Buda Lute Salon – Salon Concert / 6. – Saturday, June 14, 2025, 7 pm.
Renaissance lute music of royal & princely courts and private city salons
A musical sample: https://youtu.be/oVCmmO0rdNE
Photo by Zsolt Kőszegi
“You make the lute speak as you wish, and you control your audience as you wish. When a good player picks up his lute and fingers its strings, when from his end of the table, chords are heard seeking out a fantaisie, and when he has plucked three chords and sent a tune into the air, then all eyes and ears are drawn to him. If he chooses to let the sound die away under his fingers, all are transported by a gay melancholy; one lets his chin fall on his chest, another sits head in hand . . . still another with mouth wide open and one with his mouth half opened as though all his attention were riveted on the strings. One could believe that all the senses had fled except that of hearing . . . but if in changing his manner of playing, he awakens again the strings, Iife is returned to his audience and he who had stolen heart and soul returns them and again does what he wants with men.” (Rene Francois, Essays on the Wonders of Nature, 1621)
The lute, as the ‘Queen of all the Musical Instruments’, being the finest instrument, has been a constant presence in European music culture for more than three centuries. From the artistic life of early Renaissance royal and princely residences, castles and noble mansions, through the salon world of the Renaissance urban bourgeoisie and the Baroque aristocracy to the Classical period, we take a long tour of Europe’s grand cities. We will not only look at music, but also at what was involved in understanding music, art, culture and the thoughts of the educated man of the time.
As our living room can comfortably accommodate only 15 guests, we limit participation to this number.
To register:
Tickets can only be purchased in advance, not on site. The ticket price is 10.000.-HUF.
To ensure entry, please transfer the amount to the account number 12010611-00486330-00100003 (in the name of Kónya István) and indicate in the message Lantest/6. (lute evening/6.), your name and email address. Please also email me (istvan.konya.lute@gmail.com) indicating that you have registered. Any transfers over the number of people will be return that day or the next day. I will issue an official receipt for the amount paid, which I will return with our exact address, and this will be the ticket for admission, but I will give you the original receipt on the spot. Once the 15 valid registrations have been filled, which will be indicated on my site (www.lant.hu) and on my Facebook page, we will not be able to accept any more guests.
Arrival: between 6.30 – 6.50 pm
Concert time: 7.00 – 8.15 pm
8.15-9.30 pm. After the performance, if you would like to stay for a chat, we can offer you 1-2 glasses of wine, soft drinks and salty and sweet snacks. Given that this is an apartment concert, we ask everyone to bring a change of shoes or slippers, but we will also provide extra slippers for those who are comfortable with them. – We are in free parking zone and there is usually room for a few cars on our street, and the venue is easily accessible by public transport (tram 56,61, bus 129). Our apartment is on the 2nd floor but there is no elevator in the house. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.