John Dowland (1563-1626) was an English composer and virtuoso lutenist. Between 1597 and 1622, six-hundred lute airs were published in England. Of those six hundred, about one-third were also printed as vocal part songs with lute accompaniment. The First Booke of Ayres, where “Can She Excuse” is found, did quite well because a lot of the music was already known to the public as an instrumental piece.
This arrangement of Dowland's piece was created for the arranger's fourth year recital as a part of her Bachelor of Music. It incorporates the music from the solo lute air, and the part song version. After the first verse, the music diverges on a strikingly different tonal tangent as inspired by the jazz harmony and modern guitar techniques from David Chevallier’s album “Dowland: A Game of Mirrors.” After the tangent, the piece returns to Dowland’s tonality and repeats verse one in four-part harmony.
Instrumentation: Solo soprano, +ATB, guitar, violin and double bass Duration: 5.5' Premiered March 2018 at Convocation Hall, Saskatoon, SK On the recording: K.A. Hicks - Soloist, mezzo-soprano; Alicia Hydukewich - alto; Colin Elliott - tenor; Jordan Kornelson - bass; Kendra Harder - guitar; Veronica Mary - violin; Emmett Fortosky - double bass.
Sheet music is available for purchase through the composer at kendraharder@outlook.com
