WFMU : Freedom is Freeform!

Last year on a short trip to London, I had the good fortune of catching a gig by the duo Brethren of the Free Spirit, a collaboration between guitarist James Blackshaw and lutenist Jozef Van Wissem. As I listened to the players interact, I remember feeling that the music was somehow modern and ancient at the same time. Shades of art music, classical music, and folk music colored what I heard, but none of those terms adequately described the hypnotic, gauzy yet focused sounds coming from the stage. James Blackshaw's circular guitar playing anchored the duo, but what really got to me was that lute player, whose brightly plucked instrument added something almost spiritual to the music.

That was my introduction to Jozef Van Wissem, the lutenist whose records under his own name are among the most satisfying acoustic records around. His record on Important from last year, It Is All That Is Made, is a sublime piece of work that I can't seem to get tired of. I soon found out that the prolific gentleman has been recording since 2000, and he has made a bunch of records. Listen below to a track from his 2008 album, A priori. It's a beautiful track that captures a lot of what is special about his sound. And, if you like this track, the whole album can be downloaded from the FMA for free here.

Although the lute seems like an unusual choice for a modern musician, it was at one time one of the most popular instruments around. There is some disagreement over exactly how old it is. "Lute" is a relatively modern term for a whole series of stringed instruments with short and long necks going back to ancient Egypt and Greece. The heyday of the lute as we think of it, with troubadours in leotards and all that, was in the Renaissance and the 17th Century. Sometime in the 16th century, players began to use their fingers to pluck the lute after years of single-string picking with a quill, and tons of music was composed for it. It was used mostly as accompaniment for singers, but it could also stand on its own as a solo instrument. Until it fell out of fashion with the rise of keyboard instruments in the late 1700s, the lute was as common as the guitar is today.

Interest in the lute in modern times has mostly been confined to early music historians, which accounts for the instrument's somewhat fusty reputation. What is marvelous about Jozef Van Wissem is that he has managed to taken this dusty instrument, preserved in amber for so long, and revived it, made it speak in new languages.

Part of this is his modern approach. Van Wissem has created many pieces by "mirroring" old compositions for the lute, playing them backwards, or cutting them up and reassembling them into new structures. He will focus on one or two themes and repeat them in a way that echoes the minimalism of 20th century composers. You can hear this at work in "How the Soul Has Arrived at Understanding of Her Nothingness." With just a few notes, he builds an edifice of trembling air and looming portent. His use of slide on the lute is not only unusual, but it adds a spike of the kind of hard-edged, steely tone most often associated with delta blues.

Van Wissem has a new album out on the Important label called Ex Patris. According to the label's Web site, it's limited to 500 copies, so it's not one to sleep on. It contains the lovely track "The Day Is Coming" and three others. Check out his other releases on Important, as well as his previous releases on Incunabulum. Furthermore, the FMA features a full live set by the man recorded this past January on the Airborne Event with Dan Bodah. Check it out here.

Van Wissem is Dutch, and if you're fortunate enough to be hanging around his homeland next week, you can see him play on the 17th in Amsterdam. He'll also be in Antwerp on the 16th and 19th. If you're not bound for Europe, be sure to catch him the next time he comes to town. He'll be at Issue Project Room in late March.