1997 Brian Cohen "8-Course Renaissance Lute" SP/MP

This 1997 Brian Cohen is an Elizabethan-style 8-course Renaissance lute with a spruce soundboard and a marbled birdseye maple back, made in England by the South African-born luthier who built guitars for Julian Bream.

An Elizabethan 8-Course Renaissance Lute

Best known for his guitars, Brian has also built a wide range of early and bowed instruments over the years, and so here we present an example of an Elizabethan-era Renaissance lute which features some very elegant craftsmanship – notably an ornately carved bridge and soundhole “rose” as well as a 10-stave marbled birdseye maple back.

How the Courses Work

The strings are arranged in eight “courses” of two strings each, though the highest-pitched course consists of only a single string, called the “chanterelle”. The courses are numbered sequentially, counting from the highest pitched, so that the “chanterelle” is the first course, the next pair of strings is the second course, etc. Thus this 8-course lute has a total of 15 strings.

A Lute for Guitarists Playing Renaissance and Baroque Music

It will be a great instrument for the guitarist seeking a more authentic quality of sound when playing lute music from the Renaissance into the Baroque – with the additional 8th course, much of this music can be played as written, requiring no arranging. Julian Bream popularized the lute starting in the 1960s, and several other prominent lutenists have been regular members of the larger classical guitar community, including the likes of Ronn McFarlane, Nigel North, Edin Karamazov (who recorded the music of Dowland with Sting), Evangelina Mascardi and many others.

Condition and Rarity

Condition-wise, there are no repairs or prior damage, and no playing wear – it is in “aged” but otherwise like-new condition. It is a particularly beautiful example of Brian’s work. We’ve been in business for over 40 years, and this is the first Cohen lute we’ve ever seen, so that makes this an exceedingly rare opportunity to own a masterfully crafted and great sounding instrument by one of the great builders of the past 50 years. Includes the original custom-fitted hardshell case.

Brian Cohen: A South African-Born Maker in England

Although Brian Cohen is originally from South Africa, he has lived and worked in England since 1974 and has become known as one of the best contemporary builders working there – arguably the most respected in England. A professional guitar maker since 1972, his instruments have a reputation for their gorgeous quality of sound and easy playability. Since 1997 his workshop has been in an old glassworks in Guildford, Surrey, which he restored himself.

Training in England: David Rubio and Early Instruments

Brian had already started making and repairing guitars in South Africa, and he came to England looking for an apprenticeship. He had hoped to train with David Rubio; that never happened, but Rubio became a close friend and mentor, and Brian went on to work for him as an outside maker for some 25 years. Along the way he taught himself lute making, worked at the Early Music Centre in London and, in 1986, received a Crafts Council bursary to study classical Italian violin making.

Julian Bream and the Hauser Tradition

Brian has dedicated his life to guitars in the Hermann Hauser and Antonio de Torres tradition, and he is known for his history of working with Julian Bream – both servicing his vintage instruments (including the “Rose Augustine” 1940 Hauser, which he serviced regularly over a ten-year period) and building Hauser-style instruments for him. In the 1990s Brian built eight guitars for Bream, all Hauser models of ever-increasing refinement under Bream’s exacting standards. Working with a player who had a deep understanding of guitar construction and knew exactly what he wanted in sound was a profoundly important experience for Brian.

Guitars, Lutes and Bowed Instruments

Although Brian’s focus has been primarily on guitars constructed in the Torres/Hauser tradition, he has also built a variety of other stringed instruments, including violins, cellos, lutes, theorboes, chitarrones, violas da gamba and even an accurate copy of the ivory “liuto attiorbato” by Sellas. His work is also the subject of fine art photographer John Gallo’s essay “The Six Strings of a Guitar”, which follows the birth of one of his Hauser-model guitars from start to finish – see it on our blog.