Dowland, John ( 1563-1626 UK)
John Dowland was born in 1563, possibly in London. Little is known about his life. He was a composer, a lutenist, and a singer.He went to Paris in 1580 where he was in service to the ambassador to the French court. He became a Roman Catholic at this time, which he claimed led to his not being offered a post at Elizabeth I's Protestant court. However, his conversion was not publicized, and being Catholic did not prevent some other important musicians from having a court career in England.
After being for many years at the court of Christian IV of Denmark, Dowland returned to England in 1606.
He died in London, in 1626.
(*) : This piece is from the Dowland lute book
