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The Shakespeare Pair Renaissance lute music and poetry from Shakespeare and his time 
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In collaboration with Renaissance lute player, Tina Gutierrez, Suz Flemming Smith -performs with a duo called The Shakespeare Pair. Their music and Soliloquy Program combines music that was likely used in Shakespeare's original productions with text from the corresponding scripts. The program is an embodiment of early music research that identifies the songs Shakespeare alludes to in his plays; it is intended to be a small scale recreation of the multi-layered, sensual experience of Shakespeare’s original patrons.
When Shakespeare’s plays were realized on the Elizabethan stage, they were full of popular music of the day. Shakespeare used music to frame the emotion of a scene, to joke with the audience, and to imply meanings. The original audiences at the Globe had an elevated experience: music, a powerfully evocative art form, was used in conjunction with Shakespeare’s sublime poetry. A modern audience misses much in the omission of this musical dimension.
Through lute and soliloquy, the audience is transported into an emotional portrait of Shakespeare’s time that is as potent now as it was then. Music, a universal language, opens a doorway to a rediscovery of Shakespeare’s poetry.
When Shakespeare’s plays were realized on the Elizabethan stage, they were full of popular music of the day. Shakespeare used music to frame the emotion of a scene, to joke with the audience, and to imply meanings. The original audiences at the Globe had an elevated experience: music, a powerfully evocative art form, was used in conjunction with Shakespeare’s sublime poetry. A modern audience misses much in the omission of this musical dimension.
Through lute and soliloquy, the audience is transported into an emotional portrait of Shakespeare’s time that is as potent now as it was then. Music, a universal language, opens a doorway to a rediscovery of Shakespeare’s poetry.