Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
WELCOME TO CEREMONIAL LUTEING
Performance Artist
Christopher Kohut
Renaissance Lute, Archlute, Guitar and Vocals
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is it?
A. It's a Renaissance lute. Ancient ancestor of the guitar. It started showing up in tapestries and paintings around the 12th century in Europe.
2. Where'd it come from?
A. The lute evolved from the Arabian oud ( o' ud --literally 'of wood') which is an instrument from the Arabian peninsula that dates back about 3500 years or better.
3. Why's the head bent back like that? Someone break your guitar, big guy?
A. Ha, ha, ha. never heard that one before.... (....swine ) The head's bent back for a couple of reasons. First of all, it probably is a vestigial remains in design from the oud which has a similarly raked back peg head, but it has a practical function as well. It decreases the tension of the strings on the delicate table or soundboard (which is only about a millimeter and a half thick), slightly by being bent back at such an angle.
4. How many strings that thing have?
The lute you see me playing in the pictures is a late renaissance model and has 19 strings in ten courses. A course is a double set of strings. The odd number is from the single chanterelle, (the singer in French), or treble most, or melody string that is not twinned in this particular incarnation of the lute. Practically, it's not much more complicated than a 12 stringed guitar, as most of the fingering is done among the first five courses... although it looks considerably more involved than a 12 string.
5. How is it tuned? (guitarists always seem to want to know this)
The Renaissance lute is pitched somewhat higher than a guitar. The lute I play is sometimes called a tenor lute. The chanterelle on the lute I play is tuned to 'a' and then the first course is a fourth lower or 'e', proceeding down in fourths (except the 3rd course) until the 5th course, .. From there the balance of the stings back diatonically down the scale, until you finally run out of strings. So you see it's really like a guitar with an 'a' above the high 'e'. Confused? Excellent!
6. How can I make my guitar sound like a lute?
A. Well, here's a trick...What you can do if you want to play the literature in tablature out there written for the renaissance or baroque lute is de-tune your 'g' string one half step down to 'f #' . Now, move all your chording positions one string bass-ward on the fingerboard. You've lost a bass note, haven't you? Ah, but voila! You've gained a chanterelle !
Most of the Baroque tablature is written in a D minor tuning-- just tune the guitar to a d minor open chord...(as if your life isn't complicated enough already- honestly I'd try it! I was playing in that tuning for years and years not even knowing that it was an existent lute tuning). Go ahead andhave at that Leophold Sylvanius Weiss piece you've been wanting to tackle for so long.
7. Why'd you get involved in playing the lute anyway?
A. Sheer caprice. I offer no defense.
8. How long have you been playing the lute?
A. About 6 years (as of this writing, March 2009) As I'm a self taught guitarist for 40 years before that... yep, I'm a crossover.... (no, I don't want to discuss thumb-under/thumb out technique with you), as also are some prominent lutenists of today.
IF YOU'VE MADE IT TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE:
I 'd like to whole-heartedly thank you for your interest in the lute, and trust that
some of your questions have been answered (in part, at least), be sure to visit
the links page on the Ceremonial Luteing web page (http://www.savannahlute.com) for some more intensive searching of this, the prince of all instruments, however deceased it might be, it's alive in my heart, and now, hopefully, in yours.
Christopher Kohut
Performance Artist
Christopher Kohut
Renaissance Lute, Archlute, Guitar and Vocals
BOOKINGS: 912.308.0666
EMAIL: savannahlute@comcast.net
WEB PAGE: http://savannahlute.com/
I am available to play a fair variety of music. Celtic, Sacred,... (no, that isn't music performed at Halloween), Renaissance, Elizabethan, and Classical for example, J.S. Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, the ubiquiteous Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel, (who later on left his mark on history in fast food franchising), Percell, Dowland, Turlough O'Carolan, a 17th century Irish harpist sometimes called Ireland's Mozart (maybe a little stretch there), and even a couple of tunes by Henry VIII (!) (Anne Bolyne wasn't the first or last lass to lose her head over a musician) (...ahem.)
Additionally, I play quite a fair amount of original music settings from scripture and hymns vocalized by yours truly.
Mostly these are guitar settings, but some have been converted over to the lute.
MY FEES
$350 for the Wedding Ceremony
(Travel costs away from of Savannah, if any, to be considered on a case to case basis.)
| Ceremony: | 1/2-3/4 hour Prelude music (assorted Elizabethan and/or Celtic selections) |
| Processional: | Whatever your lil' heart desires. We'll determine that at the music interview. |
| Mid Ceremony Music: | If desired, a lute piece for the unity candle, sand mixing ceremony, Communion, possibly a scriptural setting vocalized on guitar, or perhaps a meditative lute piece. |
| Recessional: | Kick up you heels and get back down the aisle with a high strung Celtic jig on the Renaissance lute.... Or steam majestically back down the aisle to 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring'...Your choice. |
| Postlude: | More Elizabethan, Celtic, Scottish lute tunes, as your guests file out. |
ADDITIONAL FEES
| Reception: | If I am needed for any portion of the reception or dinner after the ceremony, there will be an additional fee of $150. |
| Kindly note: | The Renaissance lute is a hauntingly sweet, austere , intimate instrument, not particularly suited for modern public dancing, raves, mosh pits, or general capering and cavorting. It is DECIDEDLY not suited for modern melodies, (Sweet Home Alabama, Freebird, so kindly don't ask.) Brave, Brave Sir Robin would be the exception to the above rule. |
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is it?
A. It's a Renaissance lute. Ancient ancestor of the guitar. It started showing up in tapestries and paintings around the 12th century in Europe.
2. Where'd it come from?
A. The lute evolved from the Arabian oud ( o' ud --literally 'of wood') which is an instrument from the Arabian peninsula that dates back about 3500 years or better.
3. Why's the head bent back like that? Someone break your guitar, big guy?
A. Ha, ha, ha. never heard that one before.... (....swine ) The head's bent back for a couple of reasons. First of all, it probably is a vestigial remains in design from the oud which has a similarly raked back peg head, but it has a practical function as well. It decreases the tension of the strings on the delicate table or soundboard (which is only about a millimeter and a half thick), slightly by being bent back at such an angle.
4. How many strings that thing have?
The lute you see me playing in the pictures is a late renaissance model and has 19 strings in ten courses. A course is a double set of strings. The odd number is from the single chanterelle, (the singer in French), or treble most, or melody string that is not twinned in this particular incarnation of the lute. Practically, it's not much more complicated than a 12 stringed guitar, as most of the fingering is done among the first five courses... although it looks considerably more involved than a 12 string.
5. How is it tuned? (guitarists always seem to want to know this)
The Renaissance lute is pitched somewhat higher than a guitar. The lute I play is sometimes called a tenor lute. The chanterelle on the lute I play is tuned to 'a' and then the first course is a fourth lower or 'e', proceeding down in fourths (except the 3rd course) until the 5th course, .. From there the balance of the stings back diatonically down the scale, until you finally run out of strings. So you see it's really like a guitar with an 'a' above the high 'e'. Confused? Excellent!
6. How can I make my guitar sound like a lute?
A. Well, here's a trick...What you can do if you want to play the literature in tablature out there written for the renaissance or baroque lute is de-tune your 'g' string one half step down to 'f #' . Now, move all your chording positions one string bass-ward on the fingerboard. You've lost a bass note, haven't you? Ah, but voila! You've gained a chanterelle !
Most of the Baroque tablature is written in a D minor tuning-- just tune the guitar to a d minor open chord...(as if your life isn't complicated enough already- honestly I'd try it! I was playing in that tuning for years and years not even knowing that it was an existent lute tuning). Go ahead andhave at that Leophold Sylvanius Weiss piece you've been wanting to tackle for so long.
7. Why'd you get involved in playing the lute anyway?
A. Sheer caprice. I offer no defense.
8. How long have you been playing the lute?
A. About 6 years (as of this writing, March 2009) As I'm a self taught guitarist for 40 years before that... yep, I'm a crossover.... (no, I don't want to discuss thumb-under/thumb out technique with you), as also are some prominent lutenists of today.
IF YOU'VE MADE IT TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE:
I 'd like to whole-heartedly thank you for your interest in the lute, and trust that
some of your questions have been answered (in part, at least), be sure to visit
the links page on the Ceremonial Luteing web page (http://www.savannahlute.com) for some more intensive searching of this, the prince of all instruments, however deceased it might be, it's alive in my heart, and now, hopefully, in yours.
Christopher Kohut
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
