# The Lute.



## Mark Harwood

I thought I'd start a thread for the lute, rather than adding to the solo repertoire thread, because I hope to have a substantial amount of correspondence from people who know a lot more than I do.
So, to roll the ball, I'll just state why the lute deserves attention.
As a solo instrument, it was dominant in parts of Europe at a time of musical adventure, discovery and refinement; hence the high-quality repertoire. Renaissance and Baroque composers, makers and players did some outstanding work with this instrument. 
It sounds simply wonderful. 
Julian Bream plays it.
I hope to be more specific as well as a little more perceptive in future posts, but for now I only invite enthusiasts, practitioners and collectors to contribute.


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## Methodistgirl

Mark there are all kinds of lutes out there from Asia to Kentucky with the 
mandolin. Can you be a little more specific?
judy tooley


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## Mark Harwood

I refer to the European lute, as played in the 16th to 18th Centuries. Renaissance and Baroque types differed, particularly in the number of string courses, but that's the type I like so much. Thanks for asking, Judy.


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## BuddhaBandit

It's unfortunate that much lute music is now almost always arranged and performed on guitar. While many of those transcriptions are very good, there's still nothing like hearing an actual lute.

Note: The oft-pretentious Sting (think: Dream of the Blue Turtles) recently released a lute album of songs by John Dowland, which is actually not bad.


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## Lute Lover

*ronn mcfarlane*

check out Ronn McFarlane's new CD INDIGO ROAD. it is performed on the lute.. entirely! AWesome stuff..

He will be interviewed on PERFORMANCE TODAY tomorrow April 18 so check your local stations for times...! He'll be talking about Indigo Road and they'll play tunes from it and from his early music recordings, too.


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## Hippogryph

You should also try Rolf Lislevand's "La belle homicide". A lot of beautiful lute pieces by underrated composers from 17th century.


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## Mark Harwood

Thanks for the recommendations, Lute Lover & Hippogryph. I've listened to samples of Ronn McFarlane & checked out Mr. Lislevand's disc. I'll be ordering the latter.


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## Burbage

I like lute music. Though, unless I've been looking in the wrong places, the choice at the moment seems to be Dowland or Dowland. I've got a cheerful disc of Konrad Ragossnig doing a whole list of tiny pieces by Europeans I've never heard of, and Goran Sollscher's recording of the Bach Lute Suites on a guitar (admittedly an eleven-string affair he had made for the purpose, but still a guitar). I went to a concert to see, I think, Nigel North many years ago, and that was fun - I don't remember much about it, except I got to see a theorbo, and that doesn't happen every day.

For the last year or two, I've been enjoying the occasional "Lutecast" at http://lutecast.blogspot.com, which is well worth a visit.


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## Mark Harwood

Thank you for the link, Burbage. Much appreciated.
I have a four-CD set of Konrad Ragossnig's lute playing: The Rosette Collection, Renaissance Lute Music. It covers styles from different parts of Europe, "tiny pieces" as you call them, and it's full of delights.
Weiss's Baroque works are perhaps more substantial, and I'm collecting them as played by Robert Barto, on the Naxos label.
I'd also recommend Julian Bream: The Golden Age Of English Lute Music. Just one disc, full of life.


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## purple99

Keep a lookout for the liuto attiorbato. Midway between a standard lute and a theorbo, with thick strings and a deep, aggressive sound. Tremendous for Bach lute suites, and for continuo when you don't want the sparkle of a harpsichord. For some reason they were much loved by rich Italians, so tend to be highly decorated.










Here's one used in a Forqueray viola da gamba suit:


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## Mark Harwood

Thanks, purple99. I hadn't heard the liuto attiorbato before. With the viola da gamba it makes a huge sound. Fine music that is too. You've given me a fresh line of enquiry!


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## purple99

Mark Harwood said:


> Thanks, purple99. I hadn't heard the liuto attiorbato before. With the viola da gamba it makes a huge sound. Fine music that is too. You've given me a fresh line of enquiry!


Welcome sir.  Here's the same lutanist playing solo de Visée. Notice the thick neck - you need big hands - plus the secondary bank of bass strings strung to the top of the neck (like a theorbo). I heard one live recently in a big chapel, and it filled it quite happily. They're big, aggressive instruments, different from the stereotypical soft-voiced lute.


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## Mark Harwood

That's a muscular sound, but I'm sure it has the capacity to be soft too. Great stuff.


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## JeffD

BuddhaBandit said:


> Note: The oft-pretentious Sting (think: Dream of the Blue Turtles) recently released a lute album of songs by John Dowland, which is actually not bad.


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## jegreenwood

Mark Harwood said:


> Thank you for the link, Burbage. Much appreciated.
> I have a four-CD set of Konrad Ragossnig's lute playing: The Rosette Collection, Renaissance Lute Music. It covers styles from different parts of Europe, "tiny pieces" as you call them, and it's full of delights.
> Weiss's Baroque works are perhaps more substantial, and I'm collecting them as played by Robert Barto, on the Naxos label.
> I'd also recommend Julian Bream: The Golden Age Of English Lute Music. Just one disc, full of life.


For those who can't get their fill of Weiss, a nice - and even cheaper - alternative to the Barto.


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## Guest

Karamazov is fantastic! It's too bad the OP spread this piece across 3 videos, but it's a great performance:





For original works, I love Dowland's Fantasies and Weiss' Suites and Sonatas. I used to prefer them on the guitar when I played the instrument, but now I prefer the wider range of the lute.


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## Omicron9

Re: this:






What a beautiful piece; thank you for posting this. Off now to find more like this.....


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## Nate Miller

Burbage said:


> I like lute music. Though, unless I've been looking in the wrong places, the choice at the moment seems to be Dowland or Dowland. I've got a cheerful disc of Konrad Ragossnig doing a whole list of tiny pieces by Europeans I've never heard of, and Goran Sollscher's recording of the Bach Lute Suites on a guitar (admittedly an eleven-string affair he had made for the purpose, but still a guitar). I went to a concert to see, I think, Nigel North many years ago, and that was fun - I don't remember much about it, except I got to see a theorbo, and that doesn't happen every day.
> 
> For the last year or two, I've been enjoying the occasional "Lutecast" at http://lutecast.blogspot.com, which is well worth a visit.


Sylvius Weiss was a contemporary of Bach, and is well known as the premier lute virtuoso of his day. Weiss wrote quite a bit and his works are available in the original tablature, too. So if you are talking about playing lute, his work would definitely be someone to check out. Might give you another composer's name to google to find recordings, too


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## Omicron9

jegreenwood said:


> For those who can't get their fill of Weiss, a nice - and even cheaper - alternative to the Barto.
> 
> View attachment 99318


+1. This is a lovely box set; well-played and well-recorded. Recommended! Even if you do have the Barto (I do).

-09


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## Mandryka

Omicron9 said:


> Re: this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What a beautiful piece; thank you for posting this. Off now to find more like this.....


This is from a CD called "Bagpipes from Hell" by Vitrorio Ghielmi and Luca Pianca, on the Winter and Winter label.


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## beeayceeeych

Hello,

Was wondering if anyone has a source for Weiss Sonate 46 in A in standard notation. I am really only looking for the Presto. I am a keyboardist, and have only managed to find collections of tablature (which are very expensive anyway). The Dresden Manuscript (which contains Sonate 46) is not indexed on IMSLP, unfortunately. 

Thanks


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