first few
statements are separated so that the
This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
composition seems to gather its mo-
mentum deliberately; from mm. 20-
30 the intervals between the entries
are decreased, and the statements oc-
cur in dominant progression (F#, B,
E, etc.), producing a stretto-like ef-
fect. After a five measure episode
(mm. 30-35), the theme enters boldly
in the dominant of E major, the har-
mony moves to a tonic pedal, and
for the last seven measures the theme
dissolves in a series of rhythmic
echoes of itself. Harmony controls
the development throughout-har-
mony that is bold and willful and as
individually conceived as that of
Frescobaldi. In fact, John Wilson's
musical personality bears a close re-
semblance to that of his Italian con-
temporary, whom Willi Apel has
aptly described as "a unique mixture
of an imaginative artist and a reflec-
tive scholar."23 In his E major fan-
tasia Wilson is working in a form
which is superficially akin to the
I6th-century instrumental canzona,
23 Willi Apel, Masters of the Keyboard
(Cambridge, Mass., 1947), p. 79.
 1
THE "CURIOUS ART OF JOHN WILSON III

FantasiaNo. I6 in E Major
Ex. I2

20

I I

a W m
It I F XI

A-- • •J : •
•-•, -..,..:
.
i..
. .. "

This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 12 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
but his treatment of the material is
such as only a Baroque musician
could have devised.
Anyone who attempts to make an
objective evaluation of Wilson as a
composer may feel that his musician-
ship is impaired by some rather ob-
vious deficiencies. For one thing, he
seems lacking in melodic skill, a fea-
ture which is noticeable in both his
songs and his solo lute pieces. He will
often achieve an opening phrase of
striking beauty but then fail to sus-
tain the melodic interest. He has a
tendency to return too often to the
high point of his line thus destroying
its shape and balance. His melodic
thought is tied too closely to de-
clamatory technique; he seldom ex-
hibits the fresh tunefulness that en-
livens the work of William Lawes,
for example. Another fault stems
from his too rigid adherence to sche-
matic devices: extended stepwise mo-
tion of the bass, excessive chromati-
cism, overworking of a particular
motif. But these are faults which dis-
appear if we give the composer the
benefit of a historical evaluation;
they grow from the predicament in
which every Baroque musician found
This content downloaded from 185.44.79.191 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:51:50 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
himself if he dared to venture be-
yond the safe confines of the stile
antico. The ostinato bass and the
strophic variation, which can be tedi-
ous beyond measure in the hands of
an inferior composer, were attempts
to solve the same problems of
structure. In the early 17th century
the traditional patterns of musical
thought were disrupted as decisively
as they were some 300 years later in
the opening years of the 20oth cen-
tury, which is one of the reasons
why the early Baroque has such a
fascination for our own time. Wilson
was apparently not attracted by the
new developments in Italian music,
but he could not have been ignorant
of them. He attempted, instead, to
solve the problems in his own terms.
Whatever his intrinsic worth as a
composer, it is significant that a mu-
sician of his kind could develop in
England during the first half of the
i7th century. It suggests that the
generalizations so long accepted as to
the inferiority and provincialism of
English music during that period
might bear reconsideration.
Universityof California,Berkeley