Charm of morning lute performance (6)
I believe the answer is:
amulet
'charm' is the definition.
(I know that amulet is a type of charm)
'morning lute performance' is the wordplay.
'morning' becomes 'am' (as in 12:00 AM).
'performance' indicates anagramming the letters.
'lute' with letters rearranged gives 'ulet'.
'am'+'ulet'='AMULET'
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for amulet that I've seen before include "Charm worn to ward off evil" , "Trinket worn to protect one from evil" , "Charm worn against bad luck" , "Small item of jewellery" , "Thing worn as charm against evil" .)