Bach Lute Suite BWV996 Prelude, Sean Frenette, lute

[jordanfelder]

Working on lute technique myself (progress is slooooow) it is very different from classical guitar. Your trills are on p and i typically. Which means your thumb is tucked in so you can reach the higher strings to do faster left hand notes.

[drummassa06]

Nice cross string trill technique. I am currently waging war on cross string trills and failing miserably :(

[elijahquest]

@drummassa06 Advice if you want it: Try right patterns involving p, a, i, a, i, a, .... etc. ending with double drag w/ a. These work well on trills that end with the lower note. A great two string trill is p,a, i, m....  you can roll that one forever just like xylophones trill between two notes to give the impression of a sustained chord. Try not to wage "war" with this... we got enough of that in the world! Practice very slowly and with love. Peace to you.

[crumbon]

Some people talks about what kind of instrument you are using, what kind of string and the the way you play and all those shits!

Good job man.Keep up the good work. Ya don`t have to be Paul O`dette nor Nigel North or Hopkinson Smith etc.

I like your music.

[profesorsergio]

This is an excellent performace!!. Thank you. Favourite and shared. Cheers!!!, Sergio.

[evilkanival1423]

como se llama ese instrumento?

[elijahquest]

@evilkanival1423 Se llama "lute"; este instrumento era del "renaissance".

[purp68]

Hey, I auditioned for Cirque du Soleil aswell and had to video myself playing lots of instruments. Nice video.

[inzyboy777]

has anyone tried these NEC or the Zachary Taylor lutes? Is it worth it or should I just save my money and blow it on the real thing? Since I graduated I can longer borrow the ones from school and I am looking for a solution. Thanks

[akovia]

How much was your Lute Sir?

[Mr98giuliano]

anyway, for a tecnique similar to the lute tecnique, you can play with the right hand parallel to the courses and put your first finger under the second finger....it's easy, but you must do some practice.

[kbkesq]

I'm so impressed that you picked up the lute and gave it a go, and Bach no less. "luteguitar" is yet another person trolling youtube trying to make himself feel good. Let me guess, he posted nothing... Anyway, nice job and to me, this is what youtube is all about. You did something a lot of classical guitarists have thought about but never took action and you showed that a) it wasn't so difficult and b) that it is very pleasant. That speaks volumes. I love Jakob Lindberg, btw. Best of luck!

[luteguitar]

@kbkesq no the one trolling are you, did I offend him??? mmmm it seems no.

So let me guess you are one of the people on youtube that don't understand that the comments can't be all "wow you play so well,5 stars", right??

[jazzpsalti]

@kbkesq totally. Luteguitar is just some fat guy at a bar claiming he knows something. I see that shit all the time on my Michael Hedges covers. Sean is so nice of a guy to even humor this scumbag, I usually just delete such comments. fuck 'em I say! fuck 'em!

[pissballs]

This does sound really good and resonant. I am quite aware of the criticism that plagues anyone who is an aspiring instrument player in any walk of life. I'm sure you realized that there are world class lute players but I'm sure you knew this already to. Who cares eh? I enjoyed your piece fully then after I noticed the comments. Great Job :)

[kcjrr27]

Simply wonderful. I long, long ago gave up maintaining anything like a pedantic approach to music. It saddens me to see listeners completely miss the point of a performance. I hope I don't sound immodest if I say I didn't miss the point. One hundred percent enjoyment here. Thank yoiu so much.

[luteguitar]

the piece is well played, but playing a music for a 13 course baroque lute on a renaissance lute and with guitar technique doesn't sound good, it sounds like a guitar with reverb but not like a lute I suggest to you to hear to Paul O'dette Baroque lute recordings.

Another thing I want to say is that the medieval-renaissance oud was fretted like a lute, the lute became very different from the oud just in the second half of the 15th century, when they added course and they played with fingers.

[elijahquest]

I've heard the Paul O-dette lute recordings. They are very good. However, I wasn't trying to create a historically accurate sound here; I was simply auditioning for Cirque du Soleil and they wanted me to play on "as many different instruments as possible". I am not a lutenist per say, in fact I've only ever played the lute for the week that I rented it for this video.

[elijahquest]

BTW, this music was actually written on the Lautenwerke, a keyboard instrument. Bach may not have been so particular about which plucked string instrument it would eventually be played on. Maybe he'd appreciate guitar with reverb....

[paulgiamb]

@elijahquest

great point! someone that is finally remembering that this piece was for lautenwerk and not for lute :-) maybe that guitar approach is closer to lautenwerk than the lute itself

[Mr98giuliano]

@luteguitar I believe, however, that the sound is wonderful, like a lute, because it inevitably has a shape and a lute strings that produce the same sound anyway, because the technique is a secondary thing, but the sound is common to all lutes ......

[luteguitar]

@Mr98giuliano no it's not like that, If you play the lute you know that the nails and the position of the hand change EVERYTHING, just listen some guitar player playing on a lute (pls not Bream, because his lute was a guitar with lute shape made by David Rubio) and than a luteplayer , the first one is always metallic and not very resonant, the second produces a sweet and resonant sound.

And is the same for the guitar, listen someone with nails or not nails and it change everything.

[jazzpsalti]

sean, you know I think this is beautiful, because it's Bach, and you're playing it. I just want to express how appalled I am, at the authority some of these guys have, here in the peanut gallery on youtube. They are nowhere near me, and... therefore... a universe behind you. (sorry to cause a ruckus, y'all, but... I'd rather hear him than you)

[lawlawlowned]

@luteguitar says the guy with no uploads..

[luteguitar]

@lawlawlowned says the other guy with no uploads with no understanding of the lute.

[PAdeOC]

congratulations! The oud is such a rare instrument and you not only play it but you play a very difficult Bach's piece. How long did you take to play this piece so well?

[elijahquest]

Thank you. It's a lute, actually. Close though, lute came from the oud after the Spanish drove out the Moors. They didn't like the slidey fingerboard so they added frets and called it a lute. I recorded this piece in 2006 and I had first encountered the piece in 1999 while studying with Mark Davis at UConn. So, about 7 years of classical guitar training and playing then a week or so to figure it out lute.

[PAdeOC]

I understand that you are a professional musician to be able to dedicate in such manner as to play so well. I say it because I play acoustic guitar since when I was 40. I am 46 now and I know how hard it is to play so well. Sorry I called it an oud because I thought a lute was that huge one with two arms and many lose strings all the way to the top of the upper long arm.

Greetings from Brasil and keep on with the beautiful work!

[elijahquest]

Greeting from Portland, OR. Maybe see you in Brasil sometime! all the best in health and music!

[ParadoxTorque]

Your Prelude is a bit short of the Presto part :) Nice playing though.

[guimolnar]

man, i love lute, so beautiful

i never played it, but it must be so fucking hard

[elijahquest]

its harder to TUNE it than play it!!!

[bielfl95]

man you look like the guy from The Tudors! lol. Anyway, very good performance :D

[SnuggleBear1970]

There must be music like this in HEAVEN.

[elijahquest]

note to self: MUST play in hospitals more often.

Bless your heart!

[keepthemusicplaying0]

Wonderful performance, my compliments!!  5**

[jazzpsalti]

lol @ :54... how does bach make inverted minor chords sound scarier than non inverted lol

[pipotherium]

Nice

[sleepydood]

Who knew that Dave Nevarro played the lute? :P

Just kidding! Great work, sir. Always a treat to find a beautifully played work outside of my own playing experience.

[NonoJam9]

Five stars four your technician, fifty four your transmission

[elijahquest]

minus four for your grammar!  (Just kidding) Thanks and THANKS!!!!

[41jimmyp]

I always wonder if they had lute hero back in Bach's day... some kid back then saying hey man I was on expert on that lute suite. Great stuff man... maybe more authentic than guitar...

[Falkon36]

DORGAS IRAIRAIRAIRAIRA

[scanevaro]

beatifull (:

[sonique25]

Wow maestro five stars, and I agree, the pants are great... cuestion: how do you tune a lute ?

cheers man saludos desde México

[elijahquest]

It's been said that "If a lutenist lives to play for 60 years, 40 of those years will have been spent tuning." How do you tune a lute: OFTEN! I tuned this lute's courses to B, E, A, D, G, B, E. Basically like a seven-string guitar. I'm more familiar with the guitar transcription of this piece in standard guitar tuning, hence my lute tuning is basically that with the low B on the bottom.

[opiekat138]

I tune my guitar down to B, but I play brutal death metal so It doesn't really sound much like this haha =D

Anyways, really nice music, beautiful, calming and relaxing.

Any plans on releasing a demo or album or something?

[elijahquest]

thank you and yes, album(s) in the works. I already have a solo 3 string guitar album that's out locally (see my Viennawaterfalls video for a sneak peek) and I"m working on a solo piano album (with some vocal tunes) and a solo guitar album (classical pieces and originals) mixed with some chamber music, too.

[echels]

That was amazing but leaves me hanging! I want to hear the fugue :)

[elijahquest]

It's funny: I learned the fugue years ago and have recently only been able to play about half of it from memory...at which point I morph it into a composition of mine own that happens to be Bach-ish. I will definitely get the fugue down at some point though, it's gorgeous!

[JIMMYISFAT666]

sweet pants dude

[naymelessmoonlight]

yes. the pants were what first caught my eye when viewing this video as well ;)

[elijahquest]

Thanks! Julee Avallone (of Depth Quartet and Mike Gordon band) has a wonderfully talented mother, Sarah, who makes great pants to perform in. I was bestowed such a pair in 2006 and wore them in this video. I'll try and pass on the love at some point.

[Technogrow55]

Nice job. Melodic and Recitative. Have Meloni recorded the second part of this prelude: The presto?

[Indoguitarkid]

Mr.Marco Meloni shaped his nails that he can play the lute/ baroque guitar as well as a nylon guitar. He only change the angle to appropriate one to the instrument. The nail shape are the same with Mr.Pierri, but Mr.Pierri didn't play any historic instrument.

I use the shape too, it sounds good.

Cheers

[Indoguitarkid]

I think the renaissance lute technique is different from the baroque lute.

But both didn't use nails.

But I still like your work.

Greetings from Indonesia.

Stephen

[abnoxio]

The reason they didn't use nails back in those days was because they didn't have decent sandpaper. And a lot of them were judo practitioners, and you can't have nails during a match. (ok I'm silly, but what choice do you have when you are a classical guiter player as I am but wish to play the lute as well? take the nails off? fake fingertips? I'm not going to cut off my nails just because I've got a lute. Which I wish I had.)

[sebenoky]

Wonderful!

[LutenistDeMari]

This is not the kind of lute this suite was writen for! this is a rennaissance lute, it was not around in Germany in Bach's day. Also guitar technique not lute technique. Regardless, your very good playing comes through no matter what the instrument.

[elijahquest]

Right. It's also possible that Bach never heard this piece done on a Baroque lute; it was written on the lautenwerke, a harpischord-like instrument that sounded more like a lute in its timbre and articulation. And yes, certainly I'm more guitarist than lutenist. This was only the 2nd time I'd ever played one after trying out a Dowland song it in 2004. I'm glad the music still peeks through to you in spite of these circumstances. Thank you.

[muaddib1st]

What is the difference between lute technique and guitar technique? Does Julian Bream use guitar technique on both lute and guitar? I never knew there was a difference.

[LutenistDeMari]

Julian uses guitar technique on lute yes. There is a massive difference, mostly to the right hand. Lute technique is changed mainly by the extra strings, and the fact that one doesn't (shouldn't, if one wants a real lute sound) use nails. The 4th right hand finger plants on the sound board as a reference for the many bass courses (esp. needed in baroque lute, which has 13 courses) the plucking action feels totally different because of the lack of nails.

[muaddib1st]

Very interesting. I'm a classical guitarist, but love the idea of playing the lute or theorbo. Thanks for the insight. I imagine that there are many classical guitarists unaware of these differences.

[savetheworld2007]

its nice to hear how its supposed to be heard. It sounds different because im used to guitar. Its lovely

[Yiggyski]

Now that is talent.

[2639scorch]

You're pretty good!

[654321654321]

is great to hear this piece played on a lute.

[jamarriage]

Nice, maybe a theorbo next?

[elijahquest]

ah, theorbo!! I played one for a little bit in my UConn days (circa '99).  That's the Cadillac of the guitars right there! Thanks!!

[evrimbayindir]

nice interpretation. please post more video!

[elijahquest]

thanks! Love to post more but I only had lute for a little while and had to return it to the NEC library. I have more videos, but none of lute unfortunately. However, I just broke all of my nails (I'm usually a classical player), so maybe I'll go get it again and work up some more lute while I've got nice pads!!