Thomas Dunford, archlute

A relative of the modern day guitar, the lute conjures visions of wandering Renaissance minstrels strumming songs of love under balconies to captivate a beloved’s heart. Thomas Dunford, one of the world’s foremost lutenists, gave his first performances on the iconic instrument in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at the Comédie Française in 2005. Since then, he has gained worldwide recognition and acclaim, giving recitals in New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Frick Collection, and Washington’s Kennedy Center, as well as at major European festivals and venues in South America, India, China, and Japan. He plays regularly with leading Baroque ensembles such as Les Arts Florissant, The English Concert, and Les Musiciens du Louvre, and has been called the “Eric Clapton of the lute” by BBC Music Magazine. Dunford’s program features works for the lute’s cousin, the long-necked archlute, by Dowland, Kapsberger, and Dalza, as well as the Suite in G Major, BWV 1007 by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Program

John Dowland (1563-1623)
Praeludium
Fortune My Foe,
A Fancy
Semper Dowland Semper dolens
Mrs. Winter’s jump
A dream
The king of Denmark’s galliard
Lachrimae
Frog galliard

Girolamo Kaspberger (1580-1651)
Toccata I
Tocatta IV

Juan Ambrosio Dalza (d. 1508)
Calata alla Spagnola

J.S. Bach (arr. Dunford)
Suite in G Major, BWV 1007
Prélude (1685-1750)
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Menuet I
Menuet II
Gigue

Chaconne (from Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004)