The Lute Society of America Lute Festival 2008, took place Sunday, 22 June through Friday, 27 June 2008 at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH.  If you attended the Lute Festival, we hope this archival material will provide you souvenirs and help you share your enjoyment with your families and friends; if you did not attend, we hope it will encourage you to participate in LSA-sponsored events in the future.

Overview

     The members of the outstanding faculty are listed below (with their names linked to brief biographies), together with pictures from many of the courses they taught and the programs of the concerts they performed, including photographic coverage and MP3 audio in most cases.  The concert music ranged from 14th century chansons to very recent compositions.  The courses covered a wide range of topics, including perspectives on lute repertory and the history of stylistic changes in many countries of Europe from the 15th century through the 18th century.  Classes and private coaching were also be provided for playing technique, from beginner through advanced levels, for solo or ensemble performance, and for the accompaniment of singers either from basso continuo or with a completely realized part. In addition, Ray Nurse delivered a stimulating series of lecture-demonstrations on the music of John Dowland.  Photographic summaries of the many other activities are also under construction.

Faculty and Course Topics

Technique
• Gail Gillispie & Chris Morrongiello:  “Beginning Lute”
• Crawford Young:  “Medieval and Early Renaissance Lute Master Class”
• Paul O’Dette:  “Renaissance Lute Master Class”
• Paul O’Dette:  “Renaissance Lute Topics”
• Ronn McFarlane:  “Beyond the Basics – The Art & Science of Playing the Lute”
• Nigel North:  “Transitional and Baroque Lute Master Class”
• Robert Barto:  “Baroque Lute Master Class”
Repertory
• Crawford Young:  “Masters of Polyphony – Making Sense of Early Intabulations”
• Ray Nurse:  “Attaingnant 101”
• Michael Craddock:  “The Renaissance Guitar”
• Christopher Morrongiello:  “Elizabethan and Jacobean Lute Music”
• Nigel North:  “The Lute Music of John Johnson”
• Catherine Liddell:  “Performing Music in the French Style”
• Robert Barto:  “Baroque Topic Class:  The Lute After Weiss”
• Douglas Freundlich:  “The Art of Intabulation”
Performance & Ensemble Skills
• Pat O’Brien:  “Beginning Continuo”
• Edward Martin:  “The Art of the Lute Duet”
• Douglas Freundlich:  “Lute Ensemble Class – All Playing, All the Time”
Especially for Vocalists
• Gail Gillispie:  “Understanding Early Polyphony”
• Eve Kopli & Gail Gillispie:  “Medieval and Renaissance Song”
• Eric Mentzel & Catherine Liddell:  “Seventeenth Century Song”
Lute Doctor
• Daniel Larson, luthier:  “Lute Building Topics”

Concert Series

• Sunday:
• Good Pennyworths — Love, Lust, Longing & Loss, 3:30 PM
• Paul O’Dette — Fantasie, Canzoni e Balli, 7:30 PM
• Monday:
  • Elizabeth C. D. Brown — Women of Good Courage, 1 PM
  • Robert Barto — Music of German Baroque Composers, 7:30 PM
  • Thomas Walker, Jr., — Early Baroque Italians, 10:15 PM
• Tuesday:
• Catherine Liddell — A 17th Century Gossip Column in Music, 1 PM
• Nigel North — Music of Elizabethan England, 7:30 PM
• Duo Marchand:  Marcia Young & Andrew Rutherford — Jubal’s Lyre, 10:15 PM
• Wednesday:
• Ronn McFarlane — Indigo Road, 7:30 PM
• Daniel Shoskes — Baroque Lute Music, 10:15 PM
• Thursday:
• The Venere Lute Quartet — Dutch Treats, 1 PM
• Crawford Young, Eve Kopli & Eric Mentzel — Fleurs de virtus, fleur du monde, 7:30 PM
• Carrie Henneman Shaw & Phil Rukavina — Virtuosity & Expressivity in early Baroque Rome, 10:15 PM
• Friday:
• Michael Craddock — Renaissance Guitar Music
, from 16th century France, 1:00 PM
• Participants’ Recital — the highest quality ever! 7:00 PM

O’Brien Lectures

• Ray Nurse was the second holder of the Pat O’Brien Lectureship.  He presented a series of four lecture-demonstrations on the music of John Dowland.  Detailed coverage will appear here soon.

Other Events and Activities

• The Bookstore
• The Annual Meeting
• Dining
• Leisure time activities
• Luthiers
• Additional entries coming soon.

Seminar Director

• Phillip Rukavina

Acknowledgements

     Thanks to Leah Baranov, Kenneth Bé, John Byron Boyd, Michael Craddock, Bob Hieronimus, Steve Ramey, Dan Shoskes, Bob Temkin, Pat O’Brien and Jineen Heiman for contributions of photographs used in this retrospective of the 2008 Seminar & Lute Festival.