Early Lute Songs on the Continent

Early song specialists Musicke in the Ayre open their 2026 season at St Mary’s Bathwick with some of the earliest works for voice and lute to be printed using moveable type. This must have been music that was highly sought after, to justify the effort and expense involved in such undertakings.

Most of the pieces in the programme were originally well-known partsongs by leading composers of French chansons, Italian madrigals and frottola, and other popular genres; these were arranged for voice and lute by the publishers (often composers in their own right) to reach a growing market.

Soprano Jane Hunt and lutenist Din Ghani will bring to life works by composers such as Josquin Desprez, Marco Cara, Claudin de Sermisy, and even Luca Marenzio – who was evidently admired by England’s top lutenist John Dowland.

Since its formation in 2012, Musicke in the Ayre have enthused audiences across Great Britain and on the Continent in over 180 recitals, each with Din accompanying one to four singers from an evolving squad. They have held residencies at the National Portrait Gallery and the Charterhouse in London, and at the Museum of Bath Architecture and (currently) St Mary’s Bathwick. They have performed regularly in Frome Festival since 2018; this year’s appearance attracted the following comment: “It was a stunning concert. Beautiful voices and playing.”