#4014: All in the Lute Family

There’s music for many members of the lute family, from the pipa to the mandolin, from the ngoni to the charango. Of course, the best known of these instruments is the guitar. Hear music for the Portuguese guitar performed by Victor Herrero. The instrument’s teardrop-shaped body, 12 strings, and odd tuning scheme, is mostly associated with the soulful Portuguese fado style. However, in Herrero’s hands, the instrument is bright and folky, and almost sounds like a hammered dulcimer. Then, listen to the virtuoso guitarist Sharon Isbin perform music by Francisco Tarrega, recorded in May 2017 at the Greene Space.  

Meet other members of the lute family as well, in music from Malian griot Makan Badjé Tounkara, who plays a modified n’goni, with three extra strings beyond the traditional lute of the Mande peoples. It’s music from his most recent record, Daba. There’s also music featuring the charango, front and center, as well as music for a duo of resonator guitar (James Moore) and violin (Andie Springer) using crystal wine glasses. Plus, hear music for pipa, the Chinese lute, and the diltar a double-necked Central Asian lute - which is played with a bow like a fiddle, from Wu Man and Abdulla Majnun. There’s also electro-acoustic music featuring oud from Karavan Sarai and music from Dutch lutenist and composer Jozef van Wissem. Music for mandolin and oud from Avi Avital & Omer Avital (no relation) rounds out the show. 

PROGRAM #4014, A World of Lutes (First Aired: 8/16/2017) 

ARTIST: Flo
WORK: Ça ne tient pas la route, excerpt [1:00]
RECORDING: D'amore e di altre cose irreversibili
SOURCE/INFO: agualocarecords.com

ARTIST: Victor Herrero
WORK: Tremulo [3:45] 
RECORDING: Astrolabio
SOURCE: Feeding Tube Records
INFO: victorherrero.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: James Moore & Andie Springer
WORK: Paula Matthusen: in absentia [4:22]
RECORDING: Gertrudes | music for violin & resonator guitar
SOURCE: New World Records 80771
INFO: newworldrecords.org

ARTIST: Wu Man, pipa; Adbulla Majnun, diltar & Tajik musicians
WORK: Chebiyat [3:59] 
RECORDING: Borderlands
SOURCE: Smithsonian Folkways 40529
INFO: folkways.si.edu

ARTIST: Sharon Isbin
WORK: Tarrega: Capricho Arabe [5:37] 
RECORDING: New Sounds Live/New York Guitar Festival at The Greene Space,  5/18/17
SOURCE: This performance not available.
INFO: sharonisbin.com

ARTIST: Flo
WORK: Ça ne tient pas la route [3:39] 
RECORDING: D'amore e di altre cose irreversibili
SOURCE/INFO: agualocarecords.com

ARTIST: Karavan Sarai
WORK: The Journey [5:50] 
RECORDING: Woven Landscapes
SOURCE: Karavan Sarai 
INFO: karavansarai.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Makan Badjé Tounkara
WORK: Daba [5:28]
RECORDING: Daba
SOURCE: Buda Musique
INFO: budamusique.com

ARTIST: Ostad Elahi
WORK: Jelo Shahi Suite, excerpt [5:05]
RECORDING: The Sacred Lute: The Art of Ostad Elahi
SOURCE: Le Chant du Monde / Metropolitan Museum 8742259
INFO: store.hmusa.com

ARTIST: Jozef van Wissem
WORK: US Drone Strikes Again [4:42]
RECORDING: Simulacrum
SOURCE: BV Haast #0104
INFO: Out of print. Try auction sites or record fairs. 

ARTIST: Avi Avital & Omer Avital
WORK: Maroc, excerpt [1:00]
RECORDING: Avital meets Avital
SOURCE: Deutsche Grammophon 479 6523
INFO: deutschegrammophon.com