Notes by Bert Lams

I studied classical guitar at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Monique Vigneron and Albert Sundermann, where I graduated cum laude in 1984. A few years later, in 1987, I took part in a Guitar Craft course led by Robert Fripp at Claymont Court, West Virginia. This experience opened new paths for me, and in the following years, I toured internationally with The League of Crafty Guitarists, a performing ensemble of Robert’s students.
In 1991 I moved to Los Angeles and co-founded the California Guitar Trio. Our debut album was released in 1992 on Fripp’s label, Discipline. In the following three decades our trio has recorded sixteen albums and toured and performed extensively. We continue to enjoy creating and performing music today.
I met Fabio Mittino in London in 1996 during a public event for Discipline. He had traveled from Italy with his father and a clear and unwavering intention to study with Robert Fripp. It was suggested he speak with me instead. Fabio came to Broad Chalke, England, and we spent a week immersed in daily guitar sessions. He was already a refined player with a strong sense of direction and dedication.
In 2010 Fabio recorded Resonance, an album of Gurdjieff/de Hartmann music arranged for solo guitar. He invited me to join him for a concert in Los Angeles. Although I was unable to join him for the LA concert, soon thereafter, I traveled to Milan where we first rehearsed and performed these arrangements together.
Over the past fifteen years, Fabio and I have enjoyed playing hundreds of concerts in private homes, small venues, churches, and theaters throughout the US and Europe, gradually expanding our repertoire of de Hartmann’s compositions.
To date, we’ve arranged and performed at least forty of his works. For A Life in Music, we selected twenty-seven tracks in chronological sequence, a reflection of the path we’ve walked together and a tribute to the timeless beauty of this music.



Notes by Fabio Mittino

I began studying classical guitar at the age of 13, then moved to electric guitar around 16. While it was fun and full of energy, I started to miss the discipline and depth of classical technique. At 18, I returned to classical studies with greater commitment, though I still felt a sense of dissatisfaction. I was looking for something different, something more adventurous.
Everything changed when I discovered the Robert Fripp String Quintet, featuring Fripp, Lams, Moriya, Richards, and Gunn. It was unlike anything I had heard before. The sound was new, the musical language unfamiliar, and the level of precision extraordinary. The guitars were tuned in fifths, and the clarity of the playing left a deep impression on me. From that moment, I knew I wanted to learn that technique and study with Robert Fripp.
The following year, I met Robert in England. Since he wasn’t teaching at the time, he recommended that I connect with Bert Lams, whom I already admired. Bert was living in England then, and I went to study with him at his home. From that point on, I continued exploring this technique. Although I eventually had the opportunity to study with Robert Fripp as well, I have always considered Bert my teacher.
The Guitar Craft courses Robert created were first held at Claymont, where British author and thinker J.G. Bennett had founded the Claymont Society for Continuous Education. Bennett is known for his work in psychology and spirituality and for his studies with G.I. Gurdjieff.
Over the years, Gurdjieff’s name would occasionally come up during Guitar Craft courses. When I discovered he had composed music together with Thomas de Hartmann, I became curious. Listening to it for the first time, I was deeply moved. While the pieces could be described as classical, they carried a kind of depth and presence that went beyond any category. That impression stayed with me, and I felt compelled to explore the music further on the guitar.
I soon realized no one had yet created this type of transcription, so I began working on it and released my first solo album, Resonance.
When Bert, with whom I had stayed in close contact, accepted the invitation to join this project, a new phase began. Over the following fifteen years, we recorded three albums and performed hundreds of concerts throughout the United States and Europe.
Sharing this music with so many different audiences, always alongside a musician like Bert, continues to be one of the greatest honors of my life.