Sweelinck’s Pavana Philippi is based on a pavan by English composer Peter Philips that is found in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Composed in 1580, it is the earliest known work by Philips, and also became his best-known work.  It can be found in versions for mixed consort, lute, cittern, keyboard, and even voices in England and the Continent.

Sweelinck’s Pavana Philippi comprises of two variations of the pavan, the second of which features increasingly elaborate figuration in an almost continuous movement of eighth and sixteenth notes.  Sweelinck’s keyboard compositions were strongly influenced by the English school of keyboardists, but they also exhibit a stricter adherence to part writing that clearly delineates individual voice lines. This latter trait makes a number of his keyboard pieces highly suitable for arrangement for instrumental ensemble.

Click to hear an audio clip of Pavana Philippi (6:40)