Already during the time of his studies at the Amsterdam Conservatorium Rene Genis was drawn to the earlier part of the lute repertory: “I probably bored my teacher, Anthony Bailes, to bits with al my ‘discoveries’ of pieces from the very earliest sources for our instrument.”

This passion never subsided whilst even earlier times beckoned. And so, after graduating (which eventually did also include the baroque lute and theorbo and such like) he concentrated on acquiring the necessary skills to perform the very earliest music possible on his instrument. On his own and with ensembles – Ensemble Antequera (Johannette Zomer), L’Alba (Mikae Natsuyama), and more recently the Modena Consort (Boaz Berney) and Super Librum (Jankees Braaksma) as well as several more Genis has been able to quench some of his thirst “playing the old lute as I think I know it best: with fingers or plectrum in mediaeval and early sixteenth century music.”