Dear All, Alain wrote:
"This is the paradox: we love HIP and the lute in part because they are = new=20 and therefore exciting. The big question is: how will we keep it = exciting,=20 for ourselves and those who will come after us?" I very much share Alain's interest in this question. It's easy to forget = that in the Renaissance itself we have a mirror image of our position today: = using an attempt to recreate the art of the past to make an art form in our = own time. It may be instructive that much of the success of Renaissance art lies = in not being too slavish in it's attempts to recreate classical art forms.=20 The lute revival is, of course, not quite new - if you take it back to = Arnold Dolmetch you could say it's been going for nearly 100 years, and there are still = areas of repertoire most of us have not even heard yet! I believe there is a link between historically informed performance and = keeping the music alive, and part of the paradox is that closer study of the = original sources seems to open up more opportunities for working creatively with the music. The = better you understand the music, the greater chance you have of working creatively = within it's own rules. Paul O'Dette provides some great examples of this - on "The Royal = Lewters" for instance, the opening rendition of "Pastyme with good companie" takes the short = lute original from Royal Appendix 58 and develops it into his own stunning set of = variations. His lute transcription of "Lady Careys Dompe" is equally fine - to my knowledge = it has never been played as a lute solo like this before. There are similar examples = on other albums, but you have to know the music to spot them. It's all very self effacing and = I'm sure many listeners assume it's all coming note for note from original tablatures. There is a parallel, too, in the art of lute making - the quality of = lutes being built has steadily risen over the last 30 years as the understanding of the methods of the = early makers has grown. The majority of lute makers in the 70's did not want to be bothered with = the geometrical complexity of real lute backs, and were often unclear about which = details belonged to which period. Some of those older lutes look really not much better than a = Francolini fantasy instrument now, thanks to careful study of the surviving originals and = accurate depictions in paintings. It's my belief that if we study the past we can learn to work creatively = within it's own frame of reference and continue to keep the music genuinely alive for = many years to come.=20 Best wishes, Denys --
