A history of the lute: from the middle Renaissance to rock

Oct 28
20:08

2020

Nat Stringer

Nat Stringer

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Take a look at the enduring legacy of an ancient instrument, and how modern music has come to adopt and honour the lute.

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Now divine aire,A history of the lute: from the middle Renaissance to rock Articles now is his soule ravisht, is it not strange that sheepes guts should hale soules out of mens bodies?” – William Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing. Sounds like some sacrificial religious ritual, but Shakespeare was not the only writer to attribute the lute with the power to transport the listener to heavenly ecstasy. 

The lute of the medieval troubadours, Renaissance humanists and Baroque courts is woven into the musical history of the Middle Ages, as well as the collective consciousness of today. While the lute was thought to have seen its demise in 1814, this instrument of antiquity has seen a revival since the mid 20th century in prog-rock, folk, and contemporary classical.

Crafted by luthiers, this iconic Medieval instrument was the soundtrack to many courts across the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Today, the pear-shaped body inspired the shape of modern hollow-body guitars, even down to the pairing of strings and notating music as tablature.

 Throughout the Middle Ages, lutes became the most admired of all musical instruments and the fame of great players spread across Europe. Royal courts and palaces were open to them, and consequently, a number were employed as spies. Plus, craftsmen of the finest order could fetch astronomical sums for their lutes.

The is the story of how the lute withstood the test of time to be reborn into modernity.

Read the rest over at Happy Mag.

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