I thought I'd start a thread for the lute, rather than adding to the solo repertoire thread, because I hope to have a substantial amount of correspondence from people who know a lot more than I do.
So, to roll the ball, I'll just state why the lute deserves attention.
As a solo instrument, it was dominant in parts of Europe at a time of musical adventure, discovery and refinement; hence the high-quality repertoire. Renaissance and Baroque composers, makers and players did some outstanding work with this instrument.
It sounds simply wonderful.
Julian Bream plays it.
I hope to be more specific as well as a little more perceptive in future posts, but for now I only invite enthusiasts, practitioners and collectors to contribute.

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"Music is a social act of communication among people, a gesture of friendship, the strongest there is."
- Malcolm Arnold.

Mark there are all kinds of lutes out there from Asia to Kentucky with the
mandolin. Can you be a little more specific?
judy tooley

I refer to the European lute, as played in the 16th to 18th Centuries. Renaissance and Baroque types differed, particularly in the number of string courses, but that's the type I like so much. Thanks for asking, Judy.

It's unfortunate that much lute music is now almost always arranged and performed on guitar. While many of those transcriptions are very good, there's still nothing like hearing an actual lute.

Note: The oft-pretentious Sting (think: Dream of the Blue Turtles) recently released a lute album of songs by John Dowland, which is actually not bad.

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Take a look at the Bandit's blog, The Classical Corner.

check out Ronn McFarlane's new CD INDIGO ROAD. it is performed on the lute.. entirely! AWesome stuff..

He will be interviewed on PERFORMANCE TODAY tomorrow April 18 so check your local stations for times...! He'll be talking about Indigo Road and they'll play tunes from it and from his early music recordings, too.

You should also try Rolf Lislevand's "La belle homicide". A lot of beautiful lute pieces by underrated composers from 17th century.

Thanks for the recommendations, Lute Lover & Hippogryph. I've listened to samples of Ronn McFarlane & checked out Mr. Lislevand's disc. I'll be ordering the latter.

I like lute music. Though, unless I've been looking in the wrong places, the choice at the moment seems to be Dowland or Dowland. I've got a cheerful disc of Konrad Ragossnig doing a whole list of tiny pieces by Europeans I've never heard of, and Goran Sollscher's recording of the Bach Lute Suites on a guitar (admittedly an eleven-string affair he had made for the purpose, but still a guitar). I went to a concert to see, I think, Nigel North many years ago, and that was fun - I don't remember much about it, except I got to see a theorbo, and that doesn't happen every day.

For the last year or two, I've been enjoying the occasional "Lutecast" at http://lutecast.blogspot.com, which is well worth a visit.

Thank you for the link, Burbage. Much appreciated.
I have a four-CD set of Konrad Ragossnig's lute playing: The Rosette Collection, Renaissance Lute Music. It covers styles from different parts of Europe, "tiny pieces" as you call them, and it's full of delights.
Weiss's Baroque works are perhaps more substantial, and I'm collecting them as played by Robert Barto, on the Naxos label.
I'd also recommend Julian Bream: The Golden Age Of English Lute Music. Just one disc, full of life.

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"Music is a social act of communication among people, a gesture of friendship, the strongest there is."
- Malcolm Arnold.

Keep a lookout for the liuto attiorbato. Midway between a standard lute and a theorbo, with thick strings and a deep, aggressive sound. Tremendous for Bach lute suites, and for continuo when you don’t want the sparkle of a harpsichord. For some reason they were much loved by rich Italians, so tend to be highly decorated.



Here’s one used in a Forqueray viola da gamba suit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av20FgeJIok

Thanks, purple99. I hadn't heard the liuto attiorbato before. With the viola da gamba it makes a huge sound. Fine music that is too. You've given me a fresh line of enquiry!

Welcome sir. Here's the same lutanist playing solo de Visée. Notice the thick neck - you need big hands - plus the secondary bank of bass strings strung to the top of the neck (like a theorbo). I heard one live recently in a big chapel, and it filled it quite happily. They're big, aggressive instruments, different from the stereotypical soft-voiced lute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E894DQJJn0s

That's a muscular sound, but I'm sure it has the capacity to be soft too. Great stuff.