The "Curious" Art of John Wilson (1595-1674):

An Introduction to His Songs and Lute Music

BY VINCENT DUCKLES

JOHN WILSON'S SMALL PLACE in mu- twenty he collaborated with Lanier

sical and literary history has been and Coperario to provide music for
due in large part to reflected glory the Masque of Flowers (1614). In
from the light of Shakespeare. A few 1632 he appeared as the composer of
slight and charming settings by Wil- the songs for Richard Brome's play,
son of such lyrics as "Take, O take The Northern Lass. In 1622 a John
those lips away," "Where the bee Wilson, presumably the composer
sucks," and "Lawn as white as driven under consideration, was appointed
snow," are mentioned in all studies to the company of the London waits
of Shakespeare music. Rimbault held "upon trial had of that his sufficiency
an attractive theory, which has never and judgement."2 Although men-
been fully substantiated, that John tioned as a musician in the court
Wilson could be identified with Jack records as early as I635, he did not
Wilson, a singing boy in Shake- achieve the eminence of a "Gentle-
speare's company; whether true or man of the Royal Chapel" until after
not the theory has given further the death of his colleague, Henry
weight to the association with the Lawes, whose place he assumed in
great dramatist.' But Wilson's status 1662. Like Lawes, Wilson was a
as a composer in his own right has lutanist and a counter-tenor, and as
never been appraised. The long ca- such took part in numerous court
reer of this musician, which coin- masques and entertainments in the
cided with one of the most eventful years preceding the Civil War. He
periods in British history and in- was highly regarded at court as a
volved responsible posts in city, chamber singer, a man with a good
voice and a skillful hand on the lute,
court, and university music, deserves
more attention that can be claimed who delighted court society with his
by a mere eddy in Shakespeare schol-
performance of the light love lyrics
arship. His songs in the printed col-
of the day. It was reported by An-
lections from 1652 onwards are sec-thony Wood that Charles I used to
ond only to those of Henry Lawesstand
in with his hand on Wilson's
number, and the manuscript sources shoulder while the musician sang, not
sustain the impression of his popu- an uncommon mark of royal ap-
larity. proval since Nicholas Lanier and the
Wilson's musical activity, except Lawes brothers enjoyed the same
during the interval of the Common- favor. During the Civil War, Wilson
wealth, was closely connected with retreated to Oxford with the court
the life of the court either in Lon- and for a period of about ten years
don or in Oxford. Before he was lived in the residence of Sir William
1 Edward F. Rimbault, Who was Jack Wil- 2 Walter L. Woodfill, Musicians in English
son, the Singer of Shakespeare's Stage? (Lon-Society from Elizabeth to Charles I (Prince-
don, x86I). ton, 1953), p. 42.

93
94 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

more in the nature of a sinecure, a

Walter, a wealthy music-lover near
the city. An Oxford Doctor of Music
reward for his royalist sympathies,
degree was conferred upon himthan
in for any real demand for his
I644, and in i656 he was made Pro- services.

fessor of Music at that University,A vivid picture of Wilson as a

relinquishing that post at the Restora- musician and as a personality stems
tion to return to the King's Musick from his period at Oxford, thanks to
in London. the observations of that alert musical
John Playford, the publisher, wasamateur, Anthony Wood. Wood
quick to recognize the popularity of makes it clear that Wilson was the
Wilson's songs and printed more than leading spirit of the little group of
50 of them in his series of collections Oxford musicians who met at the
beginning with Select Musical Ayres home of Will Ellis to make music
and Dialogues in i652. Wilson him- during the troubled days of the war.
self appeared as editor of a collection Here we see Wilson as a vigorous
printed in Oxford in I66o under the and forceful character, who "some-
title, Cheerful Ayres and Ballads, and times played the lute, but mostly
described as the first piece of musicpresided the consort." In Wood's
printing to issue from that city. It is phrase, "he was a great pretender to
devoted almost entirely to songsbuffonery, and the greatest and most
composed early in Wilson's career,curious judge of music that ever
with several additional pieces bywas." The I8th century, however,
Robert Johnson and Nicholas Lanier.made short work of Wilson's reputa-
Three years earlier, in 1657, Wilsontion. It was Dr. Burney's view that
had provided musical settings forthe only thing which could account
Thomas Stanley's version of the for the prestige of a musician of Wil-
eikon basilike, issued as Psalterium
son's caliber was the extraordinarily
Carolinum, the Devotions of his low level of musical life in Oxford in
Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and the i7th century. "Little had been
Sufferings. The composer was 62heard, and but little was expected."4
when this publication appeared, andMore recent historians have sought to
he resolved, according to a statement justify his fame in reasons other than
in his preface, that this tribute to thehis musical gifts. Nagel suggests that
murdered Charles would be "the last it was his strong personality and his
of his labours." Although he lived for talents as an administrator which
another sixteen years at least, there is brought him into eminence.5 It is
little evidence that he departed from certain that he had a great deal to do
this resolution. There were musical with establishing the music school at
as well as personal reasons why heOxford; there are receipts in his own
should have ceased activity as a com-hand for the purchase of instruments
poser. Wilson's serious song style hadand the construction of improve-
become old fashioned by the time he ments in the buildings.
returned to the court in 1662. A new One can see the extent to which
taste in verse of a more popular, semi- 3 Anthony ' Wood, "Lives of English Mu-
sicians." Oxford, Bodleian Library, Ms. Wood
political kind was growing; the court
demanded ballads and French dance D.4I9Charles
(4).
Burney, A General History of
tunes-the kind of thing Charles II
Music, ed. Frank Mercer (London, 1935),
could tap his foot to. No doubt Wil-Vol. II, p. 314.
5 Wilibald Nagel, Geschichte der Musik in
son's Restoration appointment was
England (Strassburg, 1897), Vol. II, p. 212.
 THE "CURIOUS"7 ART OF JOHN WILSON 95
Wilson's fame has lapsed since his The phrase, "His curious hand his
own time by reading some of the fancy did bedeck," strikes a familiar
17th-century tributes to his art. A note in contemporary opinion. More
manuscript in the Bodleian Library than one writer of the time uses the
contains the versified impressions ofword, "curious," in alluding to Wil-
Sir Robert Southwell written while son's work. It appears in some verses
he was an undergraduate at Queen's by Robert Herrick addressed to
College." The subject which moved Henry Lawes: 7
this amateur poet to the heights of Then if thy voice commingle with the
artificial eloquence was "Dr. Wilson String
and his lute at Ellis his meeting, Dec.
I hear in thee the rare Laniere to sing
31, [i6]55." The phrases, extrava-
Or curious Wilson....
gant as they are, still convey the
writer's vivid experience: It must be stated that the ordinary
objective sense in which we use the
Silence! I saw from its dark coffin rise
term "curious" today, as suggesting
This prison'd Lute: and then I lost my something novel, strange, or queer,
eyes.
was not the common I7th-century
All senses did unite to bear a share,
usage. At that time it referred to a
And throng'd into the portals of mine ear.
The Profound Orpheus, seated with con-
quality of workmanship that was
tent, skillful or ingenious, or to a product
Deign'd to embrace the silent instrument, that was choice, excellent, or fine. It
But by the virtue of his hand's ex'cute, also had a subjective meaning in
Life trickled from his fingers on the lute, which it signified an act of judgment
Which, being inspired, first each grateful that was precise, clear, and well-de-
string fined-the usage intended by Wood
His power, his bounty, and his praises sing. in praising Wilson as a "most curious
Rhetorick of Raptures (at first dash) was judge of music." Still another conno-
there
tation of the term suggested the ab-
Drown'd in the wondering whirlpool of
mine ear; struse, intricate, or subtle qualities
Then he a new-born voluntary hurls which Henry Lawes must have had
in mind when he wrote in his com-
Through the conduit of its inward curls.
His curious hand his fancy did bedeck, mendatory verses to Wilson's Psalte-
And Musick followed every finger beck. rium Carolinum (1657):
He ruled that Sphere, and his command
was such From long acquaintance and experience, I
Could tell the World thy known integrity;
That, by the influence of a flying touch,
Unto thy Friend, thy true and honest heart,
Each gut ensnared a soul: never evok'd
Ev'n mind, good nature, all, but thy great
string
Art;
But to embrace his fingers with a. ring.
Which I but dully understand ...
I stood amazed such power in gut to see,
That from the Dung-hill took its pedegree. And further:
Fountain of Pleasure, all whose parts and
themes, For this I know, and must say't to thy
praise,
Whose slender strings are thy enchanting
streams; That thou hast gone, in Musick, unknown
ways,
Thy lustrous melody all Bliss can sum,
And waft a soul to its Elisium. Hast cut a path where there was none
before,
e Oxford, Bodleian Library, Ms. Eng. poet. Like Magellan traced an unknown shore...
f. 6. 7 Hesperides (1648).
96 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Henry Lawes was no mere layman grouped together in the first 22 pages
in musical matters. The fact that theof the volume.
most admired composer of his age It is evident that Wilson's manu-
should praise his colleague for mov- script was not, like some of the other
ing into music's "unknown ways"sources of the period, a composer's
should prompt a restudy of the songsworkbook full of miscellaneous jot-
dismissed so emphatically by Burney.tings for his daily use as a performer.
But it is difficult for modern ears It has the character of a deliberately
contrived opera omnia, a collection
to appreciate what was exceptional
which was compiled as an authorita-
about Wilson's style, at least on the
ground of his published songs. tive His source by the composer himself.
The calligraphy is extremely neat
settings in the Playford publications,
and in his own Cheerful Ayres, are and legible, and the manuscript is
certainly no better than the kindunmarked
of by practical use. In one
thing his fellow court musicians were
respect, however, it seems to be in-
producing in great quantity during complete. Most of the songs are given
the first half of the i7th century. in the treble and unfigured bass ar-
One is tempted to conclude that rangement common to song collec-
much of the attraction Wilson held tions of the time, but in Wilson's
for his contemporaries was due to manuscript space has been left for
the art of a performer with a per-the insertion of the lute tablature.
sonal, somewhat idiosyncratic style,
Not until the latter part of the manu-
the aspect of his work which is, un-script is the tablature added for a
fortunately, beyond recovery today.group of eighteen English songs and
A skillful musician with a lute in his nineteen settings of Latin verse,
hands and his own voice as the solo chiefly from Horace. The lute bass
instrument could bring quality and differs slightly from the continuo
conviction to the most unpromisingbass, which was presumably played
score; and it must be admitted thaton a viol. These English lute songs
many of Wilson's scores are sadly inand Latin settings were never pub-
need of that added ingredient. lished, nor are they found in any
There is, however, one source other contemporary manuscript
which provides a clue to Wilson'ssource. One can only conjecture as
reputation as a composer of rare andto why a full harmonization was sup-
curious songs, as well as a lutanist ofplied them and not the other songs
deep skill. This is the autographin the collection. Perhaps the com-
manuscript which he presented to the poser felt that these works demanded
Bodleian Library in about 1656 whenan elaborate and studied accompani-
he accepted the Oxford professor-ment beyond the range of the ordi-
ship.8 He stipulated at that time thatnary formulas for a lute continuo.
the manuscript was not to be con-Whatever his reasons, we can be
sulted by anyone until after his death,grateful for them, because there is
an attitude which suggests the de-all too little evidence of the kind of
liberate breaking off of at least oneharmonic thinking that existed in the
phase of his life as a composer. Theminds of the song composers of Wil-
manuscript contains some 220 songs,son's generation. Mid-I7th-century
including a number of dialogues, andsongs with lute tablature are com-
30 solo lute pieces, the latter allparatively rare outside of a few ama-
8 Oxford, Bodleian Library, Mus. B. I. teurs' collections in which the lute
 THE c'CURIOUS ' ART OF JOHN WILSON 97
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-
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-

Ex. IW

Beau-fy which

Pride and Scorn the serveva are that ush-er us un-+o fte fir. lnd to so
,I I , I

cer-fain l

Servile `n

ove them
--69 "1I ! PCJ , H .
viously a tour de force, an experi-
cessively in G, Ab, A, Bb, B, and C
mental work of the kind composers in rapid succession. There is no mod-
in all ages have devised for theirulation
own in the ordinary sense; instead,
amusement and for the amazement the ear is wrenched from one tonal
of their friends (see Ex. i).
level to the next with no opportunity
9 The song is found in New York Public
Library, Ms. Drexel 4041, and in Oxford, to establish itself in the home key
Library of Christ Church College, Ms. i7. until the final cadence. At the same
98 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
time, the melody is completely dia- favorite cadence chord is the domi-
tonic, and the cadence formulas are nant seventh, frequently unprepared.
all quite conventional. This pre-tonal His dissonance seems crude when
harmonic style, in which the triads transferred to the modern keyboard
are ambiguous as to mode, and every instrument but quite appropriate to
tone can take on the characteristics the transparent texture of the lute
of a leading tone, is not peculiar towriting. It is a dissonance which is
Wilson. It exemplifies the Early Ba-harmonically conceived and does not
roque range of harmonic freedom develop from the continuity of the
but carried to a degree rarely foundinner voices. Sometimes it is moti-
in English music. The outcome in
vated by the text, but there is no
this instance is hardly a work of mu- slavish pictorialism. It is evident that
sical distinction but such was proba- the quality of the lyric as a whole in-
bly not intended. Here is John Wil- fluences the composer's choice of
son, "the pretender to buffonery,"harmonies and selection of key. He
playing a lutanist's trick on his lis-uses much greater freedom in the
teners. It reveals a musician with a choice of key than is found in the
droll and rationalistic turn of mind work of the earlier lutanist song com-
who delighted in framing his musicalposers; F minor is a favorite tonality
ideas in patterns sometimes carried to for the setting of melancholy or ex-
the point of absurdity. The signifi- pressive texts. A few excerpts, se-
cance of this approach to composi-lected from a great many possibili-
tion will become more apparent whenties, can serve to illustrate Wilson's
we consider his solo lute music. skill as a harmonic colorist.
Ex. 2

, ', e, _ .,. j, I, ' I. I

the firs+ woV bu+ hec

Ojc;

j~ I'-" ~ T1

Wilson is considerably more artful

Note the expressive dissonance in
in his use of harmonyEx.
in2 the
on thelute
word "heavy," brought
songs of the Bodleian manuscript.
about by the unprepared 2nd be-
The tablatures reveal antween
astonishing
the f# in the lute part and the
amount of harmonic interest and
gg in the va-
voice, further intensified by
riety concealed between the rather
the delayed resolution of the ascend-
pedantic declamatory melodies and
ing bass moving from d# to, e.
the continuo bass lines,
Thequalities
suspension on the word
which could scarcely "strikes,"
be deducedat the end of the second
from the lines themselves. The
measure of lute
Ex. 3, is correctly pre-
part is spiced with accented passing
pared according to the rules of i6th-
tones and non-chord tones. He is century counterpoint, but the abrupt
fond of the sonorities of parallel
introduction of a new voice in the
tenths and chains of sixth chords; his
lute part, the f, gives a sharp and pun-
 THE "cCURIOUS" ART OF JOHN WILSON 99
Ex. -

190. 1lift I AA .

-d - U IL-

gent max he often introduces a sharp dis-

effect
the text.
sonant progression in the closing
The excerpt
measures of his songs. Here with ob-
vious pictorial intent the
settings in lute part E
whichdescends to the
the earth while the voice co
fond of
rises usin
to the stars, creating a spread of
in three octaves
the between
lute the solo and
the lute bass.
freely The emergence of the
throu
non-chord to
F major triad out of the harsh dis-
d on the third beat of the first and sonance preceding it is a striking
second measures. Although the luteeffect.
Ex. 4

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

A)

sound would not

It would be unjust sust
to a song com-
gested inposerthe
to demonstratescore,
his style by
minor means of fragments;
sixth againstat least one com- t
is plete setting is required. A song
pronounced.
The next
which revealsexample
many of the elements
trates one of Wilson's most dissonant of Wilson's harmonic and melodic
cadences. With a fine feeling for cli- technique is his setting of Thomas
Ex. 5

RP h -
would s i
think.. i+ a te
 1 00 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Stanley's "Draw near, you lovers,

vein seems restrained in comparison
that complain," a metaphysical lyric
with this song. The emotion seems all
which would make severe demands the more intense because it is af-
fected. The conventionalized excess
upon any composer. Stanley, a lesser
member of the school of John Donne,
of Stanley's lyric is perfectly matched
in Wilson's music.
wrote verse which was conspicuously
lacking in musical quality, full of ob-The song exhibits one feature of
scure imagery and strained conceits. style distinguishing Wilson from his
Nevertheless the musicians of the time
English contemporaries, namely his
vied for the honor of collaborating feeling for long, continuous melodic
with him.'0 The particular lyric un- phrases. The declamatory air in the
der consideration (Ex. 6) is a typical
hands of Henry Lawes, for example,
tends to break down into a succes-
product of his pen, an epitome of
I7th-century melancholy, with the
sion of short-winded fragments sep-
virtue of sustaining a single emotional
arated by strong cadences. Wilson,
quality throughout. on the other hand, never fails to ob-
Wilson gives the text a modifiedserve the continuity of line, which in
strophic setting. The first two stanzas
turn depends upon the broad units of
are set to the same music, with altered
poetic thought. In Stanley's lyric
declamation in the second; the third
there is only one full stop midway in
stanza achieves an effective contrast the first stanza after the word "tear."
by meansof a change in tonality Here the music comes to a momen-
from the dominant of A minor to G tary rest, but elsewhere its flow is
major. The slow descending line of maintained by means of deceptive
the first phrase, with its sudden quick- cadences. There is a certain flexibility
ening and return to the high register in the vocal line which grows out of
on the words, "and to my ashes lend the sensitive declamation; but if one
a tear" (mm. 5-6), gives a sensitive places this song beside an air of Dow-
expression to the meaning of the text. land or Daniel, its rhythmic regularity
The unexpected dissonance of the immediately becomes apparent. The
note c in the lute part in m. 13, first lute part performs the function of a
beat, and again in m. 30o, adds a touch true continuo; the harmony is firmly
of poignancy, as do the slow synco- supported by the bass, and the inner
pations in the second stanza at the voices do not sustain melodic lines of
words, "softly, O softly mourn" any interest as such. These observa-
(mm. 29-3i). The coda-like section tions are important in placing Wil-
of eight measures which concludes son's work in its proper historical
the song reveals an intensity of feel- perspective. He does not belong
ing found in certain Italian monodies among the lutanist song writers of
of the period. The voice enters on an the first decades of the century; he
f over an A minor triad and then falls is a true representative of the English
to the g# a diminished seventh below, Early Baroque, although some of the
and the final measures are heightened more distinctive features of the Italian
with expressive dissonance. Dowland song style, which have been taken as
in his most doleful and melancholy definitive marks of the new era, are
lacking in his work.
10 Henry Lawes set a number of Stanley
lyrics, and the entire contents of John Gam- Baroque song in all the European
ble's First Book of Ayres and Dialogues (1656) countries had its beginnings in literary
consists of settings of Stanley's verse. theory, and it progressed, at rates of
 THE "CURIOUS"1 ART OF JOHN WILSON 101
Ex. 6

5 f
I4I O lif

PWI I I " "ilkI I" I"

Drwner yu- .r +h+ o -pI inoff L addi~~ -n, 20'*Pmdb o yes

ledotm-Metteroble. "t you sod "l'ho'lnpdso - tethrlenty

A
sones, whose cold em-roces__ do victim. hid th? poi to Bou yon Love'

TLL

r= F, 15 I I 1 01% 1 - = = = I -'. W rJ '

j l~l l, ' j !+law

"J l-to _
died. No* I, J
~ rF*verse,__ I ,bring,1I
no Epicedium , ,recjuiem
nor peoaceful I71 sing toAL

chodrm the terrors of my hearsle; no pro-phone numbers mustflow neolr the soced
102 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Ex. 6-Continued

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

45

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

on m imlgaesc f rng syuhv os pes n

eo yew,
sad mr.for
Weepyur ucan
kinder frees outoke
r my dufset,
no tirth weep
or growth fromot e
this

50
 THE "CURIOUS" ART OF JOHN WILSON 103
Ex. 6-Concluded

lies po Love and Fae an - qual soc- ri-lice.

IL.II&l_1
speed governed by and the varying
sense." 1 In the pagesna-
of Wilson's
tional traditions, in the direction
autograph manuscript midway ofin the
pure musical form. I7th
In century,
Wilson's one can songs
trace the dis-
few of the decisive steps in
integration of that prog-of the
the last elements
ress were taken. Apart Renaissancefrom
lute ayrehis de- the
and observe
veloped sense of harmonic transformationcolor of the luteandfrom a
an incipient feeling for form
polyphonic basedinstrument.
to a continuo on
tonality, he used none Lookingof the
toward the devices
other end of the
which led the Italians along
century, one canthe
see in path
his harmonic
to the opera and the chamber
skill, his treatment ofcantata.
dissonance, and
There is no antithesis between aria his love of sonority the elements in
and recitative, no recitative as such, English music which persisted in spite
no forms developed by means of of the increasing pressure of foreign
ostinato, sequence, or the use of ritor- influences. But it would be small satis-
nello. The unrelieved effort to trans- faction to any composer to be re-
late word rhythms into melody set garded merely as a transition figure.
a limit upon the degree to which his Does Wilson deserve any more than
art could develop. He was caught that? In my opinion he does, and the
between two incompatible trends, a evidence is found not only in his lute
song tradition which demanded the songs in the Bodleian manuscript but
artistic fusion of words and music
in his solo lute music as well, pre-
served in the same source and thus far
and a new spirit in lyric verse which
was moving in a direction music could ignored by students of 17th-century
not follow. Since the poets could not,English music.
or would not, modify their require- The full story of the lute in Eng-
ments, the musicians had to adjust as land has never been told; nor can it
best they could. But it was not untilbe told until scholars have completed
composers like Purcell and Blow had the investigation of the rich body of
the audacity to rip a text to pieces source material to be found in the
and reassemble it in conformity with British Museum, the Cambridge Uni-
their musical ideas that the transition versity Library, and other British
to the Middle Baroque style becameand continental collections.12 Richard
complete in England. John Wilson
11 The phrase occurs in Lawes's preface to
was one of the last of the English
his Second Book of Ayres and Dialogues
song composers to write true declam-
(1655).
atory airs designed, as Henry Lawes 12 A comprehensive study of solo lute music
in England has recently been undertaken by
put it, "to shape notes to the words
a young Cambridge University scholar, David
 104 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

others have the character of mono-

Newton, in 1938, was one of the first
to explore this field and draw atten-
thematic ricercars, tightly organized
tion to a great wealth of solo lutepolyphonic works in which a single
music worthy of consideration alongmelodic idea displays itself in all
with the vocal music of "the goldenvoices. Sometimes the composer
age."13 John Wilson's work in this
adopts the "broken" style so well
vein comes at the end of that develop-
suited to the natural capacities of his
ment (if, indeed, it belongs within the
instrument. Here the harmony is out-
same frame of reference); a full ap- lined in arpeggios and other broken
preciation of his contribution must chord figurations, and the normal
await the rounding out of the earlierthree-voice writing is reduced to
details of the picture. two. Passages of this kind are often
All that we know of Wilson's solo introduced for purposes of contrast
lute composition is contained in the between sections of chordal struc-
opening 22 pages of his autographture.14
manuscript. Here is a set of 30 lute The most remarkable feature of
pieces, actually 28 different composi-this group of lute pieces is the fact
tions since 2 of them are repeated inthat they are all part of a large-scale
variant forms. They bear no distinc- tonal plan-a feature which does not
tive titles but examination reveals that become apparent until one has ana-
they are freely composed lute fanta- lyzed the set as a whole. They com-
sias or, as Wilson's contemporariesprise a unified collection of fantasias
might prefer, lute voluntaries. They in every single major and minor key
are all in duple meter and show noneand thus belong to that select group
of the characteristics of stylized dance of works of which Bach's Well-tem-
or variation forms, nor do they seempered Clavier is the best known ex-
to be based on specific vocal or in-ample. John Wilson's "well-tempered
strumental models. Harmonic interest lute" may in fact claim the distinction
outweighs melody as a rule, although of being the earliest effort at syste-
there are a number of pieces in which matic composition in all keys.15
the upper voice carnes a song-like The sequence followed by the com-
melody accompanied by the lower poser in moving through the com-
voices. The typical three-voice luteplete system of keys is puzzling. The
style predominates, but the texture first fantasia is in A minor, the sec-
occasionally thickens to four or even ond in Bb major, which seems to
five parts or thins to a passage in two- promise an ascending series of tonali-
voice writing. Apart from certainties. The next three pieces, however,
general similarities in style the piecesreturn to the key of A (minor, major,
differ widely in texture and construc- minor), followed by two in Eb major
tion. Some move in solemn chordal
14 A detailed analysis of Wilson's lute style
treatment from beginning to 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.
 THE "CURIOUS"7 ART OF JOHN WILSON 105
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

TABLE I
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 CG minor
[ 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.

ascribe to them today; but the har-

It is possible that the order in which
monic relationships within any given
these pieces were entered in the Bod-
leian manuscript was tentative, and tonality were infinitely subtle and
that the composer intended to make varied, not yet having taken on the
a final selection of 24, one in each
simple tonal perspective enforced
major and minor key, to constitute
upon the harmony of the classic pe-
the set. One can do no more than riod. Wilson pays his respects to the
conjecture on this point, but there
home key in the opening and closing
can be no doubt that the set was con- measures of his fantasias, but between
ceived as a whole to demonstrate the
these points he moves freely through
capacities of the lute for performancealmost every triad in the chromatic
in all keys. The terms "key" and spectrum (see Ex. 7). After the point
From Fantasia No. 5 in A Minor
Ex. 7
.. -- , I I IF 1 Fq. i

_. j j ,J d ,,j b
, ; I - I,, i d"
_ .IJ.. r
_:: III I | I r 4 97 i g"
 IO6 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
where the example breaks off, the technique. Wilson has freed him
bass descends by semitones for ten completely from any depend
measures.
upon the scholastic forms, an
Wilson was a practical, not a theo-
venture into remote keys is restri
retical, musician. So far asonly
we know
by the skill of his hand and
he had no theory of equalcapacity
tempera- of his instrument.
The lute was
ment to advance, no new system of of course the ideal
lute tuning such as Thomas Mace at-
instrument for harmonic experimen-
tempted to promote as atation.
means ofvan den Borren has
Charles
playing easily in remote keys.'6
observed: His
19
approach was that of the virtuoso
The lutanists, who were not troubled
anxious to prove to his own satisfac-
by the restrictive rules of vocal music and
tion that no technical problem was
of the traditional notation, and who had
beyond his skill. His accomplishment
not to pay attention to the limits imposed
was probably unique for itsby time, but
unequal temperament of the keyboard
it cannot be said that he was out of
instruments, preceded the virginalists in
touch with the spirit of his age,
the use for
of exceptional modifications. From
the I7th-century was as prone
the firstto
halfex-
of the, 6th century we find
periment in the arts as in the scientific
them making use of A-sharp, of D-flat, of
fields. Wilson's set of fantasias was
E-sharp, and a of F-double sharp.
even
kind of thesaurus of harmonic prac-
With such a flexible medium at their
tice which had its precedent in some
of the scholastic pieces indisposal,
the Fitz-it is surprising to find that
the English lutanists before and after
william Virginal Book, for example,
Wilson
John Bull's hexachord fancy, were quite conservative in
which
their use
introduces twelve statements ofofits
chromaticism and remote
keys.
subject, each on a different It may be
degree ofthat further examples
will come
the chromatic scale;"7 or, in another to light as our knowledge
of the lute repertoire grows, but
medium, the younger Ferrabosco's
David
fantasia for viols which employs Lumsdena in a recent paper on
solo on
similar series of hexachords lute suc-
music in England calls at-
cessive steps of the chromatic tention to only two chromatic fancies
scale,
both ascending and descending.'" But by Dowland as exemplifying the use
of "a device found nowhere else in
such hexachord compositions contain
an element of archaism inEnglish lute music."20 Thomas Mace,
the fact
that their technique is basically writing somean 20 years after Wilson
extension of the old cantus presented
firmus his manuscript to the Bod-
leian, and not more than two years
16 Mace advocated what he called the "Flat after the composer's death, presents
Tuning" as superior to the customary tuning, his readers with some examples of
particularly for playing in keys with many
flats or sharps. See Musick's Monument lute lessons in the key of B major
(1676), pp. 172-3. with the following statement: "And
17 Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (London and now shall follow a sett in B-mi-key,
Leipzig, 1899), Vol. I, p. 183.
is See Ernest Walker's description of this Natural; which I never yet see set
fantasia in "An Oxford Book of Fancies," upon the Lute. It being a key (as
Musical Antiquary III (i912), pp. 65-73. An- some say) very Unapt, and Improper
other 4-part version of the same work is found
in Cambridge, King's College, Rowe Library; 19 Charles van den Borren, The Sources of
and a 5-part version occurs in the recently Keyboard Music in England (London, 1913),
discovered Tregian Anthology (British Mu- p. 323n.
seum, Ms. Eger. 3665), o0 David Lumsden, "The Lute in England."
 THE iCURIOUS7 ART OF JOHN WILSON 107
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.
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 evidentin root position, the effect is calcu-
in the closing sections of his pieces. lated and sounds well in lute per-
formance,
He may wander far afield in his
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 (seeidea: 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
 THE "CURIOUS)) ART OF JOHN WILSON 109
which is a study in suspensions. Theis devoted to it. The passage moves
first thirteen measures are given inin 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 phraseAn even more extreme example is

found in the last fantasia, No. 30 in
structure is irregular. Melodic in-
terest is reduced to a minimum, but
Eb minor. Here a passage very much
an effect of great expressive beauty
like the preceding is further clouded
is achieved through the use of de-by the use of appoggiaturas and aux-
layed resolutions and accented pass-
iliary notes. The result is a bewilder-
ing tones. ing flight into the realm of atonality
The texture becomes more com-
which must have been extremely
plicated and the dimensions ofconfusing
the to the ears of I7th-cen-
works enlarge as the composer moves
tury musicians. One can begin to ap-
into the more unusual keys. The
preciate Henry Lawes's complaint
fantasias are thus arranged roughly
that he had but a dull understanding
in an order of increasing difficulty,
of some of the departures in Wilson's
music (see Ex. i i).
beginning with the simple, prelude-
like fantasia No. I in A minor to the It should be stated that this ex-
rich and highly involved No. 30 inample and the one preceding are
Eb minor. The chromaticism likewisecontrasting sections of chromaticism
becomes more conspicuous towardplaced between passages of chordal
the end of the series. When Wilson diatonic harmony. Wilson knew bet-
uses chromaticism he uses it to ex- ter than to sustain such progressions
cess. All voices participate in the throughout the length of a complete
chromatic motion. In his fantasia No. piece.
26, in Cg minor, a complete section One final example is required to
IIO JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

From Fantasia No. 30 in Eb Minor

Ex. ii

show the way in which the com- composition seems to gather its mo-
poser handled a composition in poly- mentum deliberately; from mm. 20-
phonic style. Polyphony on the lute 30 the intervals between the entries
is at best a compromise. The lines are decreased, and the statements oc-
can be suggested but not sustained cur
as in dominant progression (F#, B,
they can be by a group of voicesE, oretc.), producing a stretto-like ef-
viols. Wilson accepts this limitation; fect. After a five measure episode
his polyphonic ideas are motific (mm. 30-35), the theme enters boldly
rather than linear. In this instance a in the dominant of E major, the har-
short theme, two measures in length,mony moves to a tonic pedal, and
is tossed from voice to voice, under-for the last seven measures the theme
going a series of harmonizations dissolves in a series of rhythmic
which reveal it in all possible tonalechoes of itself. Harmony controls
perspectives. The composer treats the development throughout-har-
the theme as though it were an ob- mony that is bold and willful and as
ject held up to the light, turned over, individually conceived as that of
examined from every point of viewFrescobaldi. In fact, John Wilson's
(see Ex. I2). musical personality bears a close re-
This fantasia, No. I6 in E major,semblance to that of his Italian con-
is remarkable for the compactness oftemporary, whom Willi Apel has
its design. The whole organization isaptly described as "a unique mixture
centered in a series of statements ofof an imaginative artist and a reflec-
the brief theme. In the example thetive scholar."23 In his E major fan-
principal statements are indicated bytasia Wilson is working in a form
a line drawn above or below the no-
which is superficially akin to the
tation; secondary or derived state-
I6th-century instrumental canzona,
ments, by a dotted line. The first few23 Willi Apel, Masters of the Keyboard
statements are separated so that the
(Cambridge, Mass., 1947), p. 79.
 THE "CURIOUS 1 ART OF JOHN WILSON III
Fantasia No. I6 in E Major
Ex. I2

20

I I

a W m

It I F X I

A-- -, -..,..: J :
. .. i.. . "
 12 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

but his treatment of the material is himself if he dared to venture be-

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