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“
probably the finest living exponent of his instrument
”
The Times Colonist, Victoria, B.C.

Upcoming Concerts

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April 22, 2021

Ronn McFarlane and Carolyn Surrick Live Stream at Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music

Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music Live Stream

Lincoln, NE

May 1, 2021

***POSTPONED***Ronn McFarlane at Bach in the Brewery

Monument City Brewery

Baltimore, MD

May 24, 2021

***POSTPONED***The Baltimore Consort at Amthof Feldkirchen

Amthof Feldkirchen

Kärnten, Austria

May 30, 2021

***POSTPONED***The Baltimore Consort at Festival Schlossmediale Werdenberg

Verein Schloss Werdenberg

Werdenberg, Switzerland

August 14, 2021

Ayreheart at Edith May's Paradise

Edith May's Paradise

Jessup, MD

The Celtic Lute

Ronn's original arrangements of traditional Irish & Scottish folk tunes for the lute

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Beyond the Basics

The Art & Science of Playing the Lute, from the Lute Society of America Quarterly

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History
of the Lute

Explore the ancient past of this instrument of Kings and Queens

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Musical
Performances

Watch videos of Ronn, recorded in the studio and at live shows

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Original
Music

Discover music in the tradition of the lutenist-composer

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Selected Albums

Browse the full Discography

The Celtic Lute

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The Celtic Lute

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Barley Moon

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Nine Notes that Shook the World

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Two Lutes

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The Art of Vivaldi's Lute

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Blame Not My Lute

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One Morning

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Adio España

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Bright Day Star

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Live in Concert

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Gut, Wind, and Wire

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Indigo Road

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According to the Mary Burwell Lute Tutor:⁠ ⁠ “…the French are in possession of the lute, that it is their instrument - as the viol is the instrument of England, the guitar that of Spain, the theorbo that of Italy, the virginal or harpsichord that of Germany, the harp that of Ireland, and so of others according to the genus of each nation.”⁠ ⁠ The Burwell Lute Tutor (c. 1660-1672)⁠ ⁠ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⁠ ⁠ Art:
I was born with twin passions for classical and popular music. By the time I first took up the lute, I had already worked both as a classical guitarist and a rock musician. It seemed impossible to reconcile these two musical lives I was leading. But I found that with the lute and its music my love for classical and popular music were finally joined together. On the classical side, the first thing to strike a listener is the poetry of the lute’s sound. Its tone is shaped by subtle shadings of the fingertips, creating a wide palette of tone colors. The moods and emotions of the music are expressed through direct contact between fingers and strings. I have always seen the lute as a spiritual instrument: one that can take its listeners into a finer, more delicate and beautiful world. Indeed, sixteenth century listeners seem to have had the same thought. The greatest Renaissance masters of the lute were credited with having semi-divine powers to move the souls of their listeners. The legendary Francesco da Milano is described in and old account as lifting his listeners into a “divine frenzy,” then gently returning their earthly senses again. I was also drawn to the lute by its magnificent repertory. Unknown to most people, the lute has one of the largest and most richly varied repertories of any classical instrument. It includes thousands and thousands of compositions extending from about 1500 until 1790 - not only lute solos, but also songs for lute and voice, duets for flute and lute, chamber music for lute and a variety of other instruments (such as viol, recorder, flute, cittern, bandora, violin and cello), concertos for lute and string orchestra, and music for two, three and even four lutes to play together. The lute’s music also has a strong popular and folk element. It seems that popular music of each century has much in common: strong rhythms, uncomplicated melodies, a refreshing directness of expression and the opportunity for on-the-spot improvisation. The lute was often used to accompany dancing. Some of the lute’s most rhythmically compelling music originated as dance music. #accousticguitar #lute #earlymusic #renaissancemusic
Like many wild animals, I’m pretty sure that lutes can sense fear in their lute player. Be sure to approach the lute calmly with confidence. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #accousticguitar #lute #earlymusic #renaissancemusic #baroquemusic #folkmusic #classicalmusic #musician #classicalguitar #classicalguitarist #music #lutenists #lutenist #guitar #guitarist #guitarra #guitarista #laguitarra #accoustic #accousticmusic #oud #musicappreciation
On variety of touch on the lute, from the Burwell Lute Tutor (c. 1660-1672): “When you begin to play something well, you must alter your way of striking and flatter (as we speak) the lute - that is to strike it sometimes gently. For as the lute is kind of language, you must imitate the orators, who now raise their voices and then abate it; now they get asleep the hearer, and now they awaken him; now they charm him and now they amaze him, and with the same organ do express two sorts of sounds. Likewise, in playing of the lute, in some places you must strike hard and in others so gently that one may hardly hear you. That variety is pleasing and produces attention of the hearer. It belongs only to the lute touch so the same instrument, that, if one did not see you, he would think that you played upon two several lutes.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #lute #earlymusic #renaissancemusic #baroquemusic #folkmusic #classicalmusic #musician #classicalguitar #classicalguitarist #music #lutenists #lutenist #guitar #guitarist #guitarra #guitarista #laguitarra #accoustic #accousticmusic #accousticguitar #oud #musicappreciation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Art: