Christopher Morrongiello

GALILEO’S LUTE

Although Galileo’s scientific achievements are widely known, the legendary "father of modern science" was a member of a distinguished family of musicians and was himself an accomplished player of the lute, the most important household instrument of the Renaissance.

In celebration of Galileo's musical family and upbringing, world-renowned lutenist Dr. Christopher Morrongiello will perform a magnificent recital featuring works composed by Galileo's father and brother (Vincenzo and Michelangelo Galilei, respectively), and their distinguished contemporaries (Francesco da Milano, John Dowland, and Emmanuel Adriaenssen). His recital will be played on an authentic, gut-strung Renaissance lute and presented in the unique acoustical splendor of the Custer Observatory dome. This intimate recital promises to be a most memorable experience. Not to be missed! Come hear the instrument that Renaissance humanists thought was perfectly able to evoke the harmony of the spheres.

Lutenist Christopher Morrongiello, a former British Marshall Scholar, is a graduate of the Mannes College of Music, Royal College of Music, and University of Oxford, where he earned a doctorate in musicology. As a recitalist, he has performed to critical acclaim throughout Europe and the United States. In 1993 he was a prizewinner in the BBC Radio Two Young Musician of the Year Competition, and in 1996 awarded a Marco Fodella Foundation Scholarship for studies and research in Milan, Italy.  

Morrongiello is a professor in music history at Hofstra University and teaches lute and related historical plucked instruments in his private studio in Long Island. He is a member of the Venere Lute Quartet and directs the New York-based Bacheler Consort. He is a frequent guest artist of many leading early music groups. He is also Artistic Director of the Long Island Early Music Festival, now entering its 4th season.

Morrongiello has recorded for EMI, Avie Records, Gamut Music, the Lute Society of America, Visionaire, and the BBC. Recently, the Metropolitan Museum of Art produced several video recordings of his playing on a gut-strung, sixteenth-century lute, as well as on copies of lutes, in its renowned musical instrument collection. Stargazing (weather permitting) will follow the concert.