This unit contains solos which may be used in lieu of Project 4 solos or for further study after this course has ended. A performance video and PDF musical score are provided for each piece, but there are no tutorials or detailed study notes.
English poet and musician Thomas Campion (1557-1620) wrote the lyrics of “What if a day, a month, or a year?” He penned his poem during the Elizabethan era, the time of Shakespeare and the King James Bible. He was an accomplished lutenist and composer, so he likely wrote the music as well. Nevertheless, the composer of this song is often credited as anonymous or, sometimes, John Dowland.
The lengthy lyrics are a philosophical musing on time, fortune, and the brevity of human existence, suggesting that all earthly pleasures and pains are temporary. Here's the original lyrics (with Elizabethan spellings) for the first verse:
What if a day, or a month, or a yeare
Crown thy delights with a thousand sweet contentings?
Cannot a chance of a night or an howre
Crosse thy desires with as many sad tormentings?
Whomever the author, it was was a popular song during its day. It was published in versions for solo song (voice and lute), part song (vocal ensemble), instrumental ensemble, and lute solo. My arrangement is based on the lute solo version in Jane Pickeringe's Lute Book (c. 1616), a collection of beloved lute solos Ms. Pickeringe notated by hand.
What if a Day, a Month, or a Year?| Peter Kun Frary, guitar
The PDF score is linked at the bottom of this page.
Listen to the Track
What if a Day, a Month, or a Year? | Peter Kun Frary, guitar
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What if Musings
Listen to the Track
