On November 6th 1612 Henry Stuart, Prince of Wales and Heir to the throne of England, died of typhoid fever at the age of 18. As an enormously popular young Royal and fervent Protestant, his death was felt as a monumental tragedy for the English nation. A great outpouring of national grief was observed in the arts, of which Henry had been a great champion. Leading English poets including Sir Walter Ralegh, John Donne and Edward Herbert Lord of Cherbury eulogized the passing of the young prince in solemn verse. Among the many testaments to the loss of Henry which survive, one in particular is striking for its marriage of both poetry and music. Songs of Mourning: Bewailing the Untimely Death of Prince Henry was a collaboration between the poet-musician Thomas Campion and the musician Giovanni Coperario, both tutors to the young prince, published in 1613. In its seven songs the unity of the poetry and the music fuse to form a harrowing and beautiful eulogy for the young Prince. Each song is dedicated to a member of Henry’s immediate family ( King James, Queene Anne, Prince Charles, Lady Elizabeth and her intended, Fredericke the V, Count Palatine of the Rhein, as well as to Great Brittaine and to the world ) and expresses a unique pathos and sensitivity for that individual. This singular uniformity and focus help to make the Songs of Mourning a rarity in the English lute song repertoire. Of the many collections of English song from the 16th and 17th centuries, this collaboration is one of only three that can be considered a song cycle in the sense that all the songs are united by the same central theme and were conceived as a whole. Giovanni Coperario was one of the most important transitional figures in England in the beginning of the 17th century. Attached to the royal court from 1604 until his death in 1626 Coperario was a personal tutor to Henry Stuart and instrumental in helping to form a truly native English Baroque musical language. This can be most plainly seen in his lute songs, of which Songs of Mourning is the prime example. In contrast to the contrapuntal accompaniments of the Elizabethan lutenists, Coperario’s Songs of Mourning are largely chordal and harmonically derived. The very beginnings of continuo in England can be seen in these songs, such as Oh Grief and How Like A Golden Dream. The declamatory nature and the subservience of the lute part to the text illustrate an understanding of the Italian style which was forming at this time. But while these songs eschew the contrapuntal complexity of the Elizabethan lutenists, their harmonic progressions and melodic design mark them as natural progression of English song. Thomas Campion, the language tutor to the young Henry, was at once one of the greatest Elizabethan poets and one of it’s greatest musicians. His prose was very influential in England and remained so for many years after his death. His music was also greatly esteemed in its time and beyond. Much like Coperario, Campion’s lute songs did not delve deeply into counterpoint. His accompaniments for the lute are very idiomatic and chordal, though they are also equal to the vocal lines which they support. His song Never Weather Beaten Sail illustrates many of the great qualities of Campion the poet and musician. It’s very hymn like nature is a very natural representation of Campion’s conviction best illustrated in his poetry. The music, while not complex, shows Campion to have been a great melodic writer and it’s sparse quality allows both the voice and the lute to shine. John Dowland was, along with William Byrd, one of the true giants of Elizabethan music. His lute music and music for consort were known throughout Europe and served as models for countless arrangements. His lute songs, published in three books, while not as well known outside England, were none the less held up as the prime examples of the genre. Time Stands Still, from the 3rd Book of Songs 1603, illustrates the apex of the lute song. The lute part, as befits a virtuoso lutenist as Dowland, is thoroughly ornate and contrapuntal. The song itself is conceived for 4 independent voices, of which the lute plays three. Imitation between the voice and the lute, nimble and natural harmonic progressions, ethereal melody and unity between the text and the music mark the songs of Dowland as some of the finest of their kind. John Danyel, as a composer of lute song, represents in many ways an intensification of the qualities which made Dowland’s songs so revered. His triptych song Can Doleful Notes, from his sole publication of 1606, illustrates the singularity of his style. Much like the songs of Dowland, the lute part is entirely ornate and virtuosic. However the intensity of the counterpoint and the extreme chromaticism which permeates the entire cycle, point more to English consort music than lute song. The harmonic language is incredibly bold. Each section is through composed, abandoning the strophic form. The prevalence of imitation between the lute and voice, the constant and surprising chromaticism and angular and disjointed nature of the melodic line all hark to the English fantasy tradition, making these works of Danyel a singular achievement. If John Danyel represents a singular vision of English lute song, William Corkine represents its most natural and classic form. If Streams of Tears, from his First Book of Songs 1610, evokes the great religious English music of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd. Long and gentle phrases intertwined in counterpoint flow through this song with subtle points of imitation. The harmonic pacing is wholly at the service of the contrapuntal tapestry, while the voice and the lute are equal partners throughout. This air of serenity lingers until it is broken in the final bars with an imitated acceleration. Robert Johnson was, in many ways, the last of the English lute song composers. While as a youth he was active during the height of Elizabethan England, his mature works were conceived for masques and plays ( most famously for William Shakespeare ) from 1615-1633. His song Adieu Fond Love, from a play The Lover’s Progress 1623, illustrates how the generation after Coperario further developed and adopted the continuo style accompaniment in lute song. The ornate counterpoint of the earlier generations is completely abandoned. The lute part is very harmonically driven and subservient to the vocal line. Much like the Songs of Mourning, Adieu is constructed from the bass, with chords filling out the harmony. However, the bass line is much more animated than those found in the songs of Coperario. The upper voices of the lute, while occasionally containing passing notes and escape notes, are mostly harmonic in function. From the music of Johnson the English lute song, as it had existed, reached it's conclusion. The next generation of composers, including John Locke and William Lawes, completely abandoned the intabulated song and began a new era of continuo song which lasted and thrived until the twilight of the 19th century. The sudden death of Henry Stuart was a deep blow for the English nation. But from the collective anguish and sorrow grew some of the finest artistic creations of the time. Poetry, music and literature all sprouted in honor of the fallen prince. It also had effects beyond its immediate time. The Songs of Mourning proved to be the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between Thomas Campion and Giovanni Coperario. They collaborated numerous times for royal festivities. In the same year ( 1613 ) these two composed a masque called The Lord’s Mask. It was written for the marriage of Lady Elizabeth and Fredrich IV of Hesse, two dedicatees from the Songs of Mourning. As they travelled from London to Heidelberg, stopping along the way in Leiden and Den Haag, the artistic collaboration of Campion and Coperario was performed several times with Coperario in the retinue,carrying along the Jacobean marriage of music and poetry which The Songs of Mourning exemplified.