International Transport of Instruments

Carrying or shipping a musical instrument across international borders, where the instrument is subject to customs inspection, has become a significantly more risky proposition in recent years.  It is no longer just a question of being assessed a duty or tariff, but rather, as a function of the ornamentation or simply the wood species of which it is constructed, the instrument can be mutilated or even confiscated.  Documentation of the date and materials of construction may be critical in preventing this.  If you think your instrument might be at risk, please consult a lawyer/solicitor for advice.  A Certificate or “Instrument Passport” may be available from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to simplify the process of crossing some borders.

Social Media Sites

Historical Lutes and Related Instruments in North American Museums

• Cleveland Museum of Art – Tiorbino, anon., 17th century.
  
• An extensive photographic study of this instrument, done by Ed Greenhood.
  
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA – Anonymous archlute or theorbo, acc.# 17.1764
  
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA – Anonymous guitar, mid 18th c, acc.# 17.1756
  
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA – Mandolino by Benedetto Gualzatta, Rome, 1724, acc.# 1992.1
  
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA – Lute by Andreas Berr, Vienna, 1699, acc.# 1986.7
  
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA – Guitar by Jacopo Mosca Cavelli, Perugia, 1725, acc.# 2003.76
  
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA – Guitar by Jean-Baptiste Champion, France, ca. 1790, acc.# 17.1753
  
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA – Guitar by Jacopo Checchucci, Livorno, 1628
  
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA – Arch-cittern by Remerus Liessem, 1757, acc.# 17.1749
  
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA – Guitar by Nicholas Alexandre Voboam, Paris, 1680, acc.# 1993.576
  
• National Music Museum, Vermillion SD – Treble lute, D. G., Venice, early 16th century
  
• National Music Museum, Vermillion SD – Cittern, Italian, ca. 1550
  
• National Music Museum, Vermillion SD – Guitar by Matteo Sellas, Venice, ca. 1640
  
• National Music Museum, Vermillion SD – Guitar by Domenico Sellas, Venice, ca. 1670
  
• National Music Museum, Vermillion SD – Guitar by Alexandre Voboam, Paris, 1670
  
• Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments – Lute by Sebastian Schelle, Nürnberg, 1726
  
• Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments – Thielke Baroque guitar
  

Lute Art in North American Museums

Resource Materials for Scholarly Research on the Lute

Audio

• Hopkinson Smith playing a Bransle de Poictou from the collection of dances published by Pierre Attaingnant in Paris, 1530.
• Hopkinson Smith playing the Adagio of Sonata BWV 1001 in G minor, by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Video

• Asteria performing fifteenth century music.
• Paul O’Dette performing sixteenth century lute music.
• Duo Chambure performing a vihuela duet, an intabulation of Cancion de sibiuit by Adrian Willaert, from the collection Silva da sirenas published in 1547 by Enríques de Valderrábano.
• Nigel North performing John Dowland (written ca. 1600).
• Robert Barto performing eighteenth century lute music by Silvius Leopold Weiss.
• Robert Barto – an Allegro movement from a Weiss Sonata.
• Ronn McFarlane performing two of his own contemporary compositions.
• Christopher Morongiello performing on lutes from the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Events of Interest and Commercial Sources of Lute-Related Materials

• American Recorder Society – Join today!
• Amherst Early Music Festival 2015, with lute faculty consisting of Eduardo Egüez, Grant Herreid, Christopher Morrongiello, Nigel North, & Richard Stone.
• AquilaUSA, the U.S. representative for Aquila Corde Armoniche – Gut and synthetic strings.
• Boston Catlines – Strings of gut, nylon or nylgut and fretgut for early instruments.
• Boston Early Music Festival:  7 – 14 June 2015, including a performance by Three, Four & Twenty Lutes.
• Boulder Early Music Shop – Music, methods, facsimiles, books, instruments & accessories.
• Courante:  CD of French Baroque Lute Duets, with each part recorded individually.
• David Fitzpatrick Lutes & Guitars – Ionia, Michigan.
• Richard Fletcher – Renaissance and Baroque Lutes, Archlutes and Theorbos.
• Andrew Hartig Custom Strings – Strings for Period Wire-Strung Instruments.
• The Lute Society – Plans of Original Instruments, prepared by Paul Thompson.
• Lute Society of America 2015 Summer Seminars East and West
• Seicento Notenversand – Music for Renaissance and Baroque Lute, Theorbo, Archlute, Mandora & Baroque Guitar.
• Tree Edition – Music for the Lute in facsimile and modern editions.

Other North American Sites Related to Historically Informed Performance

• Atlanta Early Music Alliance
• The Arizona Early Music Society
• Boston Clavichord Society
  
• Boston Early Music Festival
• Early MusiChicago
• Ars Antigua Presents (Concert presenter in the Chicago area)
• The Newberry Consort (Concert presenter in the Chicago area)
• Early Music Colorado
• Early Music in Columbus (Ohio)
• Houston Early Music
• Early Music Now (Milwaukee WI)
• Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music (Jackson MS)
• New England Early Music Calendar
• Guild for Early Music (New Jersey/Pennsylvania area)
• The New York Continuo Collective
• Polyphony.com (Calendar for the New York City area)
• Renaissance & Baroque Society of Pittsburgh
• San Diego Early Music Society
• San Francisco Early Music Society
• Early Music Guild & Seattle Baroque Orchestra
• Southern California Early Music Society
• Toronto Early Music Centre
• Early Music Vancouver
• Early Music DC (Washington DC)

• American Recorder Society
• Early Music America
• Historic Brass Society
• The Renaissance Cittern
• Historical Harp Society
• Historical Keyboard Society of North America
• Organ Historical Society
• Serpent Website
• Society for Seventeenth-Century Music
• Viola da Gamba Society of America
• Violone – Jerry Fuller’s site