Details
Like others of Dowland's lute songs, the piece's musical form and style are based on a dance, in this case the pavan. It was first published in The Second Booke of Songs or Ayres of 2, 4. and 5. parts (London, 1600). The song begins with a falling tear motif, starting on an A and descending to an E by step on the text "Flow my tears". This may have been borrowed from an Orlande de Lassus motet or Luca Marenzio madrigal,(this type of motif was common in Elizabethan music to signify grief) in addition to other borrowings in the piece. Anthony Boden calls the song "probably the most widely known English song of the early 17th century."
Read more about this topic: Flow My Tears
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