The Laigh Room, our usual meeting place, was booked, so we found ourselves upstairs in the beautiful St Cecilia’s Hall, complete with stage platform. Here was a chance to play on stage in Scotland’s first public concert hall. This was a double-edged sword, of course – on the one hand it was a rich experience, on the other, more panic-inducing! I’m glad to report that everyone seemed relatively at ease. First, some photographs. There are so many, it was easier to present them in a video. As we had not recorded today’s performances, you will have to put up with my recording of a Fantasia by Fuenllana on an Alexander Batov vihuela in E. I am happy to email particular photos by request… [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb8B3Q30J3k?rel=0] And two photos of Rob, one with David, which never made it into the video: First up was David Bateman, playing continuo on an eight-string guitar, enlisting the help of Rob MacKillop on the...

The next meeting of the Scottish Lute and Early Guitar Society will be on Saturday 14 April, 2pm to 4pm, St Cecilia’s Hall, Cowgate, Edinburgh. I hope to see you all there!

An excellent meeting, with some good performances, and lots of talking! Rob MacKillop started the proceedings with Belle Heureuse from the Balcarres ms, followed by the song version by Lully, with Rob on baroque lute, Gordon Ferries on baroque guitar, and Elly Smith on the vocal part. It was interesting to hear the solo lute version next to the song version. Elly sang beautifully. Finally, Rob performed Lute Study #1 by Karlin Love, printed in the current tab supplement from The Lute Society, which was influenced by the contemplative spirit of the French baroque luthistes, and was well received by the audience. Bill Samson played a Prelude and Allemande by Mezangeau. This was Bill’s best performance yet, and his self-made 10c lute sounded mature and rounded. The Prelude was very impressive. Graham Wylie gave a fascinating introduction to some music by Kellner. We were reminded how radical Kellner’s music could be compared to other German music of the period. Gordon...

The first meeting took place in the Laigh Room at St Cecilia’s Hall, and seems to have been a success, with all participants wishing to do more of the same in the future. In attendance: Rob MacKillop, Gordon Ferries, Bill Samson, Mario Giardini, Eleanor Smith, Graham Wylie, Susan Rennie and Rhona MacKillop. After an initial settling-in period, with people chatting, viewing instruments, etc, some playing was to be heard. What follows is a highly critical review – not! Rob started with some Weiss, a well-known Suite in Dm. As he had not played the lute for three years, and his new 13c Malcolm Prior lute was less than two weeks old, there were the occasional utterances of ‘oops’ when the thumb hit the wrong bass course. Soon, however, the nerves settled, and he really caught some beautiful moments in the Sarabande. Everyone remarked on how beautifully clear the lute sounded. Bill Samson entertained us with some Vieux Gaultier on...