Jakob Lindberg, born in Sweden in 1952, studied guitar and lute at The Royal College of Music in London and became a professor of lute there in 1979.
Composition History
Elizabethan lute duets served multiple functions, including showcasing virtuoso playing, acting as musical etudes for learning technique, and providing a social activity.
Performer Biography
Paul O'Dette, born in Pittsburgh in 1954, began classical guitar studies at age fifteen and later pursued full-time lute study in Basel, Switzerland.
Historical Context
Lute duets were common in Elizabethan England, with nearly two-thirds of lute music sources from the "Golden Age" (1575-1620) containing music for two lutes.
Compositional Technique
Around 1590, some lute duets began to be divided so that accompaniment and melody roles were split relatively equally between the two lutes, moving away from the treble-ground style.
Compositional Technique
The earliest lute duets used a 'treble-ground' format, where one lute repeated a harmonic progression while the other played variations over it, a style originating in mid-16th century Italy.
Composer Biography
John Johnson, appointed by the queen as "one of the musicians for the three lutes" in 1579, was significantly influenced by Alfonso Ferrabosco's lute style.
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