Jakob Lindberg (born 16 October 1952) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

nist, performing solo, in small and large ensembles, and also directing operas, using instruments of the lute and guitar families. He is known for the first ever recording of the Complete Solo Lute Music of

John Dowland John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", "Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", ...

as well as for recording music never before recorded, with repertoire dating back to the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

period.

Biography

Jakob Lindberg was born in

Djursholm Djursholm () is one of four suburban districts in, and the seat of Danderyd Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. Djursholm is included in the multi-municipal Stockholm urban area. Djursholm is divided into a number of different areas: Djursh ...

, Sweden on 16 October 1952 and began his studies on the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

with his first inspirations being the music of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. At the age of fourteen, he started studying the guitar with Jörgen Rörby; it was Rörby who first introduced Lindberg to the lute. Lindberg studied music at

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

before going on to study at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London. He combined his studies with

Diana Poulton Diana Poulton, also known as Edith Eleanor Diana Chloe Poulton née Kibblewhite (18 April 1903, Storington – 15 December 1995, Heyshott) was an English lutenist and musicologist. From 1919 through 1923 she studied at the Slade School of Fine Ar ...

on lute and classical guitar with

Carlos Bonell Carlos Antonio Bonell (born 23 July 1949) is an English classical guitarist of Spanish origin. He has been described by ''Classical Guitar'' magazine as "one of the great communicators of the guitar world". Career Born in London, Bonell started ...

at the RCM and began to focus his attention on performing Renaissance and

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...

on period instruments. Lindberg's solo

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

recital debut took place in 1978, and he has subsequently toured internationally throughout Europe, the United States and Canada, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and Australia, as a soloist, accompanist, continuo player, and ensemble/

consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

player.

Teaching

Lindberg started teaching as a professor of lute at the Royal College of Music in London in 1979, taking over the position from Diana Poulton, together with taking part in lecture recitals (as for example Gresham College, London).

Performing

Lindberg has recorded lute music that had never before been recorded, largely under the BIS label. Recorded works include Italian

chitarrone The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck and a second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box (a hollow box) with a wooden top, typically with a sound hole, and a neck extending out ...

collections, music by Scottish composers, the first ever recording of the complete solo lute music by John Dowland, and solo lute works of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, together with chamber music by

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

Boccherini Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini (, also , ; 19 February 1743 – 28 May 1805) was an Italian composer and cellist of the Classical era whose music retained a courtly and ''galante'' style even while he matured somewhat apart from the major European ...

, and

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

. He founded the Dowland Consort in 1985, which specialized in performing music from Elizabethan and Jacobean times, most notably John Dowland and

Sylvius Leopold Weiss Sylvius Leopold Weiss (12 October 168716 October 1750) was a German composer and lutenist. Born in Grottkau near Breslau, the son of Johann Jacob Weiss, also a lutenist, he served at courts in Breslau, Rome, and Dresden, where he died. Until ...

. As a continuo player (

theorbo The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck and a second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box (a hollow box) with a wooden top, typically with a sound hole, and a neck extending ou ...

, and

archlute The archlute ( es, archilaúd, it, arciliuto, german: Erzlaute) is a European plucked string instrument developed around 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficulties in the p ...

), he has performed with many period instrument ensembles, such as the

English Concert The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Nadja Zwiener has ...

, the

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and h ...

, the

Academy of Ancient Music The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is a British period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after an 18th-century organisation of the same name (originally the A ...

, the Taverner Choir, the

Monteverdi Choir The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic convic ...

, the

Purcell Quartet The Purcell Quartet, founded in 1983, was one of the world's leading Baroque quartets. Background Founded in 1983, the Purcell Quartet had their debut concert six months after forming, on 14 February 1984, at St John's, Smith Square, London. Tess ...

, and the Chiaroscuro Quartet. He is a frequent accompanist for singers such as

Nigel Rogers Nigel David Rogers (21 March 1935 – 19 January 2022) was an English multilingual tenor, music conductor, and vocal coach, who sang in over seventy classical music album recordings in German, French, Italian, Latin and English, mostly of earl ...

Ian Partridge Ian Partridge (born 12 June 1938) is a retired English lyric tenor, whose repertoire ranged from Monteverdi, Bach and Handel, the Elizabethan lute songs, German, French and English songs, through to Schoenberg, Weill and Britten, and on to cont ...

Emma Kirkby Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings. Education and early career Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dors ...

, and

Anne Sofie von Otter Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses lieder, operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs. Early life Von Otter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was Göran von Otter, a Swe ...

. Lindberg has directed several Baroque operas from the chitarrone at the

Drottningholm Palace Theatre The Drottningholm Palace Theatre ( sv , Drottningholms slottsteater) is an opera house located at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the few 18th century theatres in Europe that is still used as a theatre with its original ...

as a production staged by the Royal Swedish Opera. His opera performances include Purcell's ''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was co ...

'' in 1995 in which he collaborated with Andrew Parrot, and

Jacopo Peri Jacopo Peri (20 August 156112 August 1633), known under the pseudonym Il Zazzerino, was an Italian composer and singer of the transitional period between the Renaissance and Baroque styles, and is often called the inventor of opera. He wrote the ...

's '' Euridice'' in 1997. On 3 July 2013, Lindberg gave a concert of the music of John Dowland at The Queen's Gallery,

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

to coincide with the 350th anniversary of John Dowland's birth. Lindberg appears in and plays the lute in the 1983

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

episode "

The King's Demons ''The King's Demons'' is the sixth and final serial of the 20th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was originally broadcast on BBC1 on 15 and 16 March 1983. This serial introduced Kamelion, voiced by Ge ...

Instruments

* Rauwolf Lute: made by Sixtus Rauwolf, Augsburg c. 1590, one of the few extant, "possibly the world's oldest lute in playing condition." Originally a 7-8 course instrument, modified in 1715 to incorporate an extended neck, with the work labelled "Leonhard Mausiel of Nüremberg 1715" inside the lute body. The restoration has been made for this instrument to accommodate 11-course d minor, or 10-course Renaissance tuning/stringing. * 6-course lute: made by Michael Lowe, Oxford 1985, based on European lutes used c.1500-1550. * 8-course lute: made by Michael Lowe, Oxford 1980, based on an Italian 1580 model, employing yew wood for the back ribs, each strip containing both sapwood and heartwood rendering a stunning natural striped effect. * 10-course lute: made by Michael Lowe, Oxford 1977, with a yew wood back of 31 ribs. * 13-course lute: made by Michael Lowe, Oxford 1981, based on models from c.1720 Germany, with a rosewood back, and a lower pegbox extended to an upper pegbox, supporting longer bass strings, lending a rich strength of sound to the lower tessitura.

Compositions dedicated to Jakob Lindberg

Composer: Richard Popplewell; Title: Variations on Brigg Fair; Scoring: solo lute; Date: 1988.

Discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindberg, Jakob Swedish lutenists Swedish classical musicians Swedish classical guitarists 1952 births Living people