Customer Reviews

Highland King - The Scottish Lute, Vol. II

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The Baltimore Consort's Ron McFarlane has followed up his cd "The Scottish Lute" with a brilliant effort that surpasses this cd's predecessor. McFarlane's Lute work is superb and shows a great sensitivity to the material. Beyonds ressurecting the lute tradition in Scotland, he plays these selections with wonderful restraint. I find that early music either works well or fails completely. This cd is an unquestionable success. While the tunes do not have the sophistication of John Dowland, they are worthy in their own right of the listener's attention. A wonderful cd that is consistently enjoyable and rewarding for the listener.

As a long-time guitarist and fan of Scottish traditional music, I was amazed by this collection! If I didn't know better, I would have sworn I was hearing Tony McManus, Dick Gaughan, or even Mark Knophler in his more Caledonian moments. They have the same delicate, complex, almost jazz like sensibility that is so distinctive of modern Celtic fingerstyle guitar playing. Truly, these selections from 17th and 18th century lute books cement the guitar's place in traditional Scottish music as solidly as that of the fiddle or even bagpipes (both of which didn't gain popularity until the 1600's anyway; and although most listeners are unaware, most of their repetiore of reels, jigs, and airs comes from the 1770's to 1850's, decades AFTER the music in this collection). Needless to say, their ARE tonal and technique differences between the lute and guitar, but the two instruments are very closely related in both respects and almost indistiguishable to many listeners. Thus, the mellow, haunting tunes here are a foreshadowing of the present day's great Celtic guitarists, but, much more than that, exquisite listening for their own sakes. To those who play guitar, I also recommend the available transcription book, although be aware it is in standard notation, not tab!