Luth & cordes pincées

I was asked to set up a lute class at the Brussels Royal Conservatory in 2012. From the outset, I wanted to offer young lutenists a place where they could develop both their technical skills and their versatility. The variety of sometimes atypical profiles of my students has been very enriching, and the appetite for discovery has always been the common denominator for the whole lute class (which is regularly joined by a harpist whom I also teach).

The world of the lute offers several centuries of repertoire and an almost endless variety of instruments. My personal interests range from Renaissance instruments to those of the late eighteenth century, with a particular focus on continuo instruments from around 1600. I attach great importance to researching and exploring instruments that are too often neglected: bass lutes and double basses, very large theorbos, non-wired double strings and mesotonic temperament are all part of my daily practice.

During their training, I encourage my students to explore as many instruments as possible (from the bass lute to the soprano lute, theorbo, archlute, baroque lute, etc.), different practices and repertoires (solo, consort, lute songs, etc.), so that each student can find his or her own path and strengths. I attach great importance to developing technique (a supple, structured posture, a relaxed but precise left hand, the right hand in contact with the strings for optimum sound shaping, work on attack speeds) while encouraging adaptability so that you can move from one instrument to another with comfort and stability. We tackle the essential repertoire, but also explore repertoire that is off the beaten track. The question of transcription and arrangement is also regularly addressed, and I encourage the exploration of contemporary repertoire for our instruments.

Basso continuo plays an important part in our work, and we explore the different roles within the continuo, from fondamento (theorbo, colascione, bass lute, chitarrone) to ornamento (archlute, baroque lute, gallichone, tiorbino, baroque guitar, etc). As far as possible, my students learn continuo on instruments tuned in G and A, but also, as far as possible, in D minor (baroque lute). We work on sound projection, dynamic range, rhythmic efficiency, musical relevance and so on. As a singer and singing teacher in the department, I attach great importance to the relationship between basso continuo and singing, and encourage synergy between my two classes.