Greensleeves (English folk song)

The mood is plangent, reflective and contemplative “Greensleeves” is a traditional English folk song and tune, over a ground either of the form called a romanesca or of its slight variant, the passamezzo antico. The romanesca originated in Spain and is composed of a sequence of four chords with a simple, repeating bass, which provide the groundwork for variations and improvisation. The tune is found in several late-16th-century and early-17th-century sources, such as Ballet’s MS Lute Book and Het Luitboek van Thysius, as well as various manuscripts preserved in the Seeley Historical Library at the University of Cambridge.