Shirley Rumsey studied the lute and singing at the Royal College of Music in London where she became interested in the enormous repertoire for lute and voice and began to combine the two. She has recorded two CDs of Renaissance music for Naxos, one of Spanish and another of Italian lute solos and songs. Besides giving solo recitals and concerts with Christopher Wilson she co-directs with him the ensemble, Kithara. Shirley Rumsey has performed extensively throughout Europe and Scandinavia, has taken part in numerous festivals, appeared a number of times on television, made frequent recordings for BBC Radio 3 and broadcast on many European networks.

Christopher Wilson studied the lute at the Royal College of Music in London with Diana Poulton. Since leaving he has established himself as one of the leading lutenists in Great Britain, specialising in the performance of Renaissance music. He has given many broadcasts on radio and television as soloist and as an ensemble performer. His concert tours have taken him to most countries of Europe, Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Russia, Hong Kong, Japan and the USA. As well as working with Shirley Rumsey in a duo, they co-direct their own ensemble, Kithara. Christopher Wilson has performed with many of the leading early music groups and his increasing interest in the lute song repertoire has led him to work with various song recitalists.

The Italian lutenist Francesco Canova, variously known but most often described as from Milan, the place of his death in 1543, spent much of his life in the service of the popes and of leading cardinals in Rome. His lute music was widely known, a fact attested by the diffusion of copies through Europe.

Lute Music

Francesco da Milano left a large quantity of lute music, including fantasias, ricercari and transcriptions of vocal compositions by leading composers of the time.