Lute

Name	Lute
Image capt	A renaissance-era lute
Background	strings
Hornbostel sachs	321.321-5
Hornbostel sachs desc	Composite chordophone sounded by the bare fingers
Developed	Classical antiquity (early lutes)

Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either fretted or unfretted) and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes.

The European lute and the modern Near-Eastern oud both descend from a common ancestor via diverging evolutionary paths. The lute is used in a great variety of instrumental music from the early Renaissance to the late Baroque eras. It is also an accompanying instrument, especially in vocal works, often realizing a basso continuo or playing a written-out accompaniment.

The player of a lute is called a lutenist, lutanist, or lutist, and a maker of lutes (or any string instrument) is referred to as a luthier.

Etymology

The words "lute" and "oud" derive from Arabic al‘ud (العود; literally "the wood"). Recent research by Eckhard Neubauer suggests that ‘ud may in turn be an Arabized version of the Persian name rud, which meant "string," "stringed instrument," or "lute." Gianfranco Lotti suggests that the "wood" appellation originally carried derogatory connotations, because of proscriptions of all instrumental music in early Islam.

Construction

Soundboard

Lutes are made almost entirely of wood. The soundboard is a teardrop-shaped thin flat plate of resonant wood (usually spruce). In all lutes the soundboard has a single (sometimes triple) decorated sound hole under the strings called the rose. The sound hole is not open, but rather covered with a grille in the form of an intertwining vine or a decorative knot, carved directly out of the wood of the soundboard.

Back

The back or the shell is assembled from thin strips of hardwood (maple, cherry, ebony, rosewood, gran, wood and/or other tonewoods) called ribs, joined (with glue) edge to edge to form a deep rounded body for the instrument. There are braces inside on the soundboard to give it strength; see the photo among the external links below.

Neck

or classical era lute.]] The neck is made of light wood, with a veneer of hardwood (usually ebony) to provide durability for the fretboard beneath the strings. Unlike most modern stringed instruments, the lute's fretboard is mounted flush with the top. The pegbox for lutes before the Baroque era was angled back from the neck at almost 90° (see image), presumably to help hold the low-tension strings firmly against the nut, which is not traditionally glued in place, but is held in place by string pressure only. The tuning pegs are simple pegs of hardwood, somewhat tapered, that are held in place by friction in holes drilled through the pegbox. As with other instruments using friction pegs, the choice of wood used to make pegs is crucial. As the wood suffers dimensional changes through age and loss of humidity, it must as closely as possible retain a circular cross-section in order to function properly, as there are no gears or other mechanical aids for tuning the instrument. Often pegs were made from suitable fruitwoods such as European pearwood, or equally dimensionally stable analogues. Matheson, ca 1720, stated if a lute-player has lived eighty years, he has surely spent sixty years tuning.

Belly

The geometry of the lute belly is relatively complex, involving a system of barring in which braces are placed perpendicular to the strings at specific lengths along the overall length of the belly, the ends of which are angled quite precisely to abut the ribs on either side for structural reasons. Robert Lundberg, in his book "Historical Lute Construction," suggests that ancient builders placed bars according to whole-number ratios of the scale length and belly length. He further suggests that the inward bend of the soundboard (the 'belly scoop') is a deliberate adaptation by ancient builders to afford the lutenist's right hand a bit more space between the strings and soundboard. The belly thickness is somewhat variable, but hovers between 1.5 and 2 millimeters in general. Some luthiers tune the belly as they build, removing mass and adapting bracing to ensure proper sonic results. The lute belly is almost never finished, though in some cases the luthier may size the top with a very thin coat of shellac or glair in order to help keep it clean. The belly is joined directly to the rib, without a lining glued to the sides, although a cap and counter cap are glued to the inside and outside of the bottom end of the bowl to provide rigidity and increased gluing surface.

After joining the top to the sides, a half binding is usually installed around the edge of the belly. The half-binding is approximately half the thickness of the belly and is usually made of a contrasting color wood. The rebate for the half-binding must be extremely precise to avoid compromising structural integrity.

Bridge

The bridge, usually made of a fruitwood, is attached to the soundboard usually at 1/5 to 1/7 the belly length. It does not have a separate saddle but has holes bored into it to which the strings attach directly. Typically the bridge is made such that it tapers in height and length, with the small end holding the trebles and the higher and wider end carrying the basses. Bridges are often colored black with carbon black in a binder, often shellac, and often have inscribed decoration. The scrolls or other decoration on the ends of lute bridges are usually integral to the bridge, and are not added afterwards as on some Renaissance guitars (cf Joachim Tielke's guitars).

Frets

The frets are made of loops of gut tied around the neck. They fray with use, and must be replaced from time to time. A few additional partial frets of wood are usually glued to the body of the instrument, to allow stopping the highest-pitched courses up to a full octave higher than the open string, though these are anachronistic and do not appear on original instruments. Given the choice between nylon and gut, many luthiers prefer to use gut, as it conforms more readily to the sharp angle at the edge of the fingerboard.

Strings

Strings were historically made of animal gut, usually from the small intestine of sheep (sometimes in combination with metal) and are still made of gut or a synthetic substitute, with metal windings on the lower-pitched strings. Modern manufacturers make both gut and nylon strings, and both are in common use. Gut is more authentic for playing period pieces, though unfortunately it is also more susceptible to irregularity and pitch instability due to changes in humidity. Nylon offers greater tuning stability but is seen as anachronistic by purists, as its timbre differs from the sound of earlier gut strings. Such concerns are moot when more recent compositions for the lute are performed.

Of note are the "catlines" used as basses on historical instruments. Catlines are several gut strings wound together and soaked in heavy metal solutions which increase the mass of the strings. Catlines can be quite large in diameter by comparison with wound nylon strings for the same pitch. They produce a bass which differs somewhat in timbre from nylon basses.

The lute's strings are arranged in courses, usually of two strings each, though the highest-pitched course usually consists of only a single string, called the chanterelle. In later Baroque lutes 2 upper courses are single. The courses are numbered sequentially, counting from the highest pitched, so that the chanterelle is the first course, the next pair of strings is the second course, etc. Thus an 8-course Renaissance lute will usually have 15 strings, and a 13-course Baroque lute will have 24.

The courses are tuned in unison for high and intermediate pitches, but for lower pitches one of the two strings is tuned an octave higher. (The course at which this split starts changed over the history of the lute.) The two strings of a course are virtually always stopped and plucked together, as if a single string, but in extremely rare cases a piece calls for the two strings of a course to be stopped and/or plucked separately. The tuning of a lute is a somewhat complicated issue, and is described in a separate section of its own, below. The result of the lute's design is an instrument extremely light for its size.

History and evolution of the lute

(c. 1350 BC)]] The origins of the lute are obscure, and organologists disagree about the very definition of a lute. The highly influential organologist Curt Sachs distinguished between the "long-necked lute" (Langhalslaute) and the short-necked variety: both referred to chordophones with a neck as distinguished from harps and psalteries. Smith and others argue that the long-necked variety should not be called lute at all, since it existed for at least a millennium before the appearance of the short-necked instrument that eventually evolved into what is now known as the lute, nor was it ever called a lute before the 20th century. Various types of necked chordophones were in use in ancient Egyptian in the Middle Kingdom), Hittite, Greek, Roman, Bulgar, Turkic, Indian, Chinese, Armenian/Cilician cultures. The Lute developed its familiar forms as Barbat in Persia, Armenia, and Byzantium beginning in the early 7th century. These instruments often had bodies covered with animal skin, and it is unknown exactly when it became replaced with a wooden soundboard.

As early as the 6th century, the Bulgars brought the short-necked variety of the instrument called Kobuz to the Balkans, and in the 9th century, Moors brought the Oud to Spain. The long-necked Pandura had previously been a quite common variety of the lute in the Mediterranean. The quitra didn't become extinct, however, but continued its evolution. Besides the still survinving Kuitra of Algiers and Morocco, its descendants include the Chitarra Italiana, Chitarrone and Colascione.

In about the year 1500 many Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese lutenists adopted vihuela de mano, a viol-shaped instrument tuned like the lute, but both instruments continued in coexistence. This instrument also found its way to parts of Italy that were under Spanish domination (especially Sicily and the papal states under the Borgia pope Alexander VI who brought many Catalan musicians to Italy), where it was known as the viola da mano.

by king Alfonso X.]] Another important point of transfer of the lute from Arabian to European culture might have been in Sicily, where it was brought either by Byzantine or later by Saracen musicians. There were singer-lutenists at the court in Palermo following the Norman conquest of the island, and the lute is depicted extensively in the ceiling paintings in the Palermo’s royal Cappella Palatina, dedicated by the Norman King Roger II in 1140. By the 14th century, lutes had disseminated throughout Italy. Probably due to the cultural influence of the Hohenstaufen kings and emperor, based in Palermo, the lute had also made significant inroads into the German-speaking lands by the 14th century. Medieval lutes were 4- or 5-course instruments, plucked using a quill as a plectrum. There were several sizes, and by the end of the Renaissance, seven different sizes (up to the great octave bass) are documented. Song accompaniment was probably the lute's primary function in the Middle Ages, but very little music securely attributable to the lute survives from the era before 1500. Medieval and early-Renaissance song accompaniments were probably mostly improvised, hence the lack of written records.

In the last few decades of the 15th century, in order to play Renaissance polyphony on a single instrument, lutenists gradually abandoned the quill in favor of plucking the instrument with the fingertips. The number of courses grew to six and beyond. The lute was the premier solo instrument of the 16th century, but continued to be used to accompany singers as well.

By the end of the Renaissance the number of courses had grown to ten, and during the Baroque era the number continued to grow until it reached 14 (and occasionally as many as 19). These instruments, with up to 26-35 strings, required innovations in the structure of the lute. At the end of the lute's evolution the archlute, theorbo and torban had long extensions attached to the main tuning head in order to provide a greater resonating length for the bass strings, and since human fingers are not long enough to stop strings across a neck wide enough to hold 14 courses, the bass strings were placed outside the fretboard, and were played "open", i.e. without fretting/stopping them with the left hand.

Over the course of the Baroque era the lute was increasingly relegated to the continuo accompaniment, and was eventually superseded in that role by keyboard instruments. The lute almost fell out of use after 1800. Some sorts of lute were still used for some time in Germany, Sweden, Ukraine.

Lute in the modern world

The lute enjoyed a revival with the awakening of interest in historical music around 1900 and throughout the century. That revival was further boosted by the early music movement in the twentieth century. Important pioneers in lute revival were Julian Bream, Hans Neemann, Walter Gerwig, Suzanne Bloch and Diana Poulton. Lute performances are now not uncommon; there are many professional lutenists, especially in Europe where the most employment is to be found, and new compositions for the instrument are being produced by composers. lute (holding position).]] During the early days of the early music movement, many lutes were constructed by available luthiers, whose specialty was often classical guitars. Such lutes were heavily built with construction similar to classical guitars, with fan bracing, heavy tops, fixed frets, and lined sides, all of which are anachronistic to historical lutes. As lutherie scholarship increased, makers began constructing instruments based on historical models, which have proven on the whole to be far lighter and more responsive instruments.

Lutes built at present are invariably replicas or near copies of those surviving historical instruments that are to be found in museums or private collections. They are exclusively custom-built or must be bought second hand in a very limited market. As a result, lutes are generally more expensive than mass-produced modern instruments such as the guitar, though not nearly as expensive as the violin. Unlike in the past there are many types of lutes encountered today: 5-course medieval lutes, renaissance lutes of 6 to 10 courses in many pitches for solo and ensemble performance of Renaissance works, the archlute of Baroque works, 11-course lutes in d-minor tuning for 17th century French, German and Czech music, 13/14-course d-minor tuned German Baroque Lutes for later High Baroque and Classical music, theorbo for basso continuo parts in Baroque ensembles, gallichons/mandoras, bandoras, orpharions and others. Lutenistic practice has reached considerable heights in recent years, thanks to a growing number of world-class lutenists: Robert Barto, Eduardo Egüez, Edin Karamazov, Nigel North, Christopher Wilson, Luca Pianca, Pascal Monteilhet, Lex van Sante, Ariel Abramovich, Evangelina Mascardi, Luciano Contini, Hopkinson Smith, Paul O'Dette et alii. Singer-songwriter Sting has also played lute and archlute, in and out of his collaborations with Edin Karamazov, and Jan Akkerman released two albums of lute music in the 1970s while he was a guitarist in the Dutch rock band Focus.

Lutes of several regional types are also common in Greece: laouto, and oud.

Lute repertoire

's young lutenist, painted ca 1626, plays a 10-course lute, typical of the time from around 1600 AD through the 1630s. Music stands appear very rarely in paintings of the period—the music is most commonly laid flat on a table, as seen here.]]

Although lutes were in widespread use in Europe at least since the 13th century, and documents mention numerous early performers and composers, the earliest surviving music for the instrument dates from the late 15th century. Lute music flourished during the 16th and 17th centuries: numerous composers published collections of their music, and modern scholars have uncovered a vast number of manuscripts from the era—however, much of the music is still lost. In the second half of the 17th century lutes, vihuelas and similar instruments started losing popularity, and almost no music had been written for the instrument after 1750. The interest in lute music was revived only in the second half of the 20th century.

Improvisation was apparently a highly important aspect of lute performance, and so much of the repertoire was probably never written down. Furthermore, it was only around 1500 that lute players started the transition from plectrum technique to that of the right hand: the latter allowed for complex polyphony, for which notation had to be developed. During the next hundred years three schools of tablature notation developed gradually: Italian (also employed in Spain), German and French. Only the latter survived into the late 17th century. The earliest known tablatures are designed for a six-stringed instrument, although evidence of earlier four- and five-stringed lutes exists. Tablature notation depends on the actual instrument for which the music is written, and to read it, it is necessary to know the tuning, the number of strings, etc. of the instrument.

Renaissance and Baroque forms of lute music are more or less similar to those of keyboard music of the periods. Intabulations of vocal works were very common, as well as various dances, some of which disappeared during the 17th century, such as the piva and the saltarello. The advent of polyphony brought about fantasias: complex, intricate pieces with much use of imitative counterpoint. The improvisatory element, present to some degree in most lute pieces, is particularly evident in the early ricercares (not imitative as their later namesakes, but completely free), as well as in numerous preludial forms: preludes, tastar de corde ("testing the strings"), etc. During the 17th century keyboard and lute music went hand in hand, and by 1700 lutenists were writing suites of dances quite akin to those of keyboard composers. The lute was also used throughout its history as an ensemble instrument, most frequently in songs for voice and lute; these were particularly popular in Italy (see frottola) and England.

The earliest surviving lute music is Italian, from a late 15th century manuscript. The early 16th century saw Petrucci's publications of lute music by Francesco Spinacino (fl. 1507) and Joan Ambrosio Dalza (fl. 1508); together with the so-called Capirola Lutebook, these represent the earliest stage of written lute music in Italy. The leader of the next generation of Italian lutenists, Francesco Canova da Milano (1497–1543), is now acknowledged as one of the most famous lute composers in history. The bigger part of his output consists of pieces called fantasias or ricercares, in which he makes extensive use of imitation and sequence, expanding the scope of lute polyphony. The second half of the century saw no composers equal in stature, but in the early 17th century Johannes Hieronymus Kapsberger (c.1580–1651) and Alessandro Piccinini (1566–1638) revolutionized the instrument's technique and Kapsberger, possibly, influenced the keyboard music of Frescobaldi.

French written lute music began, as far as we know, with Pierre Attaingnant's (c.1494–c.1551) prints, which comprised preludes, dances and intabulations. Particularly important was the Italian composer Albert de Rippe (1500–1551), who worked in France and composed polyphonic fantasias of considerable complexity. His work was published posthumously by his pupil, Guillaume de Morlaye (born c.1510), who, however, did not pick up the complex polyphony of de Rippe. French lute music declined during the second part of the 16th century; however, various changes to the instrument (the increase of diapason strings, new tunings, etc.) prompted an important change in style that led, during the early Baroque, to the celebrated style brisé: broken, arpeggiated textures that influenced Johann Jakob Froberger's suites. The French Baroque school is exemplified by composers such as Ennemond Gaultier (1575–1651), Denis Gaultier (1597/1603–1672), François Dufaut (before 1604–before 1672) and many others. The last stage of French lute music is exemplified by Robert de Visée (c.1655–1732/3), whose suites exploit the instrument's possibilities to the fullest.

The history of German written lute music started with Arnolt Schlick (c.1460–after 1521), who published in 1513 a collection of pieces that included 14 voice and lute songs and three solo lute pieces, alongside organ works. He was not, however, the first important German lutenist, because contemporaries credited Conrad Paumann (c. 1410–1473) with the invention of German lute tablature. However, this claim has yet to be proven, and no lute works by Paumann survive. After Schlick, a string of composers developed German lute music: Hans Judenkünig (c.1445–50–1526), the Neusidler family (particularly Hans Neusidler (c.1508/9–1563)) and others. During the second half of the 16th century, German tablature and German repertoire were gradually replaced by Italian and French tablature and international repertoire, respectively, and the Thirty Years War (1618–48) effectively stopped publications for half a century. German lute music was revived much later by composers such as Esaias Reusner (fl. 1670), however, a distinctly German style came only after 1700 in the works of Silvius Leopold Weiss (1686–1750), one of the greatest lute composers, some of whose works were transcribed for keyboard by none other than Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), who composed a few pieces for the lute himself (although it is unclear whether they were really intended for the lute, rather than another plucked string instrument or the lautenwerk).

Of other European countries, particularly important are England and Spain. English written lute music only began around 1540, however, the country produced numerous lutenists, of which John Dowland (1563–1626) is perhaps the most famous. His influence spread very far: variations on his themes were written by keyboard composers in Germany decades after his death. Dowland's predecessors and colleagues, such as Anthony Holborne (c. 1545–1602) and Daniel Bacheler (1572–1619), were less known. Spanish composers wrote mostly for the vihuela; their main genres were polyphonic fantasias and differencias (variations). Luys Milan (c.1500–after 1560) and Luys de Narváez (fl. 1526–49) were particularly important for their contributions to the development of lute polyphony in Spain. Finally, perhaps the most influential Eastern European lute composer was the Hungarian Bálint Bakfark (c.1526–30–1576), whose contrapuntal fantasias were much more difficult and tighter than those of his Western European contemporaries.

Lute revival and composers

The revival of lute-playing in the 20th century revitalized the interest of composers in the instruments of the lute family.

One of the first such composers was Johann Nepomuk David in Germany. Composer Vladimir Vavilov was a pioneer of the lute revival in the USSR, as well as the author of numerous musical hoaxes. Sandor Kallos, Stefan Lundgren, Toyohiko Satoh applied modernist idiom to the lute, Elena Kats-Chernin, Jozef van Wissem and Alexandre Danilevsky minimalist and post-minimalist idiom, Robert Allworth serial composition, composing the first modern Concerto for the 11 course lute in his romantic 12-tone style, Roman Turovsky-Savchuk, Paulo Galvão, Robert MacKillop and Maxym Zvonaryov historicist idiom, and Ronn McFarlane New Age.

Tuning conventions

Lutes were made in a large variety of sizes, with varying numbers of strings/courses, and with no permanent standard for tuning. However, the following seems to have been generally true of the Renaissance lute: A 6-course Renaissance tenor lute would be tuned to the same intervals as a tenor viol, with intervals of a perfect fourth between all the courses except the 3rd and 4th, which differed only by a major third. The tenor lute was usually tuned nominally "in g" (there was no pitch standard before the 20th century), named after the pitch of the highest course, yielding the pattern [(G'G) (Cc) (FF) (AA) (dd) (g)] from the lowest course to the highest. (Much renaissance lute music can be played on a guitar by tuning the guitar's third string down by a half tone.)

For lutes with more than six courses the extra courses would be added on the low end. Due to the large number of strings lutes have very wide necks, and it is difficult to stop strings beyond the sixth course, so additional courses were usually tuned to pitches useful as bass notes rather than continuing the regular pattern of fourths, and these lower courses are most often played without stopping. Thus an 8-course tenor Renaissance lute would be tuned to [(D'D) (F'F) (G'G) (Cc) (FF) (AA) (dd) (g)], and a 10-course to [(C'C) (D'D) (E♭'E♭) (F'F) (G'G) (Cc) (FF) (AA) (dd) (g)].

However, none of these patterns were de rigueur, and a modern lutenist will occasionally be seen to retune one or more courses between performance pieces. Manuscripts bear instructions for the player, e.g. 7^e choeur en fa = "seventh course in fa" (= F in the standard C scale).

The first part of the seventeenth century was a period of considerable diversity in the tuning of the lute, particularly in France. However, by around 1670 the scheme known today as the "Baroque" or "d-minor" tuning became the norm, at least in France and in northern and central Europe. In this case the first six courses outline a d-minor triad, and an additional five to seven courses are tuned generally scalewise below them. Thus the 13-course lute played by Weiss would have been tuned [(A"A') (B"B') (C'C) (D'D) (E'E) (F'F) (G'G) (A'A') (DD) (FF) (AA) (d) (f)], or with sharps or flats on the lower 7 courses appropriate to the key of the piece.

Modern lutenists tune to a variety of pitch standards, ranging from A = 392 to 470 Hz, depending on the type of instrument they are playing, the repertory, the pitch of other instruments in an ensemble and other performing expediencies. No attempt at a universal pitch standard existed during the period of the lute's historical popularity. The standards varied over time and from place to place.

Quotations

The art of playing the lute formed a major part of instrumental music making in the Renaissance before keyboard instruments assumed central significance. It was a refined, soft, and at the same time colorful art, in sharp contrast to the agitated times in which it was practised.
— Karl Schumann [1]

This style knows nothing of the otherwise usual requirements and prohibitions of voice-leading; it can only be understood in relation to the fingering technique; it frequently applies the sound of open strings and in no way avoids the otherwise so despised parallel 5ths and octaves or unisons. The dissonances and other conflicting sounds which appear so often...strike me as exciting and revealing.
— Carl Orff [1]

[1] Quotation taken from the liner notes to the Wergo edition of Orff's Kleines Konzert, with English translations by John Patrick Thomas.

Notes

References

The Lute in Europe by Andreas Schlegel, published by The Lute Corner (2006). ISBN 978-3-9523232-0-5

A History of the Lute from Antiquity to the Renaissance by Douglas Alton Smith, published by the Lute Society of America (2002). ISBN 0-9714071-0-X ISBN 978-0-9714071-0-7

The Lute in Britain: A History of the Instrument and its Music by Matthew Spring, published by Oxford University Press (2001).

Historical Lute Construction by Robert Lundberg, published by the Guild of American Luthiers (2002).

La musique de luth en France au XVIe siècle by Jean-Michel Vaccaro (1981).

Articles in Journal of the Lute Society of America (1968-), The Lute (1958-), and other journals published by the various national lute societies.

Eckhard Neubauer, "Der Bau der Laute und ihre Besaitung nach arabischen, persischen und türkischen Quellen des 9. bis 15. Jahrhunderts," Zeitschrift für Geschichte der arabisch-islamischen Wissenschaften, vol. 8 (1993): 279–378.

==External links==

Lute societies

The Lute Society (UK)

The Lute Society of America

The German Lute Society

The French Lute Society

The Lute Society of Japan

The Belgian Lute Society

The Lute and Early Guitar Society (Founded by Toyohiko Satoh)

Lute music online and other useful resources

reneszanszlant.lap.hu collection of many useful links: luthiers/lute makers, lute players, tablatures, etc. (in English and Hungarian)

ABC Classic FM presents: Lute Project videos Watch Tommie Andersson play the theorbo, 7-course & 10-course lutes.

Wayne Cripps' lute pages

The Lute Lieder Site, library of songs and lieder with baroque lute accompaniment.

The Ukrainian Lute Page Torban, a Ukrainian variety of lute/theorbo.

Lute History by István Kónya

Joachim Tielke The website for the great Hamburg lutemaker Joachim Tielke

Musick's Handmade Facsimiles/Scans (Dowland, etc.) and pdfs - by Alain Veylit

Sarge Gerbode's Lute Page 3000+ lute solo pieces by 140 composers in midi, PDF, TAB, and Fronimo formats

Contemporary and Modern Lute Music Modern (post 1815) and Contemporary Lute Music. A list of modern lute music written after 1815

Photos of historic lutes

Photos of historic lutes at the Museum Cité de la Musique in Paris

::Instruments et oeuvres d'art - search-phrase: Mot-clé(s) : luth ::Facteurs d'instruments - search-phrase: Instrument fabriqué : luth ::Photothèque - search-phrase: Instrument de musique, ville ou pays : luth

Lutes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Articles and resources

Pioneers of the Lute Revivial by Jo Van Herck (Belgian Lute Academy)

:Original: Over de pioniers van de luitrevival; Luthinerie / Geluit no. 15 (september 2001) and no. 16 (december 2001)

Photos and Paintings

French Lutenists and French Lute Music in Sweden

La Rhétorique des Dieux

Continuo for lutenists and guitarists: a tutor and music theory supplement Thesis by Roland H.B. Stearns

Category:Composite chordophones Category:Necked bowl lutes Category:Lutes Category:Early musical instruments Category:Baroque instruments Category:Arabic words and phrases

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Melancholy Galliard - Renaissance Lute

Order: Reorder
Duration: 2:59
Published: 2007-01-28
Uploaded: 2011-02-25
Author: salixarbour

Written by John Dowland (1563-1626) a contemporary of Queen Elizabeth I. This piece of music is played on a 'hired' lute from the 'Lute Society'(UK). Apologies for all the background noise. Hopefully the crackling fire covers up most of my mistakes, as well as adding that certain 'je ne sais quoi' of course! :-) See my other Lute Video: search for 'Mudarra Fantasia' & 'alan lowe-jones'. Check out Sting's new Lute Album 'Songs from the Labyrinth'.

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Duration: 5:14
Published: 2007-04-27
Uploaded: 2011-02-22
Author: Walvis2007

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Duration: 2:24
Published: 2007-02-10
Uploaded: 2011-02-20
Author: GUITARARTS

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Order: Reorder
Duration: 1:25
Published: 2008-06-19
Uploaded: 2011-02-24
Author: Ski56ppy

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Order: Reorder
Duration: 4:46
Published: 2007-07-01
Uploaded: 2011-02-16
Author: Bonproducer

Lutenist Nigel North records the lute music of John Dowland for NAXOS Records. The 4 CD set was recorded in Toronto and produced by Norbert Kraft.

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Duration: 1:15
Published: 2007-05-18
Uploaded: 2011-02-24
Author: luteplayer80

A short but beautiful dance by Joanambrosio Dalza. Somebody asked more italian renaissance music, so... here it is!!! Hope you'll like it :))))))

Greensleeves - Anonymous - Cutting - Lute

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Duration: 3:04
Published: 2008-04-29
Uploaded: 2011-02-20
Author: Luthval

Another version of Greensleeves, the most famous lute tune (I believe) Here I play first the anonymous version from the William Ballet lute book (probably the first known version for solo lute of Greensleeves), then the version by Francis Cutting, and back to the first version at the end... There is a song : Greensleeves was all my joy probably earlier to the lute solo. (1584) Lute made by Stephen Murphy.

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Duration: 4:23
Published: 2006-10-09
Uploaded: 2011-02-24
Author: MonteverdiXVI

John Williams palying at the Alhambra palace the Prelude from lute suite 4

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Duration: 4:00
Published: 2008-12-11
Uploaded: 2011-02-23
Author: GuitarArtFestival

The Tenth International Guitar Festival Belgrade, Serbia February 7- 14, 2009

A Port - scottish tune - Lute

Order: Reorder
Duration: 2:15
Published: 2008-04-11
Uploaded: 2011-02-24
Author: Luthval

From the lute book of Sir Robert Gordon of Straloch (a very nice collection of scottish tunes for lute, around 1628) The source is lost, but we have a copy made by a scribe in the XIX century, with many errors, so we have to guess sometimes... This one is among my favorites ot this book. Version 2 with Zoom H2.

Final Fantasy IV (II) Music: Melody of Lute

Order: Reorder
Duration: 1:34
Published: 2008-02-14
Uploaded: 2011-02-24
Author: constantlimit

Final Fantasy IV (II) Music: Melody of Lute

BONEY M - El Lute.flv

Order: Reorder
Duration: 4:40
Published: 2009-12-13
Uploaded: 2011-02-22
Author: Neklauzada60

Concerto for Lute in D major - Vivaldi - John Williams

Order: Reorder
Duration: 8:27
Published: 2007-10-09
Uploaded: 2011-02-20
Author: Jahaj

John Williams, guitar (1993) "Allegro guisto and Largo" from "Concerto for Lute in D major" Music by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla/Jose Buenagu The Royal Alcazar Palace (Sevilla, Spain) "John Williams - The Sevilla Concert" "Launched in 1994, Classic Arts Showcase is a free cable television program designed to bring the classic arts experience to the largest audience possible by providing video clips of the arts in hopes that we may tempt you, the viewer, to go out and feast from the buffet of arts available in your community. The spectrum of classic arts disciplines aired on Classic Arts Showcase includes video samplings of animation, architectural art, ballet, chamber and choral music, dance, folk art, museum art, musical theater, opera, orchestral, recital, solo instrumental. solo vocal, and theatrical performances, as well as classic film and archival documentaries. If we've inspired you to see a concert, attend a recital, or go to the theatre, please share your story with us. Classic Arts Showcase broadcasts 24-hours from Satellite Galaxy 15 Transponder 5, and is picked up by over 500 Channels in the United States alone. We're available free of charge to PEG channels, PBS, basic cable tiers and non-commercial broadcasters" Download source www.archive.org

Boney M. "El Lute"

Order: Reorder
Duration: 5:01
Published: 2008-09-21
Uploaded: 2011-02-22
Author: abagoff

1979 www.sonymusic.de boneym-info.narod.ru http Boney M is atruly unforgettable name in the history of music. This glamorous and extremely likeable group came together in 1976 and ever since then occupied a special place in the hearts of music lovers the world over. Frank Farian, Liz Mitchell, Maizie Williams, Marcia Barrett and Bobby Farrell formed Boney M. Though Boney M made modest beginnings, they soon turned into a major hit with their music which was catchy, lively and very rhythmic. Boney M's music has influences of Reggae, Funk, Rock, Gospel and Disco. Their songs had distinctive soul soothing melodies and foot tapping beats and this is probably the reason why Boney M's songs were played non stop at all the discos around the world. Boney M became a sensational hit and remained so till today.

Lute Hero

Order: Reorder
Duration: 1:35
Published: 2008-06-03
Uploaded: 2011-01-29
Author: PIPBoy4000

Lute Hero is a stand-alone teaser module from the upcoming final act of the Dark Waters campaign for Neverwinter Nights 2.

Giveth Thy Lute (Biggie Smalls "Gimme The Loot" parody)

Order: Reorder
Duration: 4:48
Published: 2010-03-10
Uploaded: 2011-02-23
Author: KevinLieber

www.juliusbloop.com This is an homage to The Notorious BIG's classic track "Gimme The Loot" set in medieval times. Ready To Die is my favorite hip hop album of all time and I wanted to prove how versatile and brilliant Biggie's raps and storytelling abilities were. The lyrics are translated into Medieval slang as best I could manage. I made this for fun - hope you like it. Peace. The video clips are from various episodes of The Adventures of Robin Hood and a Robin Hood film from 1922. Giveth Thy Lute All you serfs better know My chap George left a bow and a quiver at my home Didnt pay taxes to salute the Throne One to three hell be out in 1393 Im ready to get this coinage, G you with thee? Absolutely right, my satchels looking kind of tight And Im vexed, my lord get the weapon chest No need for that, just grab your feathered cap The first saccus thats fat, thy claymores in his back Word is truth, I will shank him, dont mime your moves Treat it like fencing, parry parry/salute Baron, you need not to explain this Ive been pilfering these peasants since the plague hit With the same flail and the same paddle blade Shank to and fro until Ive stoned another knave Tis my code, stewards even try to en garde Have his mother singing like a baaaard Yes, Monk, love your royal attitude Cause a fop that speak rubbish Tis a fop Ill gork n spew And spill guts, with the mace Im swingin Scalds on the palms from the cauldron spillin Then I gallop cross the moors and Im roguing wenches too <b>...</b>

Allemande in d minor by Weiss

Order: Reorder
Duration: 2:52
Published: 2007-04-24
Uploaded: 2011-02-22
Author: kidneykutter

Allemande performed by Robert Barto on Baroque Lute. This sonata can be heard on the Naxos recording "Weiss volume 8" 8.570109

Lute Olson: Team Leadership

Order: Reorder
Duration: 56:00
Published: 2008-04-01
Uploaded: 2010-11-26
Author: Arizona

As Lute Olson entered his 24th season at The University of Arizona in November 2006, he has established both the Wildcat basketball program and himself as two of the preeminent figures on the collegiate basketball landscape. Coach Olson was born on a farm just outside Mayville, ND, on Sept. 22, 1934, and went on to attend high school in Grand Forks, ND, for the 1951-52 season, where he led the team to the 1952 state basketball championship. In college, Olson was a three-sport athlete (basketball, football, and baseball) at Augsburg (Minn.) College from 1953-56. As a senior in 1956, he was recognized with the Augsburg Honors Athlete Award, which is given annually to the top male student-athlete. Since that time he also has been honored by his alma mater with induction into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977 and received the Augsburg College Distinguished Alumni Award in April 1986. Olson's autobiography, Lute!: The Seasons of My Life, tells the story of his more than forty years in basketball.

Steve Howe - Lute Concerto in D Major / Mood For A Day

Order: Reorder
Duration: 7:26
Published: 2006-05-11
Uploaded: 2011-02-23
Author: petecellar

Solo classical guitar, live in Amsterdam 2002 (w/Yes)

Bach, Bourrée (BWV 996), Andreas Martin, Lute, HD

Order: Reorder
Duration: 1:19
Published: 2009-01-08
Uploaded: 2011-02-21
Author: mauson1963

JS Bach - i els seus mestres. Bourrée from BWV 996 by Andreas Martin, Lute, live at the 4th Sant Martí Vell Early Music Cycle, July 6th 2007. Lute made by Andreas von Holst, Munich Watch in HD for best image and sound.

Nigel North Plays Lute Music by Robert Johnson

Order: Reorder
Duration: 4:22
Published: 2008-09-29
Uploaded: 2011-02-09
Author: Bonproducer

Nigel North records another CD for Naxos Records. Here he plays Galliards by the Renaissance Lute composer Robert Johnson. Recorded near Toronto with producer Norbert Kraft

JS Bach: Bourree from Lute Suite BWV 996

Order: Reorder
Duration: 1:26
Published: 2007-10-01
Uploaded: 2011-02-25
Author: darthguitar

Lute Suite No. 1 - BWV 996, E Minor - I Präludium; Presto; II Allemande; III Courante; IV (Sarabande) This is an RCM Grade 6 piece Played by cyberninja

Sting & Edin Karamazov - Fields Of Gold (Lute)

Order: Reorder
Duration: 3:42
Published: 2009-10-29
Uploaded: 2011-02-24
Author: natanps

Sting singing Fields Of Gold using a lute, with Edin Karamazov

Lute Olson Retires From University of Arizona Basketball

Order: Reorder
Duration: 2:51
Published: 2008-10-24
Uploaded: 2011-02-22
Author: phslaundryroom

Lute Olson announces retirement. ESPN Coverage

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photo: US Coastguard

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute dons a flight helmet prior to taking an aerial tour here April 15, 2009. A U.S. Coast Guard HH-65C Dolphin helicopter provided the tour to Lute and other staff members. (527652) ( )

photo: US Coastguard / Petty Officer Third Class Brandon Blackwell)

BUFFALO, N.Y. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute meets with Department of Homeland Security personnel during a visit here April 15, 2009. Coast Guard Captain Robert Burchell, Sector Buffalo Commander, was present to greet Lute when she arrived at Peace Bridge. (Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer Third Class Brandon Blackwell) (527649) ( )

photo: UN / Mark Garten

SG hosts a reception for newly appointed Deputy Secretary of State of the US homeland security Jane Hall Lute at the Secretary Generals Residence

photo: AP / Tom Mihalek

Arizona head coach Lute Olson yells during their NCAA first round college basketball game against Wisconsin, Friday, March 17, 2006, in Philadelphia.

photo: US DoD file/Helen Stikkel

U.S. Army Lt.Gen. Douglas Lute, director for operations, the Joint Staff, conducts a Pentagon operational update briefing Feb. 9, 2007. Lute was joined accompanied by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Mark Kimmitt. cg1

photo: AP

Arizona coach Lute Olson gestures during a news conference for their NCAA second round college basketball game, Saturday, March 18, 2006, in Philadelphia. Arizona takes on Villanova on Sunday, March 19 in a second round game.

photo: UN / Mark Garten

Messenger of Peace Addresses Press Conference - George Clooney (left), newly appointed United Nations Messenger of Peace, flanked by Jane Hall Lute, Assistant-Secretary-General and Officer-in-Charge of the Department of Field Support, addresses a press conference on his role and responsibility as a UN Messenger of Peace. wnhires

photo: Creative Commons

The lute was adopted from the Arab world. 1568 print.

photo: Creative Commons / Phso2

Close up of a veena being played.

photo: Creative Commons / Pandouris

Bouzouki

photo: army.mil

General Emphasizes Use of Partnerships in Fighting Terror

photo: Creative Commons / Dcoetzee

Frederick, Prince of Wales, and his sisters, by Philip Mercer (died 1760). In this portrait the 26-year-old Prince is shown playing the bass-viol with three of his younger sisters; from left to right, Anne, Princess Royal (age 24) at the harpsichord, Princess Caroline (age 20) plucking a mandora (a form of lute) and Princess Amelia (age 22) reading from Milton.

photo: Creative Commons

Great Mosque of Djenné 1.

photo: Creative Commons / Fir0002

An Indonesian metallophone

photo: AP / Amr Nabil

Iraqi oud player Naseer Shamma

photo: UN /Jenny Rockett

Jane Holl Lute, Assistant-Secretary-General and Officer-in-Charge of the Department of Field Support, will brief on a number of outstanding conduct and discipline issues, including the situation in the United Nations Operation in Côte d?Ivoire (UNOCI), a

photo: UN / Marie Frechon

ASG for Field Support Looks at MONUC Activity Photo Display in Kichanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo .

photo: DoD/Helene C. Stikkel

U.S. Army Lt.Gen. Douglas Lute, director for operations, the Joint Staff, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Mark Kimmitt listen to a reporter´s question during a Pentagon operational update briefing Feb. 9, 2007. DoD photo b

photo: Creative Commons / Sandstein

Kora (instrument),

photo: Creative Commons / Rylan K. Albright,

Afghan rubab

photo: DoD /Helene C. Stikkel.

Director for Operations for the Joint Staff Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute (right), U.S. Army, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Mark Kimmitt conduct an operational update briefing in the Pentagon on Feb. 9, 2007. DoD photo by Helene C. St

photo: Creative Commons / Emilio Labrador

Ghanaian drummers Ghana has many types of traditional and modern music. The sound varies from ethnic group to ethnic group and region to region. Ghanaian music incorporates several distinct types of musical instruments such as the talking drum ensembles, goje fiddle and koloko lute, court music, including the Akan atumpan, the Ga kpanlogo styles, and log xylophones used in asonko music.

photo: Creative Commons / Kjetil r

Chat Noir (French for "Black Cat") is a cabaret and revue theatre in Oslo, Norway. It was established in 1912 by Bokken Lasson. The current director is Tom Sterri.[1]