Matthew Weinman Renaissance Lute

As a performer of Historical Lutes, Baroque and Renaissance Guitars, and Theorbo/Chitarrone, I pride myself on employing the most historically informed techniques and materials. My instruments are Luthier built, hand made concert quality instruments, many of which are exact copies of historical instruments in Museums. I use only natural Gut strings as they did in the Renaissance and Baroque. More than 90% of the worlds lute players continue perform on plastic and metal wound strings, completely inappropriate for the voice of a historically constructed instruments. Also, I perform at a table, rather than with a big black modern orchestral music stand blocking the instrument. The lute actually touches the table and acts as a natural resonator and also serves as a music desk. The written music lays flat or slightly elevated, keeping the lute and the player completely visible and audible to the audience. This is the way it was done and it has been hidden in plain sight in hundreds of paintings depicting this practice. I am one of only 2, yes 2 Lute players in the world who employs this elegant and traditional technique. The table is adorned with a historical cloth and sometimes I employ candles. It is a gorgeous and elegant arrangement for Lute, Baroque Guitar and Theorbo performances. If amplification is necessary, I employ very discrete and subtle amplification using a stereo pair of microphones and an acoustic amplifier. Just a touch of amplification for larger venues does not diminish the beauty of the sound. It is indeed ideal to play in a small enough space or a larger acoustically sound space such a s a church. In all cases the audience, patron, client will be thrilled with the results. I have never had a dissapointed audience, patron or client.

Matthew Weinman, residing in New Jersey, graduated from the Mannes College of Music in Historical Performance and earned his master’s in music from Columbia University. He has published The Renaissance Fake Book, The Continuo Players Book of Grounds, Popular Elizabethan Lute Music, among other works for Turtels & Twins Press, for which he is editor and proprietor. He is also a composer for the lute, who demonstrates vast knowledge of 16th-century compositional forms as a stimulus to invention, works published by the Lute Society of England, The Lute Society of America & Turtels & Twins Press.

Mr. Weinman studied Renaissance Lute, Baroque Lute & Theorbo with Pat O'Brien & Paul O'Dette. Music Theory & Composition Studies with, Dan Cataneo, Maria Rojas, David Loeb & Robert Cuckson. Matthew Weinman is a core member of The Bacheler Consort and has been performing, teaching and composing for 29 Years.

I employ a wooden table 24" high and 24" square. Plus a table cloth with pieces of under carpet rubber to keep from slippage. I use a folding chair that is cushioned. All which I supply.

If amplification is needed, I have my own equipment, but if a venue has quality equipment for stereo microphones, that would be fine.

Really, my stage prep is quite simple.