Life
John Johnson was an English lutenist and composer of songs and lute music attached to the court of Queen Elizabeth I, serving as one of her three court lutenists from 1579 until his death in 1594. He was the father of the lutenist and composer Robert Johnson, who followed him into royal service. Nearly all of John Johnson’s surviving works are pavanes, galliards, or arrangements of popular tunes written for solo lute or, distinctively, for lute duet, a form he developed to an unusually high technical standard. His music survives in manuscripts held in Cambridge, Dublin, and elsewhere, including the Weld Lutebook, and his “Flat Pavan” was later arranged for keyboard by Giles Farnaby.
Impact
John Johnson is regarded as one of the most significant English lute composers of the Elizabethan era and a key figure in establishing the lute duet as a serious compositional form, paving the way for later duet writing by English composers. His pavans and galliards, particularly “Carman’s Whistle” and “The Flat Pavan,” remained popular well beyond his lifetime and helped define the idiom that Dowland and his contemporaries would bring to its height.
Repertoire
Carman’s Whistle, c. 1580s
Johnson’s lute setting of the popular Elizabethan tune “Carman’s Whistle,” later also set by William Byrd for keyboard.
Paul O’Dette – Carman’s Whistle – John Johnson (XVIth century) — Performed by Paul O’Dette
Christopher Wilson – Carman’s Whistle — Performed by Christopher Wilson
The Flat Pavan (and Galliard), c. 1580s
One of Johnson’s best-known pavan-galliard pairs, later arranged for keyboard by Giles Farnaby.
Flat Pavan by John Johnson – Renaissance Lute Duet — Performed by Kenneth Kam · Lute duet arrangement
The Flat Pavan and Galliard, John Johnson. — Performed by Jean-Marie Poirier