Hi Chris,
With all due respect to Messrs North, O'Dette, Barto and
Smith ('NOBS' for short- sounds rude but better than 'SNOB' I think) ,
there are a LOT of younger lutenists who are every bit as good as they
were at that age. What the younger ones lack is the immense experience
and judgement of the old guard ('old'? Sheesh! They're all younger
than me!). When these guys were in their 20s they had few rivals.
Most of the older lutenists from the post-Dolmetsch era weren't the
greatest performers (Bream being an exception) though they were right
up there with their musicology and teaching ability. The intervening
generation produced Rooley, Tyler, Bailes and of course Schaeffer and
Dombois - but that was about it* - so there were many more opportunites
for them than there are now. That was still the case for the young
NOBSs.
Nowadays, of course, there are very many more great quality lutenists
than there were forty years ago, but there's not nearly enough work to
go round to keep them all busy as concert performers. Probably their
best hope of earning a crust is through teaching - either in academia
or with private students - and grabbing a performing opportunity when
it presents itself.
I can't really see any way out of supply outstripping demand - 'the
economics of the market-place'. Of course this makes it a cut-throat
business to be in; something nobody thinks about very much when they
enrol at college to study music.
Bill
* Apologies for any names I have inadvertently omitted - old age, you
know . . .
From: Christopher Wilke <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]; [email protected]; Stephen Stubbs
<[email protected]>
Cc: 'Stephen Stubbs' <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, 12 August 2013, 15:00
Subject: [LUTE] Re: general public Lute awareness
Stephen,
I think you are correct. This is essentially what I was getting at
about the concert fee for less-than-established artists. Paul O'Dette,
Hoppy Smith, Nigel North and Bob Barto are all about the same age. When
they were my age, they were already well regarded. Looking around,
however, I know of no lute players in my age group who have comparably
established reputations. Make no mistake: all of these guys are still
making interesting, vital music of the highest caliber. I hope and
expect they will continue to do so for many years to come.
But there has to be fertile ground to nourish a new guard, too. The
big guys may not be getting all they're worth, but, at the fees offered
to the second string players, concertizing can be downright unfeasible.
If players can't get out in front of people, it is hard to build a
following. Once the four players mentioned at the top of this message
become less active, will there be players to take their places?
Chris
Dr. Christopher Wilke D.M.A.
Lutenist, Guitarist and Composer
www.christopherwilke.com
--------------------------------------------
On Mon, 8/12/13, Stephen Stubbs <[1][email protected]> wrote:
Subject: [LUTE] Re: general public Lute awareness
To: [2][email protected], [3][email protected]
Cc: "'Stephen Stubbs'" <[4][email protected]>
Date: Monday, August 12, 2013, 9:24 AM
[Stephen]
There is an interesting book by Phyllis Tickle entitled The
Great
Emergence. It deals with modern Christianity and how
it is evolving.
I think her main theme applies to the lute world as
well. The
'traditionalist' or 'fundamentalist' lute group will
decline, and a
rise of a 'hybrid' (Phyllis had another term for this, but
I've
forgotten what it was) lute group will occur. If not,
the lute will
slowly fade away.
The lute world needs to reach out to the non-traditional
audience.
The SCA and the followers of Sting are a prime resource that
should be
cultivated and encouraged.
For What It's Worth
"The Other" Stephen Stubbs
Champaign, IL USA
"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain
security will
not have, nor do they deserve, either one."
Benjamin Franklin (American Statesman, Scientist,
Philosopher,
Printer, Writer, and Inventor. 1706-1790)
-----Original Message-----
[Tom] Are we trying creatively to increase
general audience for lute
music here, or are we practicing exclusivity? I'm looking at
SCA and
Ren Faires solely as a group of potential music buyers. Why
not
encourage the interest and point it in the right direction?
To get on or off this list see list information at
[5]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
--
References
1. mailto:[email protected]
2. mailto:[email protected]
3. mailto:[email protected]
4. mailto:[email protected]
5. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
