Lute Tutor

Day 8

Congratulations for getting to the final piece! The January Lute Challenge 2025 is now complete. Thanks to everyone who has taken part. We’ll see you next year! Giacomo Gorzanis (c.1520-1579) was a significant Italian Renaissance lutenist and composer, known by the moniker “il Cieco Pugliese” (the Blind Man from Puglia) due to being blind from…

Day 7

Giacomo Gorzanis (c.1520-1579) was a significant Italian Renaissance lutenist and composer, known by the moniker “il Cieco Pugliese” (the Blind Man from Puglia) due to being blind from birth. Despite his visual impairment, he became one of the most accomplished lutenists of his time. Born in the region of Puglia in southern Italy, Gorzanis spent…

Day 6

Ludwig Iselin (1559-1612) was a prominent scholar from Basel whose life was marked by both academic achievement and personal tragedy. Born to Johann Ulrich Iselin and Faustina Amerbach, he lost his father to the plague in 1564 and was subsequently raised by his uncle, Basilius Amerbach the younger. Iselin pursued an impressive education across Europe,…

Day 5

Hans Neusidler’s story begins in Pressburg (modern-day Bratislava, Slovakia). He first appears in historical records when he moved to Nuremberg, Germany in 1530, receiving residency in February and marrying that September. After becoming a citizen in April 1531, he purchased a home on the Zotenberg, where he established himself as a lute teacher and later…

Day 4

Cesare Negri (c. 1535 – c. 1605), nicknamed “il Trombone” for his tendency toward self-promotion, was a pioneering Italian dancer and choreographer. Based in Milan, he established a dance academy there in 1554 and served as a court choreographer for the local nobility. His most significant contribution to dance history came through his theoretical writings….

Day 3

Pierre Attaingnant (also spelled Attaignant), active in Paris from around 1494 until his death in late 1551 or 1552, revolutionized music publishing in France. He pioneered the use of single-impression movable type for music printing, a technique that significantly reduced both production time and costs compared to previous methods used by publishers like Ottaviano Petrucci….

Day 2

Joan Ambrosio Dalza was an Italian lutenist and composer active around 1508. His complete known works are preserved in the fourth volume of Ottaviano Petrucci’s seminal lute music collection, “Intabolatura de lauto libro quarto,” published in Venice. While his precise origins are uncertain, the preface’s reference to him as “milanese” suggests he was born or…

Day 1

Welcome! Welcome to the January Lute Challenge 2025 Hans Gerle was a Renaissance lutenist and musical arranger who lived his entire life in Nuremberg (c. 1500-1570). He was likely the son of Conrad Gerle, a renowned lute maker who died in 1521. Though much of his personal life remains a mystery, Gerle’s musical legacy lives…

Day 10

Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of this year’s January Lute Challenge! Joan Ambrosio Dalza (fl. 1508) was an Italian lutenist and composer. His surviving works comprise the fourth volume of Ottaviano Petrucci’s influential series of lute music publications, Intabolatura de lauto libro quarto (Venice, 1508). Dalza is referred to as “milanese” in the…

Day 9

Pierre Attaingnant (or Attaignant) (c. 1494 – late 1551 or 1552) was a French music publisher, active in Paris. Attaingnant is considered to be first large-scale publisher of single-impression movable type for music-printing, thus making it possible to print faster and cheaper than predecessors such as Ottaviano Petrucci. Attaingnant is often credited with being the…