About the Actor
One of the most outstanding lutenists performing today, Ronn McFarlane is largely responsible for bringing the transcendent charm and timeless quality of the lute into the musical mainstream and making it accessible to a larger audience. He has been praised for the sensitivity and depth of his playing and for his superb technical control. Born in West Virginia, Ronn spent most of his early years in the neighboring state of Maryland where he was introduced to and developed a major interest in music and plucked instruments at an early age. As a teenager, he taught himself to play on what he describes as a "cranky sixteen dollar steel string guitar." He went on to develop his talent, and combined performances of blues, rock and popular music on the electric guitar with studies in a newly discovered attraction to classical guitar. He graduated with honors from Shenandoah Conservatory and continued his studies at the Peabody Conservatory before turning his full attention and energy to the lute in 1978. The following year McFarlane performed his first lute solo recital and became a member of the Baltimore Consort. Since that time, he has toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe with the Consort and as a soloist. McFarlane was a faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory from 1984 to 1995, teaching lute and lute-related subjects. In 1996, he ws awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Shenandoah Conservatory for his achievements in bringing the lute and its music to the world. He has numerous recordings on the Dorian label including five solo recordings, four lute song recordings with Julianne Baird, soprano and Frederick urrey, tenor, seven CDs with the Baltimore Consort and two ballad recordings with Custer LaRue and members of the Baltimore Consort. Ronn has a home in Austin, Texas and spends his recreation time reading, walking, and enjoying nature as well as pursuing a long-standing interest in yoga and meditation.
Product Description
In this DVD performance, Ronn McFarlane plays a number of his own lute compositions a well as music of the 16th and 17th centuries. From the Middle Ages through the Age of Enlightenment, lutenists wrote and performed their own music along with the popular music of their time. By the end of the 18th century, this tradition was broken as the lute gradually fell out of favor. Reviving the centuries-old tradition of lutenist-composers, Ronn's work points the way to the lute's future. While treasuring the lute music of the past, he also creates new music for the 10-course lute, blending ancient and modern styles. Like many ancient works for the lute, his music treads the borderline between classical and popular music. The sum of his own musical experience, Ronn McFarlane's new music reveals the lute for what it is: a timeless instrument, responsive to poetic music making of any century. Ronn McFarlane also discourses on the history and playing techniques of the lute, and the tradition of the lutenist performing his own compositions in conjunction with popular tunes of the times. His pieces are often quite modern in harmonic and rhythmic structure-yet lie exceptionally well on this ancient instrument.
