Two Pieces by Benjamin Britten:

Lachrymae: reflections on a song of Dowland and Nocturnal After John Dowland

Audrey Oden

Post-Tonal Analysis: Modal/Rhythmic MUAC 4006

February 20, 2019

Introduction

Philip Rupprecht’s article “Tonal Stratification and Uncertainty in Britten's

Music” largely focuses on Britten’s opera Billy Budd, but also includes an analysis of

Nocturnal After John Dowland for solo guitar (1963). Rupprecht defines tonal stratification

as “a division of tonal activities into recognizably independent textural regions [or]

strata.”1 He explores this compositional technique used by Britten in the first movement

of Nocturnal, titled “Musingly.” In Britten’s Musical Language Rupprecht dedicates a

section to Lachrymae: reflections on a song of Dowland for viola and piano (1950). In this

section, he focuses on the “discourse” between Dowland and Britten in this piece. The

most important concept introduced in this section is the distinction between “direct

discourse” and “indirect discourse.” 2 Rather than thinking of these classifications as a

binary, Rupprecht suggests that the musical ideas in this composition “move along a

continuum between Dowland’s unmediated voice” and Britten’s “reflections” on

Dowland’s songs.3

1 Philip Rupprecht, "Tonal Stratifcation and Uncertainty in Britten's Music," Journal of Music Theory 40, no.
2 (1996): 312.
2 Philip Rupprecht, “Beyond the voice: the song quotations in Lachrymae,” Britten's Musical Language

(Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 16.

3 Ibid., 15.
 Rupprecht has compared these pieces in passing, but an in-depth comparison

has not been done. In his article about tonal stratification, he focuses on Nocturnal and

in his book, he focuses a section discussing discourse within Lachrymae.

Using Rupprecht’s analytical techniques, I will analyze a movement from

Lachrymae and a movement from Nocturnal and compare the similarities and differences

in Britten’s compositional techniques in these works. The focus of this analysis will be

the movements “Lento”, “Aassionato”, and “L’istesso tempo” in Lachrymae, and the

“Passacaglia” in Nocturnal.

Understanding the form, the quotations, and the tonality in one of these pieces

will help in understanding the other. Furthermore, this analysis will give insight into

Britten’s compositional style and hopefully will provide a foundation to listening or

performing either of these pieces.

The understanding of these pieces will be achieved by primarily focusing on the

last variation of each of these pieces—the ”Passagcalia” in Nocturnal and the “Lento”,

Appassionato”, and “L’istesso tempo” in Lachrymae—and how they connect the

preceding variations with the closing theme. First, I will discuss the form of these

pieces. The overall form is an important preliminary step to understanding other

concepts throughout the pieces due to the evolving nature of the reverse variation form

used in both works. Then, I will discuss how Britten quoted music from Dowland
directly and indirectly. Direct being exact quotations from Dowland’s songs or an

indirect being an altered quotation in which Dowland’s voice is “assimilated, to varying

degrees, into Britten’s ‘reflections’.” Lastly, I will discuss tonality in these works by on

Rupprecht’s idea of “tonal stratification” in Nocturnal and tonal uncertainty in

Lachrymae.

Form

Lachrymae: reflections on a song of Dowland follows a reverse variation plan with

the main theme introduced at the end of the piece. 4 There are ten variations—or as

Britten calls “reflections”—in the entirety of the piece. Despite the piece being named

Lachrymae, Britten integrates two different songs by Dowland throughout the piece:

“Flow, my tears” and “If my complaints.” The sixth movement of this work—

“Appasionato”—uses a verbatim quote from “Flow, my tears” and Britten indicates this

with quotation marks.5 However, the piano accompaniment in this variation does not

quote or mimic the accompaniment from the original song. The last variation called

“L’istesso tempo” transitions into “If my complaints” with Dowland’s original melody

and accompaniment.

4Rupprecht, "Tonal Stratifcation and Uncertainty in Britten's Music," 343n.

5David Sills, “Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae: An Analysis for Performers,” Journal of the American Viola
Society 13, no. 3 (1997): 25. http://www.americanviolasociety.org/PDFs/Journal/JAVS-13.3.pdf.
 Nocturnal After John Dowland also uses the reverse variation plan but uses eight

variations rather than ten. Unlike Lachrymae, the variations in this piece are based on

one song by Dowland—“Come heavy sleep”—which appears in it’s entirety to

conclude the piece. The last variation of this work is titled “Passacaglia.” This variation

imitates the baroque form it is named after by using a repeating bassline throughout the

entire movement. Although this bassline happens throughout the variation, the material

above changes creating five distinct sections (see Table 2).

Table 1. List of movements in Lachrymae, Op. 48 and Nocturnal, Op. 70.

Table 2. “Passacaglia” sections in Nocturnal, Op. 70.

 Although both Lachrymae and Nocturnal use the reverse variation form, the way it

is executed is different. The most important difference is that in Lachrymae Britten uses

two different songs by Dowland, whereas Nocturnal uses one. This influences the

overall form. By using one Dowland song as a basis for thematic content in Nocturnal,

Britten creates a sense of unfolding throughout the variations in the piece, finally

revealing the entirety of “Come heavy sleep” at the end. On the other hand, Lachrymae

implements two of Dowland songs throughout the piece, which creates an entirely

different effect. Rather than an unfolding effect, Lachrymae seems to have two goal

points, which are achieved in the sixth movement and after the tenth movement when

the theme is introduced. Not only are these the variations with exact quotations from

Dowland, but they are the most tonally stable movements in the work, creating a sense

of repose when they are reached.

Discourse

As stated in the last section, Britten uses “If my complaints” and “Flow, my

tears” for thematic material in Lachrymae, Op. 48. Britten creatively shifts between

creating his own motives influenced by Dowland’s songs to quoting Dowland’s songs

in fragments or in their entirety. Rupprecht labels these shifts as “indirect discourse”

and “direct discourse” in his analysis of Lachrymae.

 In the introduction of Lachrymae Britten introduces a motive which is a fragment

from the opening phrase of “If my complaints” by Dowland. This motive is then

transposed up perfect fifths and the pitch relationships within the motive are altered to

fit within Britten’s harmonic context. This motive which is borrowed from a fragment of

Dowland’s song occurs throughout the entire piece, which is an example of “indirect

discourse.”

Figure 1. Benjamin Britten, “Lento” from Lachrymae, Op. 48, mm.1-5.6

In the sixth movement of Lachrymae, Britten quotes the opening phrase of the

second section from “Flow, my tears.” The melody is almost identical to the original,

but Britten changes the harmonic and rhythmic contexts. This movement exemplifies

why we should think of “direct discourse” and “indirect discourse” as a spectrum

rather than a binary. The melody is identifiable as Dowland’s, but Britten adapts this

6Benjamin Britten, Lachrymae: reflections on a song of Dowland, Ed. William Primrose, (London: Hawkes
and Son, 1951), 1.
melody to fit into his compositional style. The harmony supporting Dowland’s quote in

“Apassionato” shifts between an E flat major chord and a D flat chord (no major or

minor third) with an added major seventh. Also, the accentual placement of the melodic

notes within the context of Britten’s rhythmic organization contrasts from the original

accents by Dowland.

Figure 2. John Dowland, “Flow, my tears” and Benjamin Britten “Apassionato” from

Lachrymae, Op. 48.7

The last variation, “L’istesso tempo”, begins with the motive presented in the

beginning of the piece. This motive is also the basis for the melody in the viola

throughout the variation. However, this motive—a fragment from Dowland’s “If my

complaints”—resolves to the G from the A flat identical the original melody. The

variation is focuses on this melody fragment until around measure 20. The motive at

measure 20 is based on the second phrase of Dowland’s song and this motive is

7David Sills, “Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae: An Analysis for Performers,” Journal of the American Viola
Society 13, no. 3 (1997): 25. http://www.americanviolasociety.org/PDFs/Journal/JAVS-13.3.pdf
developed until measure 30. These measures (20-30) represent the transition between

“indirect discourse” and “direct discourse” as the music slowly becomes the original

song.

Figure 3. Benjamin Britten, “L’istesso tempo” from Lachrymae, Op. 48, mm. 1-2.8

Starting at measure 30, the entirety of “If my complaints” is quoted with the

original melody and original accompaniment, except for the first phrase. The conclusion

does not include material from the first phrase of “If my complaints” because this

phrase was the basis for most variations throughout the piece. This “epiphany” aims to

conclude the variations based on the first phrase by concluding them with the following

phrases.

Although Rupprecht focuses entirely on Lachrymae in this section, the techniques

used to analyze Lachrymae can be used to analyze Nocturnal. The repeated bass line

8 Britten, Lachrymae: reflections on a song of Dowland, 13.

throughout the “Passacaglia” is based on material from the lute accompaniment in

“Come heavy sleep.” This theme is an example of “indirect discourse” as described by

Rupprecht. Dowland’s motive is rhythmically altered and harmonically

recontextualized in order to fit the needs of this variation. Also, Britten saturates this

movement with perfect fourths, which recalls the opening of the first phrase of the

second section in “Come heavy sleep.”

Figure 4. Benjamin Britten, “Passacaglia” from Nocturnal, Op. 70, m. 1.9

9 Benjamin Britten, Nocturnal after John Dowland, Ed. Julian Bream, (London: Faber Music, 1964), 10.
Figure 5. John Dowland, “Come heavy sleep,” m. 1.10

Figure 6. Benjamin Britten, “Passacaglia” from Nocturnal, Op. 70, m. 1.11

Figure 7. John Dowland, “Come heavy sleep,” m. 9-10.12

Like the last variation in Lachrymae, this variation concludes with the entirety of

Dowland’s song. The last note of the repeating bassline (E) becomes the first note of

10 John Dowland, The First Booke of Songes or Ayres of fowre partes, with Tableture for the Lute (London, 1597),
Petrucci Music Library, XX.
11 Britten, Nocturnal after John Dowland, 10.

12 Dowland, The First Booke of Songes or Ayres, XX.

“Come heavy sleep.” However, after the end of Dowland’s song, Britten adds his own

closing material based on the second section of the song. In each of these pieces, Britten

creatively shifts between Dowland’s authentic voice and recontextualized fragments of

Dowland’s songs in his own compositional style.

Tonality

An important distinction between Lachrymae and Nocturnal is the used of

tonality. As Rupprecht discusses in his article “Tonal Stratification and Uncertainty in

Britten’s Music”, Britten frequently uses different tonal centers spread across registers.

Even though the range of the guitar is rather limited, Britten utilizes tonal stratification

in Nocturnal more so than in Lachrymae. However, Lachrymae still has instances of tonal

ambiguity and uncertainty.

The introductory variation of Lachrymae exemplifies tonal uncertainty and sets

up the conflict that persists through the following variations. The melody in the left

hand of the piano is quoting the first two phrases in the first section of “If my

complaints.”
Figure 8. Benjamin Britten, “Lento” from Nocturnal, Op. 70, mm. 7- 20.13

This melody is solidly in C minor, while the right hand of the piano and the viola begin

on an E flat chord and move chromatically back to C minor to begin the first variation.

This conflict persists throughout the variations until the sixth variation “Appasionato”

which is in E flat major.

It is possible this relative major and minor key relationship represents the key

areas in the Dowland song the piece is named after: “Flow, my tears” or “Lacrimae.”

This Dowland song uses both names, but is most commonly known as “Flow, my

tears.” The first section begins in A minor and the second section begins in C major. The

melody beginning the second section of “Flow, my tears” is the melody quoted in

13 Britten, Lachrymae: reflections on a song of Dowland, 1.

“Appasionato.” The entire piece ends with the last melody of “If my complaints,” which

ends on a C major chord, or a Picardy third in C minor. This affirms the key of C minor

as the tonal center of the entire piece.

In Rupprecht’s article, he focuses on tonal “stratification” in the first movement

of Nocturnal. However, these ideas he presents persist throughout the entire piece. He

focuses on “Phrase 6” of the first movement which begins at measure 16. In this phrase

there are two different tonal centers in two different strata: the E major triad in the

lower register and the melody in the upper register centered around F. The melody is

affirmed to be centered around F because of the lower C leading to the F and the Gb as

a tendency tone above the F.

Figure 9. Benjamin Britten, “Musingly” from Nocturnal, Op. 70, mm. 20-22.14

The use of tonal stratification also appears in the last movement of the piece. The

repeating bassline in the lower register, which is centered around E, is juxtaposed with

the perfect fourth saturated melody in the upper register.

14 Britten, Nocturnal after John Dowland, 2.

Figure 10. Benjamin Britten, “Passacaglia” from Nocturnal, Op. 70, mm. 1-6.15

The effect in phrase 6 of “Musingly” and the opening phrase in “Passacaglia” is

the same. Bothe have an E centered harmony in the lower register while another

tonality is explored in the upper register. However, the tonality in the upper register in

“Passacaglia” is more ambiguous. This is juxtaposed by the consisted bassline that

repeats through the rest of the movement.

In Lachrymae and Nocturnal Britten experiments with tonal uncertainty and

conflict in different ways. In Lachrymae, this conflict is most often horizontal or

happening measure by measure, whereas in Nocturnal, this conflict is happening

vertically in different strata.

15 Ibid, 10.
Conclusion

The similarities and differences between these pieces have been explored by

analyzing the form, discourse, and tonality in these pieces. Although the reverse

variation form is used in Lachrymae and Nocturnal, the effect is different due to the

placement of the Dowland songs within the variations. Britten’s use of discourse is the

most similar feature between these two pieces because of the way he shifts between

melody fragments and full quotations. Lastly, the use of tonality is the most distinct

difference in these works. In Lachrymae there is conflict between C minor and E flat

major, but this conflict rarely happens between strata. In Nocturnal, a key feature is the

use of tonal stratification, which was exemplified in the first movement and last

movement of this work.

Understanding the compositional strategies in one of these pieces will help in

understanding the other. As a performer, it is important to understand how Britten

manipulates Dowland’s songs to create his own themes. More importantly, the

performer must know the difference between Britten’s voice and Dowland’s voice

which shifts throughout both pieces.

 Bibliography

Britten, Benjamin. Lachrymae: reflections on a song of Dowland. Ed. William Primrose.

London: Hawkes and Son, 1951.

–––. Nocturnal after John Dowland. Ed. Julian Bream. London: Faber Music, 1964.

Dowland, John. The First Booke of Songes or Ayres of fowre partes, with Tableture for the Lute.

London, 1597. Petrucci Music Library.

Rupprecht, Philip. “Beyond the voice: the song quotations in Lachrymae.” In Britten's

Musical Language. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

–––."Tonal Stratifcation and Uncertainty in Britten's Music." Journal of Music Theory 40,

no. 2 (1996): 311-46.

Sills, David. “Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae: An Analysis for Performers.” Journal of the

American Viola Society 13, no. 3 (1997): 17-34.

http://www.americanviolasociety.org/PDFs/Journal/JAVS-13.3.pdf