Thanks for asking, Theo, and hello all. Judging from what I see on facebook and youtube, there doesn't seem to be a dearth of young (well, young to me) enthusiastic and very talented players, and I suspect the lute world will go on as it has, a small collection of passionate, dedicated, opinionated, sometimes irascible lovable misfits with a somewhat spectrum-y devotion to detail and an unquenchable appetite for discussion about whether a completely incongruous harmony in one measure of a composition in an ancient book represents the radical vision of the composer or a tired typesetter's mistake. I was a minor player in the '70's lute revival, which I would say was a part of, but did not grow out of, the early music revival. It had its good and not-so-good parts, though it was a sweet time, as most times are when you are young. Yes, I think we were inspired by the take-it-to-the-streets, DIY aspect of the folk music revival, but also by the revivalist efforts of predecessors from the '50's like Michael Shaeffer, Konrad Ragossnig, Eugen Dombois, and the above-mentioned Julian Bream, who of course were inspired by Arnold Dolmetsch, Diana Poulton, Joseph Iadone, Walter Gerwig and others from the 1920's and '30's, back to Thomas Mace's irritated attempt to reawaken faltering interest in the 1670's. And I don't think lute players in general have ever been seen as particularly sizzling except, as Phil Ochs might say, outside of a small circle of friends. Best to all, stay safe, and keep playing, Chris.
On Wed, Aug 26, 2020 at 8:19 PM <[1]theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu> wrote: Dear luters: What does the future hold the lute? In the waning days of this wonderful email list (Thanks Wayne!!), I thought I would invite thoughts regarding the future of the lute and the lute community. As I muse, it seems that this present lute revival started in 1960's - 70's largely out of the folk music revival and early music revival. I notice that many of our fellow lute enthusiasts are growing older (as am I). And with the recent passing of Julian Bream, I thought it prescient to reflect: What will the next 10, 20, or 50 years look like for the lute and lute community? Is interest in the lute on the decline, ascendency, or moving in some other direction? Is this trajectory different in different countries? The internet has revolutionized access to manuscripts, publishers, and recordings. Will the internet ultimately drive interest to diversions other than the lute? And when will Hollywood finally make a sizzling historical romance about a lute player and bring the lute back to be a symbol of seduction, as it should be? (Hopefully the movie won't be about Mark Smeaton.) Thoughts? theodore jordan -- To get on or off this list see list information at [2]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu 2. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html