The Lute Society: Home Page

Welcome to The Lute Society's website

The Lute Society, now over 60 years old, exists to promote the lute and its music. Members get a new member's pack of 100 pages of lute music, a quarterly magazine, Lute News, with music supplement, an annual journal, The Lute, discounts on our growing range of publications and other benefits. Even if you can't make it to our meetings, playing days, and residential weekends in Britain, joining is an excellent way of building up your music library, and keeping in touch with other lute players, and with news in the lute world.

Not sure if it's for you? For a FREE COPY of our magazine Lute News, just contact the secretary

News

Figured bass sharing network - contributed by members - a sharing library of continuo parts that can be borrowed.

Issue 144 of Lute News is now out - see its colour front cover. See a gallery of previous front covers on the publications page, under Lute News back issues.

Beginners' lesson - 48 - Galliard (no 45 from the Lute Society's '114 Early to Intermediate Pieces')

Summer Schools If you haven't booked a lute holiday yet, here are our listings of summer school listings.

Summer party at the house of John and Joyce Reeve in Maidenhead, Saturday 17th June, with music from James Bramley, Din Ghani and Timea Gazdag Contact the secretary for further details.

New downloads for lute and recorder - three Gymnopedies by Erik Satie arranged by Leonard Williams; plus two frottole by Franciscus Bossinesis arranged by by Philip MacLeod-Coupe - see free downloads

Extant Lutes Database - a new interactive online database of historic lutes that have survived into modern times. Based on data collated over decades by David Van Edwards, Klaus Martius, Friedemann Hellwig, Ernst Pohlmann and others, with many photos and details about these remarkable historical survivors. See help page and summary or go to the database.

Gaspar Sanz - A new translation by Monica Hall of Sanz instructions on accompanying a bass line on baroque guitar - ‘Instrucción de música sobre la guitarra española y método de sus primeros rudimentos hasta tañerla con destreza’. See baroque guitar for further details.

Beginners lesson - 47 - Starting continuo, by Lynda Sayce

Bach Solo Lute Discography - A discography listing all solo music by JS Bach recorded on instruments of the lute family, currently covering over 130 recordings. Collated by John Reeve. See Bach Solo Lute Discography

Updated Lute Society Music index - search through the tabulature supplements by composer

Lute Iconography Database (Lute IDB) There is a new release of this rich and detailed resource of lute iconography images collated and curated by David Van Edwards. Newly updated with better search and usability features: help page and summary or go to the database.

For previous news items, see Old news

Recent pages on this website

  • Lute Iconography Database - over 3000 images of lutes catalogued in a searchable online database.
  • Back issues of Lute News now available for purchase online. Now you can fill in any missing copies in your collection. Lute News has been fully digital since issue 101, and the first hundred issues have kindly been digitised by Eric Crouch.
  • New pieces on our members' compositions pages - recent updates by David Protheroe, Steven Watson, Laudon Schuett and others.

New Music Editions

See our catalogue for details and to purchase online:

  • 158 early Cinquecento preludes and recercars - a bumper collection of early Italian lute music, all standards, beginner to advanced
  • Compendium of 178 Polish dances - another bumper edition!
  • Fun merchandise! Lute-playing mouse paperweight

Listings and services

As well as our online shop where you can purchase our publications, our website contains a number of listings of lutes for sale, makers, teachers, publishers, summer schools and other links.

Contact the secretary

The Secretary, Christopher Goodwin
3 Dolcey Way,
Sharnbrook,
Bedfordshire, MK44 1LE
United Kingdom
Tel: (+44/0)1483 202159 / (++44/0)7510 254106

or if your email bounces back from this, try

Donations

The Lute Society’s finances are ticking over nicely with the present membership fees and it is breaking even in a safe and steady manner. But we would like to be able to fund occasional additional activities without having to raise the general membership fees to a level which would put off some from joining. If you feel able to help in this way, it will be greatly appreciated.

There will be an opportunity for UK tax payers to gift aid their donation after they click the donate button.

General Fund Donation
Donating with this button will enable you to add an amount of your choice to our general fund.


Student Bursary Fund Donation
Donating with this button will enable you to add an amount of your choice to our Student Bursary Fund which will enable us to fund deserving students for places on short term music courses such as Benslow.