Nigel North

Nigel North (born in London) has been playing the lute for over 50 years, having started at the age of 15. From 1999 to 2024, he served as Professor of Lute at the Early Music Institute at Indiana University in Bloomington, USA. He returned to Europe in July 2024 and now lives in Ghent, Belgium. His previous positions include the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London (1976–1996), the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin (1993–1999), and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague (2006–2009). Initially inspired at the age of seven by the early 1960s instrumental pop group The Shadows, Nigel North went on to study classical violin and guitar before discovering his true vocation: the lute. Bach’s music has always been his first love—an affinity cemented after he dreamt, at the age of 12, that J. S. Bach handed him a lute. After attending one of Nigel’s Bach recitals in London in 2002, Julian Bream remarked: "I remember going to a remarkable recital—one I wish I could have given myself: it was a Bach recital by Nigel North, and I was astounded by the mastery and musicality of the performance. A truly musical experience—something one rarely hears from guitarists or lutenists, and something generally quite rare." Nigel North is the author of the book *Continuo Playing on the Lute, Archlute and Theorbo* (Faber, 1986; also published by Indiana University Press). In 2024, Le Luth Doré (Paris) released *Bach on the Lute*, Volumes 1 and 2, featuring transcriptions for baroque lute of J. S. Bach’s works BWV 1001–1006 and 1007–1012, as well as his complete works for lute (BWV 999–1006a). His latest book, *Playing with Patterns: 16th-Century Divisions on the Lute* (Oxford University Press), and a new edition of the complete lute works of John Dowland (Le Luth Doré, Paris) are scheduled for release in 2026. His discography includes four CDs of *Bach on the Lute*, four CDs of lute music by John Dowland, four CDs of music by Sylvius Weiss, and two CDs of music by Francesco da Milano. Most recently, he recorded a double CD for "Deux-Elles" featuring Bach’s complete works for lute alongside other new transcriptions.