Ronn McFarlane
Lutenist Ronn McFarlane is a pioneering figure in lute performance in North America, bringing the instrument to new audiences, teaching younger players, and collaborating with a variety of singers and instrumentalists. He has also composed music of his own and formed two influential ensembles, the Baltimore Consort and Ayreheart.
McFarlane was born in West Virginia in 1953 but grew up in Maryland. First attracted to music by the instrumental Wipeout by The Surfaris, he bought a $16 guitar and began practicing. McFarlane studied classical guitar at Shenandoah University in Virginia, playing in blues and rock bands on the side. He moved on to the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, where he studied with Paul O'Dette, Roger Harmon, and Pat O'Brien. In 1978, he switched to the lute full-time, giving up his other musical activities. Soon after that, he was touring and had formed the Baltimore Consort, one of the few Renaissance lute-headed ensembles active in the U.S. at the time. From 1984 to 1995, McFarlane taught lute at the Peabody Conservatory. He published two collections of lute music: Scottish Lute (1998) and Highland King: The Scottish Lute (2003). In keeping with the traditions of the Scots lutenists, McFarlane began composing music of his own early in the 21st century. He also formed a second ensemble, Ayreheart, with which he has performed and recorded. That group, which he styles a band, is oriented toward contemporary progressive folk music. McFarlane has collaborated with various singers, including soprano Julianne Baird and tenor Frederick Urrey.
With a catalog of some 20 solo recordings, plus a similar total with the Baltimore Consort and Ayreheart, McFarlane has been especially visible as a recording artist. Almost all his recordings, including those with the Baltimore Consort and Ayreheart, have appeared on the Dorian label or its successor, Sono Luminus. In 2020, McFarlane and viola da gamba player Carolyn Anderson Surrick released the album Fermi's Paradox.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Similar artists
Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
Fermi's Paradox
Ronn McFarlane, Carolyn Surrick, Jackie Moran
Chamber Music - Released by Sono Luminus on 20 Nov 2020
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mcfarlane, R.: Lute Music (Indigo Road) (Mcfarlane)
Classical - Released by Sono Luminus on 1 Jan 2007
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Celtic Lute
World - Released by Sono Luminus on 27 Jul 2018
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
A Star in the East
Ronn McFarlane, Carolyn Surrick, Jackie Moran
Classical - Released by Flower Pot Productions on 29 Oct 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
And So Flows The River
Ronn McFarlane, Carolyn Surrick
Classical - Released by Flowerpot Productions on 19 May 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Duos pour luth de l'Âge d'or de la musique anglaise
Classical - Released by Sono Luminus on 3 Jul 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of the Lute (The Best of Ronn McFarlane) (The Art of the Lute)
Classical - Released by Dorian on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
McFarlane, Ronn: The Renaissance Lute (The Renaissance lute)
Classical - Released by Dorian on 1 Feb 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
McFarlane, Ronn: The Scottish Lute (The Scottish Lute - Volume 1)
Classical - Released by Dorian on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nine Notes that Shook the World
Mindy Rosenfeld, Ronn McFarlane
Chamber Music - Released by Sono Luminus on 3 Jun 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Musique pour luth (John Dowland)
Classical - Released by Dorian on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lute Recital: Mcfarlane, Ronn - Bach, J.S. / Kellner, D. / Weiss, S.L. (A Distant Shore)
Classical - Released by Dorian on 18 Feb 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mrs Judges Jig / Hornpipe
Ronn McFarlane, Carolyn Surrick
Classical - Released by Flowerpot Productions on 5 May 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Blame not my Lute: Elizabethan Lute Music and Poetry
Ronn McFarlane, Robert Aubry Davis, Martin Goldsmith, Emily Townley
Classical - Released by Sono Luminus on 23 Feb 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sinfonia from Cantata 29
Ronn McFarlane, Carolyn Surrick
Classical - Released by Flowerpot Productions on 21 Apr 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
W Lee's Reel
Ronn McFarlane, Carolyn Surrick
Classical - Released by FlowerPot on 7 Apr 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo