Engelsche Fortuyn (English Fortune) was a popular tune in Holland, and can be found in numerous Dutch songbooks and instrumental settings from 1603 until the beginning of the eighteenth century.  As its most common Dutch title indicates, the tune was originally an English ballad that dates from around 1590– the famous "Fortune My Foe."

Sweelinck’s Engelsche Fortuyn (one source, German, gives the title Von der Foruna werd’ ich getrieben) comprises three variations that reflect the poignant text of the ballad. It starts with a simple statement of the mournful tune that includes a brief bicinia in canon between the two top voices. The second variation is dominated by moving eighth notes, with motivic figures tossed between the voices. The final variation leads to a climactic barrage of sixteenth notes in the middle of the piece, but in the end the intensity winds down in apparent resignation.

Click to hear an audio clip of Engelsche Fortuyn (3:01)