Bream's "Dances of Dowland" LP was the first performance of lute
   that I heard--back in '69.  I was unaware of any of the HIP
   controversies.  Early music in general was making its "debut" with
   groups like David Munrow's Early Music Consort of London, which I had
   the pleasure of hearing in my college days.
   Leonard Williams
   -----Original Message-----
   From: Franz Mechsner <franz.mechs...@gmx.de>
   To: Ron Andrico <praelu...@hotmail.com>
   Cc: Gary Boye <boy...@appstate.edu>; Edward C. Yong
   <edward.y...@gmail.com>; Jurgen Frenz
   <eye-and-ear-cont...@protonmail.com>; Lute List <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
   Sent: Wed, Jun 19, 2019 11:50 am
   Subject: [LUTE] Re: Julian Bream on Lute
     Thank you so much, Ron.
     Apart from my really deep admiration for Bream, I asked a very simple
     question: How did he get the marvellous sound and colors from a lute
     with his fingernails? Of course, some of the recordings sound
   somewhat
     sharp (though full of life), but some with a sound whose beauty
   brings
     me to tears (almost).
     When I myself try to play my lute with fingernails, the
     instrument answers with catastrophic screams: "No no, please stop
   this
     bad treatment of my delicate personality!".
     Apart from that all, sound production, colors, fine expression,
     atmosphere and sentiment on any instrument seems to me the most
     profound question you can ask about making music, rather than an all
     too naive stupid question of a beginner who - upon asking
     such questions - can easily be eaten for breakfeast by the guys 50
     years in the profession (or matter, in the case of lute).
     I actually woke up to the question with a piano teacher who promised
   to
     "connect you with the instrument" according to a method developed in
     the 1920th by a genial piano teacher called Elisabeth Caland. Her
     emphasis and focus was on back muscles, body centre and the like.
     Sounds good (I study Feldenkrais), but I wanted to know. I booked
     lessons with him, which were extremely eye- (or body-) opening. After
     more than half a year, I could clearliy realize that he has to teach
     something extremely important, clever and deep (and completely
     unexpected!) about sound production, but am still struggling how his
     marvellous sound is finanlly achieved. So the main lesson for me was:
     sound production is not at all a simple matter, and morover, not at
   all
     simple to teach and learn.
     My strong suspicion is, that there are analogous  secrets regarding
     sound and color on the lute and guitar I never came across. In this
     connection, I ask: What did Julian Bream find out about it (on lute
   and
     guitar) by teaching himself???
     My other suspicion, unfortunately fueled by my exciting experience
   with
     the mentioned extraordinary piano teacher, is that most musicians -
   not
     only pianists, but maybe even lutenists... :-) - have no idea how to
     achieve the best sound to move their own and other people's souls.
   Some
     players may be a natural talents, playing by following their ear,
     who don't know what they do with their body and instrument (this kind
     of people say: Julian Bream is good because he is excellent...), but
     some - and these are interesting for the rest of us - who are able to
     teach and tell.
     I am looking for wonderful touching sound, to improve in any way I am
     able to, pieces don't need to be complicated - is there anybody out
     there who would be ready to communicate off-list with me on the
     issue???
     Best regards, and I will not disturb you anymore with stupid
   questions
     Franz
     Dr. Franz Mechsner
     Zum Kirschberg 40
     D-14806 Belzig OT Borne
     +49(0)33841 441362
     [1]franz.mechs...@gmx.de
     Gesendet: Mittwoch, 19. Juni 2019 um 17:09 Uhr
     Von: "Ron Andrico" <[2]praelu...@hotmail.com>
     An: "Gary Boye" <[3]boy...@appstate.edu>, "Edward C. Yong"
     <[4]edward.y...@gmail.com>
     Cc: "Jurgen Frenz" <[5]eye-and-ear-cont...@protonmail.com>, "Lute
   List"
     <[6]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
     Betreff: [LUTE] Re: Julian Bream on Lute
     I feel I must add a word of support for Julian Bream and his many
     contributions to the current lute revival.
     As a 20th-century pioneering concert artist, Julian Bream first and
     foremost raised the lute from a quaint closet instrument, best suited
     to historians and eccentrics, to an instrument capable of musical
     expression that reached and communicated to modern audiences.
     Yes, Julian Bream developed and employed his own characteristic
     technique. And yes, he used instruments that were modified from
     historical models to suit his needs as a touring concert artist. But
     it was through his musical chops that he exposed a broad audience to
     the depth and the possibilities of old music for the lute.
     Bream-bashing has been a popular sport among modern players who like
   to
     dwell on what is now considered proper lute technique, but many of
     these players for all intents and purposes dwell in glass houses. For
     instance, I still see an absurd number of modern players (who really
     should know better) using thumb-under technique on baroque lute and
     theorbo. This is patently unhistorical. In fact, it is well known
     that music from circa 1600 onward should be played with the thumb
   out.
     While the lute world is populated by an abundance of opinionated
     hobbyists, Julian Bream is a real musician, and probably still has
     chops most lute players will never attain. Let's give the man the
     respect he deserves.
     RA
     __________________________________________________________________
     From: [7]lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu <[8]lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu> on
   behalf
     of Gary Boye <[9]boy...@appstate.edu>
     Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2019 11:23 AM
     To: Edward C. Yong
     Cc: Jurgen Frenz; Lute List
     Subject: [LUTE] Re: Julian Bream on Lute
     Edward,
     Back in the '70s, there was a quip that "Julian Bream makes the lute
     sound like a guitar and the guitar sound like a lute." I think that
     came from guitarists who had no idea what the lute could sound like.
     He was pretty amazing in concert (on guitar, I didn't see him play
     lute), and quite a character off stage. In addition to "lute," he
     also
     played "vihuela" and "Baroque guitar" (quotes used intentionally!) .
     .
     . Can't say I'd recommend his early music recordings to students
     today
     though..
     Gary
     On Wed, Jun 19, 2019 at 5:39 AM Edward C. Yong
     <[1][10]edward.y...@gmail.com> wrote:
     I have to agree. JB used his stardom to get the lute out there,
     even
     if it was a Frankenlute with nothing lute about it apart from the
     shape.
     Would anyone have paid attention to his lute playing if it hadn't
     ridden on the back of his guitarist reputation? Probably not.
     I recognise that many here were introduced to the lute via JB's
     efforts, but my own experience was rather different. My first
     exposure to lute music was an LP of Julian Bream playing Dowland
     in
     my school library, and that put me off the lute - it sounded like
     a
     classical guitar to me, so at 12, I didn't see the point. It
     wasn't
     until a year later that I heard Paul O'Dette and Jakob Lindberg's
     cd
     of Elizabethan lute duets and that changed my mind entirely - I
     wanted to play an instrument that sounded like theirs.
     While I have much respect for JB being a musician on the guitar
     and
     an 'early adopter', I fear I find his tone on the lute to be thin
     and hard, or à ¢metallic sharp' as Mr Frenz calls it. It's difficult
     for me to look past the tone and appreciate JB's musicianship on
     the
     lutewhen I find the tone unattractive - and this is my failing,
     not
     JB's.
     Edward
     > On 19 Jun 2019, at 12:40 PM, Jurgen Frenz
     <[2][11]eye-and-ear-cont...@protonmail.com> wrote:
     >
     > Julian Bream was a vital part (I believe) of the lute revival 50
     years ago by making the music public. On the downside of it he
     played guitar technique on it to the point of using singe strings
     on
     both the high G and D courses - it allowed him to play apoyando on
     the lute which is a big no-no. Hence his lute playing doesn't
     really
     sound like a lute. Also, at that time, it was common guitar
     technique to use sound differences to emphasize or mark formal
     sections by moving the right hand extremely close to the bridge,
     which creates a very metallic sharp sound. This has fallen out of
     favor on the guitar as well, I personally would qualify it as
     obnoxious, even more so on the lute.
     > If you like it, you may listen to Konrad Ragossnigs lute
     recordings, he sounds very much like Bream did.
     >
     > Best
     > Jurgen
     >
     >
     > ----------------------------------
     > "Close your eyes. Fall in love. Stay there."
     >
     > JalÃâl ad-DÃâà «n Muhammad Rumi
     >
     > à ¢Ã ¢Ã ¢Ã ¢Ã ¢Ã ¢Ã ¢ Original Message à ¢Ã ¢Ã ¢Ã 
¢Ã ¢Ã ¢Ã ¢
     > On Wednesday, June 19, 2019 6:13 AM, Franz Mechsner
     <[3][12]franz.mechs...@gmx.de> wrote:
     >
     >> Dear Dan,
     >>
     >> Julian Bream actually pioneered lute playing very early. Watch
     >> this beautiful movie on him that makes me smile (lute things
     come
     >> somewhere in the
     >> middle): [1][4][1][13]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     >>
     >> Warm regards and best
     >> Franz
     >>
     >> Dr. Franz Mechsner
     >> Zum Kirschberg 40
     >> D-14806 Belzig OT Borne
     >> +49(0)33841 441362
     >> [5][14]franz.mechs...@gmx.de
     >>
     >> Gesendet: Mittwoch, 19. Juni 2019 um 01:07 Uhr
     >> Von: "Dan Winheld" [6][15]dwinh...@lmi.net
     >> An: "Franz Mechsner" [7][16]franz.mechs...@gmx.de,
     [8][17]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
     >> Betreff: Re: [LUTE] Julian Bream on Lute
     >> Nope. Never heard of him.
     >> On 6/18/2019 3:49 PM, Franz Mechsner wrote:
     >>
     >>> Dear collective wisdom,
     >>
     >>>
     >>
     >>> I just heard some pieces played by admired guitarist Julian
     Bram
     on
     >>
     >> the
     >>
     >>> lute. It seems to me he played kind of classical guitar style
     on
     the
     >>
     >>> lute. Strange, but It sounds wonderful to me, not only bold
     for
     the
     >>
     >>> time. Does anyone understand how he played the (maybe special)
     lute
     >>
     >> and
     >>
     >>> produced the wonderful sound on a lute admittedly built for
     him?
     >>
     >>>
     >>
     >>> Best and curious
     >>
     >>> Franz
     >>
     >>>
     >>
     >>> Dr. Franz Mechsner
     >>
     >>> Zum Kirschberg 40
     >>
     >>> D-14806 Belzig OT Borne
     >>
     >>> +49(0)33841 441362
     >>
     >>> [9][18]franz.mechs...@gmx.de
     >>
     >>>
     >>
     >>>
     >>
     >>> To get on or off this list see list information at
     >>
     >>>
   [2][10][2][19]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     >>
     >>>
     >>
     >> References
     >>
     >> 1. [11][3][20]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     >> 2.
   [12][4][21]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     >
     >
     >
     >
     --
     Dr. Gary R. Boye
     Erneston Music Library
     Appalachian State University
     --
     References
     1. [1]mailto:[22]edward.y...@gmail.com
     2. [2]mailto:[23]eye-and-ear-cont...@protonmail.com
     3. [3]mailto:[24]franz.mechs...@gmx.de
     4. [4][5][25]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     5. [5]mailto:[26]franz.mechs...@gmx.de
     6. [6]mailto:[27]dwinh...@lmi.net
     7. [7]mailto:[28]franz.mechs...@gmx.de
     8. [8]mailto:[29]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
     9. [9]mailto:[30]franz.mechs...@gmx.de
     10. [10][6][31]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     11. [11][7][32]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     12. [12][8][33]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     Virus-free. [13][9]www.avast.com
     --
     References
     Visible links:
     1. mailto:[34]edward.y...@gmail.com
     2. mailto:[35]eye-and-ear-cont...@protonmail.com
     3. mailto:[36]franz.mechs...@gmx.de
     4. [10][37]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     5. mailto:[38]franz.mechs...@gmx.de
     6. mailto:[39]dwinh...@lmi.net
     7. mailto:[40]franz.mechs...@gmx.de
     8. mailto:[41]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
     9. mailto:[42]franz.mechs...@gmx.de
     10. [11][43]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     11. [12][44]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     12. [13][45]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     13.

   [14][46]https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=lin
   k&ut
     m_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link
     Hidden links:
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   [15][47]https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=lin
   k&ut
     m_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon
     16.

   file://localhost/net/ifs-users/lute-arc/L28660-816TMP.html#DAB4FAD8-2DD
     7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2
   References
     1. [48]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     2. [49]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     3. [50]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     4. [51]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     5. [52]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     6. [53]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     7. [54]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     8. [55]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     9. [56]http://www.avast.com/
     10. [57]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     11. [58]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     12. [59]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
     13. [60]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
     14.
   [61]https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&ut
   m_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link
     15.
   [62]https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&ut
   m_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon

   --

References

   1. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
   2. mailto:praelu...@hotmail.com
   3. mailto:boy...@appstate.edu
   4. mailto:edward.y...@gmail.com
   5. mailto:eye-and-ear-cont...@protonmail.com
   6. mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
   7. mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu
   8. mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu
   9. mailto:boy...@appstate.edu
  10. mailto:edward.y...@gmail.com
  11. mailto:eye-and-ear-cont...@protonmail.com
  12. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  14. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  15. mailto:dwinh...@lmi.net
  16. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  17. mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
  18. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  19. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  21. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  22. mailto:edward.y...@gmail.com
  23. mailto:eye-and-ear-cont...@protonmail.com
  24. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  26. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  27. mailto:dwinh...@lmi.net
  28. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  29. mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
  30. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  31. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  32. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  33. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  34. mailto:edward.y...@gmail.com
  35. mailto:eye-and-ear-cont...@protonmail.com
  36. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  38. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  39. mailto:dwinh...@lmi.net
  40. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  41. mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
  42. mailto:franz.mechs...@gmx.de
  43. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  44. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  45. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  46. https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&ut
  47. https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&ut
  48. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  49. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  51. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  52. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  53. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  54. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  55. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  56. http://www.avast.com/
  57. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  58. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  59. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUdunh_wMCI
  60. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
  61. 
https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link
  62. 
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