The sixth edition of the Florence Lute Master Class, hosted at ISI Florence on June 28-30, was once again a great success thanks to the commitment of enthusiastic students from different countries and of our excellent teachers, Professor Mya Fracassini (Renaissance and Baroque Singing), wonderful mezzosoprano with an outstanding coaching experience, and the backbone of the Master Class, Maestro Gian Luca Lastraioli (Director of the European Lute Orchestra), whose amazing qualities as lute player and lute professor are more than well known.
Now that the sound of strings and voices has come to an end, we can recall those unique moments through the comments of our Maestri and some of the participants.

“As ever, it has been a pleasure for me to spend three days in the beautiful Rucellai Palace in Florence and teach the 2019 iteration of the Early Music Master Class. I was very happy to work with the group of students who participated this year and look forward to the 2020 edition! My thanks go to the ISI Florence staff and to Director Stefano Baldassarri for letting us take advantage of their fantastic facilities!”

Gian Luca Lastraioli, Teacher of Lute, Theorbo and Baroque Guitar

“The experience with the Florence Lute Master Class was really surprising and satisfying for me. It was my first time as a teacher in this Florentine event but I felt at home very quickly. Students ranged from beginners to quite experienced, aged from 15 to 50. These differences resulted in a true enrichment since everyone, besides singing alone and receiving personal teaching, also had the opportunity to sing with all the other participants, which was the ordinary performing practice in the late Renaissance.
At the end of the second day we joined the group of lute players, experiencing the unique opportunity of giving life to an ‘interplay’ of voices and strings, according to the most authentic spirit of making music together. This means, first of all, engaging in a mutual effort of reciprocal listening, and finding new ways of expressing music itself.
The wonderful context of Palazzo Rucellai gave this Master Class a real touch of Renaissance atmosphere. At the end of the three-day class, singers and lutenists performed together in a sort of ‘Renaissance party’, imagining how it could have been on a Florentine summer evening in an aristocratic home, more or less at the beginning of the XVII century.”

Mya Fracassini, Teacher of Renaissance and Baroque Singing

“It was a fabulous Master Class, with very clear explanations and opportunities to sing as soloists and also in consort with other singers and musicians. I highly recommend it!”

Beatriz Oyarzabal Pinan, Singing student

“The magic spell of Florence, its art and wonderful monuments, has once again brought back to life the powerful vibe of the lutes, whose notes resonated in the beautiful setting of Palazzo Rucellai. Our amazing teacher, Maestro Gian Luca Lastraioli, and the sweet voices of the singers tutored by Mya Fracassini, were able to take us back in time, leading us to experience ancient and ineffable emotions…!”

Edoardo Farina, Lute student