Finally a guy with guts! Stefan Lundgren
"Rob Dorsey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> schrieb: To the List: For those who were not fortunate enough to attend, the baroque lute and theorbo concert by list member Chris Wilke last night was a triumph on several levels. First, Chris is a really nice and gentle guy and that's enough in so gifted a musician but his playing has a wonderful, precise aggressiveness that does credit to the music and the instrument. Chris' choices are also a lesson in 17th century European musicology. He began self effacingly in consort with baroque guitarist Rodney Stucky on Ferrarese's "Sonata de camara in dm" in which he pulled the mighty t'bo back to balance the delicate strumming of the baroque guitar but then he left the theorbo strapped on for 5 solo movements of the "Pieces in C Major" by little known instrument maker and theorbist, Charles Hurel which showed the instrument well - which I judged from the first row to be a 74/140cm strung in Nylgut - and displayed Chris' comfort and command of both the axe and the repertoire. Still on t'bo he was joined on stage by soprano Esther Nam and accompanied her on the Strozzi "L'amante segreto" and Sances "Usurpator tiranno" demonstrating well to the audience that most effective and historical use of the Italian theorbo. Then out came a 13 "theorboed baroque lute" after Martin Hoffmann and he eased into the Falckenhagen "Concerto for lute solo in Eb major" whose final "Vivace" is as good and lively - Chris appears to like the piece given his energetic rendition - as the German 17th century lute repertoire has to offer. He then continued with pieces from the Robarts Lute Book - which many of us may have available - including a lovely "Chaconne" by Ennemond Gaultier. It was his finale though that stunned the house. His own arrangement of a remarkable guitar suite by Carlo Domeniconi (1987) which was penned after the composer spent some time in Turkey was a revelation and showed that, as I say on my web site, "The baroque lute is far from dead. It is merely misunderstood." Intertwined into the stimulating and sometimes frenzied piece are elements from music for the oud and saz, recognizable in the tonalities and rhythms, which flow into elements of Moorish influence on the Flamenco style. These diverse but linked forms alternate throughout the work ending in a wild ride of Flamenco rhythms supporting a most modern repeated theme overlaid on the fireworks with steady and pointed emphasis. In it Chris displays a fearless ability to maintain the frenetic tempo with unvarying clean technique. While the entire program was marvelous, in this piece we saw true virtuosity emerge and it left this listener amazed by what was just heard from a baroque lute. I bought his cd then and there. You can find it at: <http://cdbaby.com/cd/cwilke> http://cdbaby.com/cd/cwilke and includes the "Composee pour Mademoiselle de la Balme" The Theorbo Music of Charles Hurel. You Should'a Been There, Rob Dorsey http://RobDorsey.com -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- Barer Str. 70, D-80799 München Tel.: +49 (0)89 / 272 24 07 WebSite: http://www.luteonline.de
