Lute music, Glee Club are weekend's concert offerings

Cornell's Department of Music presents two concerts this week: a free performance of lute music and the Glee Club's annual Homecoming Concert.

Paul O'Dette presents a free concert, "Ancient Airs and Dances for Lute," Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. in Barnes Hall. Hanya Chlala

Paul O'Dette, a consummate artist who enchanted a capacity crowd in Barnes Hall last November, returns to campus to present a concert of lute music Friday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. in Barnes Hall. In a program titled "Ancient Airs and Dances for Lute," O'Dette performs fantasias, dances and variations on popular songs by John Dowland, Simone Molinaro and others in a concert funded by the Cornell Council for the Arts.

By the early years of the 16th century, the lute had developed into the most popular musical instrument, and books of lute music poured off printing presses at an incredible rate. Substantial manuscript collections have survived, containing everything from technical exercises to the finest works of the court virtuosi. Nearly 2,000 English lute pieces have survived from the period 1580-1620 -- often referred to as the golden age of English lute music -- more than double the combined number of madrigals and keyboard works from the same period. The first group in O'Dette's program consists of anonymous settings of Elizabethan popular tunes.

Known to his contemporaries as "The English Orpheus," John Dowland (1563-1626) was the most celebrated lutenist of all time and one of England's greatest composers. His music was popular throughout Europe and was published in more cities than any other composer of the time. The second half of this concert is devoted to Dowland's music.

O'Dette has made more than 100 recordings, many of which have been nominated for Gramophone's Record of the Year award. Recent releases include The Complete Lute Music of John Dowland (a five-CD set for Harmonia Mundi USA), which has been awarded the prestigious Diapason D'or de l'annee; Jacaras: Spanish Baroque Guitar Music by Santiago de Murcia, which was Stereophile Magazine's CD of the Month in January; and Alla Venetiana: Virtuoso Lute Music From 16th-Century Venice, a Classic CD Choice for June.

O'Dette has served as director of early music at the Eastman School of Music since 1976 and is artistic director of the Boston Early Music Festival.

In the week's second concert, the Cornell University Glee Club, under the direction of Scott Tucker, presents its annual Homecoming Concert in Sage Chapel Saturday, Sept. 23, at 8 p.m. The program features concert music for men's voices from the Renaissance and 20th century and closes with traditional Cornell songs. A subset of the Glee Club, The Hangovers, will perform one set of selections to round out the evening's performance.

Tickets for the concert are $6 in advance and $7 at the door and are available at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office (255-3430) and through the Glee Club office (255-3396).

The oldest student organization at Cornell, the Glee Club was founded in 1868 as the Orpheus Glee Club. Since then, the 70-voice male choir has performed on concert tours throughout the United States and in more than 20 countries, including the People's Republic of China, Germany, Great Britain, the former Soviet Union and Japan. The repertoire of the Glee Club ranges from liturgical settings to folk songs, from works of the Renaissance period to recent compositions written expressly for the organization.

Tucker, director of choral activities at Cornell since 1995, conducts the Chorus and Glee Club while overseeing the activities of the Cornell Chorale, Chamber Singers and Sage Chapel Choir. He also teaches courses in music theory and conducting.