John Johnson ( – 1594) was an English

lutenist A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can refe ...

, composer of songs and

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can re ...

music, attached to the court of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

. He was the father of the lutenist and composer

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generat ...

Discography

The lutenist

Lynda Sayce Lynda Sayce is a British lutenist and theorbo player, known also as a scholar of musical history and a writer on the history of the lute and theorbo. Brought up in Sandwell where she trained in the youth orchestra Originally trained as a flautist ...

has recorded a disc of works by John Johnson and his son. Two pieces "Pavan" and "Gaillard" have been recorded by

Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perc ...

and

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

. Christopher Wilson and

Shirley Rumsey Shirley Rumsey is an English musician who recorded two solo CDs of Renaissance music for Naxos Records in the mid 1990s. She studied lute and voice at the Royal College of Music in London. There she became interested in solo vocal music accompanie ...

have made a recording on the

Naxos label Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...

of John Johnson's lute music.JOHNSON: Lute Music
at

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...

A dozen pieces by Johnson were also recorded by lutenist and theorbist

Yavor Genov Yavor is a village in Tryavna Municipality, in Gabrovo Province, in northern central Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the ...

in his album ''Orpheus Anglorum'' (

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also ...

, 2018).

References

External links

Music Collection
in

Cambridge Digital Library The Cambridge Digital Library is a project operated by the Cambridge University Library designed to make items from the unique and distinctive collections of Cambridge University Library available online. The project was initially funded by a donat ...

which contains early copies/examples of Johnson's compositions 1540s births 1594 deaths 16th-century English composers English male composers Composers for lute {{UK-composer-stub