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I heard your version of the Kapsberger ‘Canario’ on the theorbo at the beginning of the pandemic and decided to take up classical guitar in my late 60’s. I am now beginning to learn that piece. Thank you!
One time, I had a dream that I was in a guitar class and Brandon was the teacher. Of course, he was also fighting off an invading army with a theorbo, but he was also a very good teacher. He put down lute tablature for me to read and then said something in Mandarin. I don't speak Mandarin. I also think there was kung fu involved, but it's been a while since it happened.
I have a good guitar transcription of this too you can pull it off with a Classical guitar a rich bass i,e. low air resonance to pull it off (the lower note on the E string pitch hummed into the body that sets the guitar vibrating thr better). Luckily I have such a guitar.
@@imjustaguy4340 the theorbo's length allows for the large wavelengths in the strings which contributes greatly to the bass properties. Even with a 7+ string guitar or drop tuning you don't quite get the same effect.
@A Warm Gun I played role games a few years ago and this kind of music was very often on those long nights ^^ That´s why I understand the comment of Marcelo Gadelha
Piano bass is still the best. I used to not like piano recordings because the low end is always cut so hard in the mix. But hesring piano in its full range.... the bass is so rich.
@@Dude8718 You might want to check out the channel Alexander Pianos. He built what is basically the theorbo among pianos: extremely elongated body, so no wound bass strings have to be used. The result is crystal clear bass notes like you have never heard before.
I'd love to see him do some metal stuff. He is definitely a shredder. I could see him rocking an old John petrucci Ibanez from the early 90s with the art on it
I can imagine you playing that in front of a King when it was written. Everyone is always trying to look ahead in music, but I feel you’re inspiring people to look at and appreciate history.
New isn’t always better. I listen to a lot of folk songs with old instruments. Rap, hip hop, etc are not my thing. And I’m only 19, so it’s not like I’m a boomer lol
Sitting here listening to this over and over made me realize that the little serotonin rush you get when you hear a nice song must have been absolutely insane to experience in a time before recorded music. Hearing this human use their hands to produce such a beautiful expression of sound in real time. And you're hearing it for the first and possibly only time. Wild.
honestly? i think it's pretty natural for a metalhead to come back and enjoy stuff like this. in addition to the obvious fact that the modern guitar evolved from these instruments, back at the time lutes and theorbos were in style, they were experimenting with many of the same things metal has come to be associated with: alternate tunings, adding extra strings to instruments, improvising solos over simple chord progressions, and the like. though it sounded very different the spirit of metal is there, and in that way metal was sort of born here, though you'd never know it without digging into it. so i don't think you're one bit out of place or out of line; let no one tell you otherwise.
@@matthewbertrand4139 Completely agree. The same personality that's drawn to the complexity and uniqueness of metal can easily find interest in classical pieces like these. In fact, when I was younger, it was a natural evolution for me to move from the intensity of metal to the intensity of classical music - the two genres seem, to me, to be hand-in-hand.
Plenty has been said about the amazing tunes, but anyone else notice the excellent framing, impeccable lighting and colours of the video? Top notch work!
I want someone to try and electrify something like a theorbo, mostly for the lols. Huge distortion on huge scale length isn't something we've heard before and I want to hear it.
@@timh.6872I'm on it. I'm currently learning to be a luthier and Brandon's videos have been really inspirational. I really want to develop a budget lute model so all of us fans here can start playing.
I LOVE this close-up video of the lute. So many videos and audio are at concert hall distance or mid-chamber distance at best. I like the perspective of hearing it nearby. I want to hear the instrument itself.
I made a Bard in DnD that plays the Theorbo which was only because I discovered the instrument through you and Rob Scallon. Bards can use the 'Mage Hand' spell to have a spectral third hand, so my character kind of cheats and has an extra hand to play the contrabass. I've only used your arrangements during our games as background stuff and excited to use this one too, its got the perfect tavern setting tone to it. Keep doing what you're doing man, waiting for the next Theorbo video :)
Absolutely beautiful! I start school back up again today (Classical guitar performance major) and you have sparked a ridiculous interest in me about early music!!! Thank you!
@@CosmicHarmony58 I go to school in state (NH) and and receive state grants as well as scholarship money, so my tuition is $250. I'm pretty sure a semester tuition is around $11,000. However I don't know for certain. I also didn't take out any student loans.
Dear Andrew. Are you f&$#ing insane. I got a degree in classical guitar performance in 1983. I understand the love of the instrument but you are looking at a hard life if you want to make a living at it. Virtually Nobody cares about the classical guitar. It's normal repertoire is third rate crap at best. Transcriptions are the only way to go but nobody cares about that either. The classical guitar is Way out in left field as far as anyone's interest in classical music goes. Learn jazz or Swedish death metal. Either is better than classical guitar. If you do go into it you could possibly barely scrap out a living attempting to teach unmotivated brats how to play a c chord or if you are extremely good play concerts at Podunk schools and events barely scraping out a living selling your CD of Leyenda.
The bass notes starting at 01:56 are like the person you've been longing for unexpectedly touching the small of your back in the middle of a crowd. The whole piece brings back what must be a memory from a past life, of hedge mazes at midnight and torchlight on colonnades. I don't even believe in past lives, but this music tells me I must have been there.
My inner ear hears a duet with a Celtic fiddler, both musicians rolling along on horseback. How can Brandon's brain hold such a diversity of music, from heavy metal to theorbo? Joy and hard work must be at the heart of it. Thank you sir!
the theorbo has been overlooked for far too long. Thanks to You Tube and artists like Brandon we can now all enjoy the music from the beautiful instrument
There's a local HIP group that crowd-funded a theorbo to add to their collection of instruments. At the launch concert, they brought in a second, more experienced, theorbist. Canarios are a thing with them, and they did an especially rowdy one with two theorbos: rocked like a m-f. This is, of course, much more polished, but wonderful. Thank you, Mr Acker.
A musical time machine...when i close my eyes i'm in the 17th century wearing one of those white wigs, long tailed coat, puff pants, and shoes with curled up toes...ultra-compliments for lovely playing...
...this is probably the most amazing thing I have ever heard. I picked up a cheap classical guitar because of this video, after having an instrument-shaped hole in my life for many years. And it's been such an inspiration to have an idea of what Dowland and Kapsberger might have actually sounded like like this. Thank you so much, Brandon.
Those riffs were centuries ahead of their time! The missus says, no more guitars for me, so there's no way in hell I could sneak something like that into the house!
Don't worry, mate, you can! Either you need to tell her you've got the theorbo from a friend who cannot use it at the moment because it's too big for his apartment, or because he has some workers in the house who are fixing the electricity/piping system, and he's afraid that something might happen to the instrument. The theorbo needs regular playing, so you're doing a favour to your friend. Or you can say that the instrument is important for your music work/career. By the time she realises the trick, she will have already been fallen in love with the tone of the instrument. When she expresses her sorrow over the fact that you need to return it to the owner, you might mention that your friend is actually thinking about selling it to some other guys for a very good price, but he has told you that you'd have priority and the he could give you an even better price. Then, even if she catches the bait and agrees, the maximum price you can confess to her is about a third or half of the actual price of the instrument. You'll need to figure out the rest, maybe save up your pocket money for the bigger part of the cost, otherwise the deal would be in real danger.😀😀😀
I felt all stress melt away listening to this beautiful piece of music!. Brandon, thank you for sharing your incredible skills at interpreting tunes from times past on these fantastic instruments! It's such a joy!
Hi Brandon, why aren't you on spotify ? It would be great to find such lovely pieces played by you on this plateform. Thank you very much for this one, this piece is so joyful !
One of my favourite "songs" of all time by one of my favourite composers, Mr. Arpeggio himself, Girolamo Kapsberger. Paul O'Dette does a fantastic version of this as well on his Kapsberger album. You definitely did this piece justice. Very nice indeed.
It's so cool hearing a non-modern tuning! I swear it sounds a little sharp and a little flat in some places, but also completely in near-perfect harmony all the time. Truly a neat experience. Thank you for making this wonderful rendition!
I bet you could tell the average layman that this is some soft rock ballad written last week, and they wouldn’t suspect a thing. Spectacular to hear music hundreds of years old that still just *works* today.
This piece is just such a perfect example of how modern baroque music can sometimes appear. Without knowing, one wouldn't believe it's 400 years old. Thank you so much for this wonderful performance.
Merci ! Je viens d'écouter, sur le net une interview de 1999 du théorbiste Pascal Monteilhet (1955-2022) - archive sonore France Musique. Un peu mélancolique ce soir mais je constate que "la relève est assurée"...Vita brevis, ars longa !
Stunning. Excellent. Just a man and his instrument. Nothing else. Nothing better. After every Brandon video i think this is the ultimate. Can't be beaten but, with every new video he just supercedes the previous ones.
It was cold outside. That was why I ran into the first tavern I saw along the way. There where noises coming from the inside, hustle and bustle of people laughing, arguing, fighting... Everything coming from the same place. Just like a usual tavern. As I entered the place, I looked for some space on the bar counter, but it wasn`t easy: many people were as thristy as I was - or even more - that they were all shouting out loud for some attention of the bartender. Also, something that you would expect from a regular tavern. It took I while, but I got the so desired mug of ale - which was told to be the best of the region - and seated next to the bard, that was playing something deep, something that could touch the many levels that a tired soul may have. Me with that ale, the warmth coming from the fireplace and that lute being played made me think that life was good, no matter the troubles along the way. As long as you could see the beauty in little details of life, like having a seat and listen to good music, life wouldn`t be so hard. And afterwards, I asked the bard what was the name of that beatiful song, and he told me that it was a brand nem song he had composed which was called "Canario"... Thats the way I feel listen to this song today :)
Man I've been waiting for a full version of this piece performed by you ever since the Rob Scallon jam, I love this, so good! Keep up the awesome work!
Beautiful. If you guys like the feel of this, I recommend checking out some African finger style guitar. It’s amazing how close this is to some of that. There’s a compilation of Madagascar guitar music called The Moon and the Bananna Tree on you tube that’s amazing. Thanks Brandon for turning me on to the sound of the Lute, Theorbo and Baroque Guitar. Been playing and listening to world music for 20 years, but have never really heard what these instruments can do.
I’ve only recently started learning to play the banjo, but it’s just so much fun seeing how far I can go with string instruments! I can’t wait till I can play the theorbo!
By the way, Brandon... Have you ever delved into the micro-universe of the Orpharion? I've always had a fascination with that instrument, since I saw one a couple decades ago at a Guild of American Luthiers convention. I've made quite a number of multiscale steel string guitars, and it's amusing that so many people think they're a post-modern invention, when in fact, the concept first came to light about four hundred years ago. I'd love to hear what you could do on one of these instruments.
This playing is great.. but honestly the piece is just so beautiful. It's great we still have it around today and thanks for putting up a record of it!
Such a cool piece! Really well-played, Brandon :] Those low notes sound huge! The combination of major-key ostinato and ornamentation make me think of Afro-pop. Really dig this :]
@@leviguerrag It's not uncommon for early music fret players to play on nylon or nylgut for a variety of reasons. Gut is very sensitive to temperature and humidity, and their pitch can change quickly. It's not uncommon for me and my accompanist (playing baroque violin and bass da gamba) to have to retune between pieces, especially if the a/c has kicked in. That said, I feel like gut sounds better. But the more strings you have, the more tempting it is to choose stability over tone. The aforementioned accompanist is mostly a lute guy, and he's got a half-dozen lute-family instruments in his living room alone in different ranges, and tuning is a major part of his life, so he plays lutes almost exclusively on nylgut or nylon. He likes to tell me that lute virtuoso Paul O'dette has a saying: "Lute players spend half their time tuning, and half their time playing out of tune..."
@@Robobagpiper Thanks a lot for the very detailed answer. I know a bit already that pain you described: I am a classical guitar / e-bass player, and started very recently to play the reinassance lute. My instrument has some gut strings, and my first week with it was an absolute nightmare! And funnily enough, I always tell exactly the same expression to my friends :) but somehow I thought that the problem was mainly due to my inexperience, and that a professional would somehow find less problems with it. But I see now that even professionally sometimes people avoid gut. Thanks!
