Dear Bill, Presumably you performed Dowland's "Flow not so fast ye fountaines" and Byrd's "Compel the hawk". The message you remember with such nostalgia was David Rastall's "Life, the universe..." on 14th March 2004, when he wrote:
"Actually, the height of renaissance versimilitude: I bet I'm the only modern lute player who actually played an orgy. A friend of mine asked me (it was about 20 years ago) if I could stand in for him entertaining as a lutenist at a private party in Newport Beach, CA. Like a fool, I said yes. He didn't tell me it was a swing party! Interesting gig!" Returning to Thomas Schall's thread, I would add that we lute players have a problem. Give a formal lute recital, and you'll be lucky if you attract a sizeable audience; play in an informal situation, and you will charm the world. The lute may be unfamiliar to most people, yet when they hear it, they usually enjoy it. A friend of mine down at The Plough once said that he wouldn't dream of going to a lute concert, but if he happened to be in a historic building, and someone was playing a lute, he'd enjoy it very much. For him it is all a question of context. I have played to people who have never heard a lute before, in historic buildings, in schools, at weddings, in private houses, and so on, and given a lot of pleasure. There are all kinds of situations other than recitals, where the lute can be heard to good effect, although I doubt whether an orgy is an appropriate occasion. Best wishes, Stewart McCoy. ----- Original Message ----- From: "bill" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Herbert Ward" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 4:29 PM Subject: Re: Lute on Open Air Festival > > On Luned�, ago 23, 2004, at 17:16 Europe/Rome, Herbert Ward wrote: > > > > I stopped at a roadside rest area. > > Dozens or hundreds of wild birds were > > singing, so I went to get my lute from the car. > > > > > > basho lives! > > i once played my oud by a quiet fountain in bologna because i heard > that playing near an open body of water has a nice effect on the sound. > > all i did was shoo the pigeons away and attract winos. > > - bill > > ps - is no one going to own up to this orgy gig?
