Recordings for lute and related instruments

[Harry]

Jolly good, I will post soon here.!

[Artem]

I only have a couple of disks with lute music, but I look forward to investigating that specific repertoire. Does anybody have any favorites/suggestions?

This one is among my favorites:

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[HIPster]

Hi Artem -

My favorite lutenist is Rolf Lislevand.  He has several recordings on his own, as well as with other groups, most notably under the leadership of Jordi Savall.

I am a huge fan of his two ensemble recordings on the ECM label.  Both are essential in my view:

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Each emphasizes the use of improvisation in early music. 

Lislevand has a new, solo recording, coming out soon.  I have already pre-ordered it (something I very rarely do) and I eagerly await its arrival:

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Rolf Lislevand - La Mascarade
Rolf Lislevand: Baroque guitar, theorbo

In this wonderful solo album, Norwegian early music performer Rolf Lislevand turns his attention to two composers from the court of Louis XIV: Robert de VisEe (c. 1655-1732) and the Italian-born Francesco Corbetta (c. 1615-1681), and plays their masterpieces with historical awareness and an inventiveness which belongs to the tradition.

De Visee wrote about playing what the instruments themselves called for, advice Lislevand takes to heart, adding improvised introductions to passacaglias from both composers. He uses two contrasting instruments here, the small Baroque guitar with its sparkling, crystal-clear sonorities and the theorbo, the dark-toned and earthy king of the lutes.

In his fascinating liner notes, Lislevand reminds us that 17th century instrumental performance was often an intimate affair, with lutenists frequently playing to a dozen privileged listeners.

The physical presence of the instruments and that sense of intimacy is recaptured by Manfred Eichers production of La Mascarade, made at Luganos Auditorio Stelio Molo.

FWIW, I recently took up the lute and just last month, purchased a 13 course, descant lute.

[Todd]

I don't have too many lute recording, but Jakob Lindberg's recording of John Dowland's lute music is superbly played and in SOTA sound, and is a bargain in its Brilliant Classics iteration.

[HIPster]

Todd's recommendation of Jakob Lindberg's Dowland is spot on.

Another outstanding lute recording by Lindberg, is his Vivaldi:

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Just superb.

Amazon reviewer Gio, makes a compelling case for this recording and Lindberg.

[JCBuckley]

Another vote for Lindberg. And I think this CD is wonderful:

[Mandryka]

 

[HIPster]

There's something really special going on here:
Toyohiko Satoh plays Bach and Weiss ~

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The new solo CD of Toyohiko Satoh, the 72 year-old Japanese lutenist who is considered by many as one of the most influential lute players of the last century, presents a well-known repertoire of baroque lute music. Mr. Satoh was the first lutenist to record Bachs lute music on LP in the 70s (Phillips). Now he returns to this music 40 years later, delivering a completely different rendering of these iconic pieces. His playing has been influenced much by the studies of traditional Japanese arts such as tea ceremony, No-theater and Zen meditation. So here we are presented a recording that draws from the deep silence within, from the awareness of everything in the universe being connected, and from the understanding of Bachs music as a universal, almost superhuman symbol of completeness.

[Mandryka]

There's something really special going on here:
Toyohiko Satoh plays Bach and Weiss ~

[asin]B00SOXPOH4[/asin]

He has developed a distinctive and  extreme approach to rubato, tempo and phrasing.

[Mandryka]

Christopher Wilson and Shirley Rumsey play music by Francesco Canova da Milano. It's unexpected that for me this music seems closer to Cabezon than to Frescobaldi, and it makes me wonder why Cabezon hasn't been more widely taken up by lutenists. Anyway it's a wonderful CD.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

To my ears, the modern guitar sounds tonally/harmonically very dry and uninteresting compared to these instruments. Does this have something to do with construction or is it a matter of tuning? Or both?

Any thoughts on Jonas Nordberg?



I like this performance a great deal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeUcGD4rRRc

[GioCar]

Christopher Wilson and Shirley Rumsey play music by Francesco Canova da Milano. It's unexpected that for me this music seems closer to Cabezon than to Frescobaldi, and it makes me wonder why Cabezon hasn't been more widely taken up by lutenists. Anyway it's a wonderful CD.

Actually Francesco da Milano (as he's better known) lived a century before Frescobaldi:
Francesco da Milano 1497-1543
Antonio de Cabezón 1510-1566
Girolamo Frescobaldi 1583-1643

I am a bit surprised there have been no posts on him before #70.
From wiki:
Francesco was heralded throughout Europe as the foremost lute composer of his time. More of his music is preserved than of any other lutenist of the period, and his work continued to influence composers for more than a century after his death.


May I recommend two more wonderful CDs of his music?

[Mandryka]

Of course it may just be a superficial and half baked idea of mine that Francesco da Milano's music sounds a bit like Cabezon's, I'm not sure. But if it is true, I just thought it was interesting that there was a cross fertilisation between Spain and Italy. I will check out that those CDs by O'Dette and Hopkinson Smith sometime, thanks.

[Mandryka]

An outstanding recital of 15th century German music by Joachim Held (who is turning into one of my favourite musicians.) Apparently the music is rarely played because the tablature is unusual and obscures voice leading, so the music on paper looks dry. But what Held does here is anything but dry, it's very expressive and alluring, at least for people who can appreciate this sort of thing.

Much of the music is lyrical, based as it is on popular songs. But there is more to it than this. There are "preambles" by Hans Newsidler which have the same fantasy feel as unmeasured preludes, and the are ricercars of some contrapuntal sophistication. It's altogether a rich area, German tablature. The pieces by Hans Judenkunig seem to me particularly stimulating - he's one of the earliest composer on the disc and once again I find myself drawn to the earliest music, it's a tendency of mine I've noticed before and I wonder why.

The feel of the recital is a bit like Clemencic's keyboard recordings. Anyone with a taste for one will find themselves at home with the other.

[Mandryka]

One of the most riveting anthologies of French lute music that I've heard, mainly because Claire Antonini projects a love and commitment to the music. Tons of rubato, but to me it all sounds quite natural. One highlight of the recording for me is the sequence of pieces by François Dufaut.

[Mandryka]

The first thing to say is that François Dufaut is a major major composer of music.



Sigrun Richter has the knack of playing with complete abandon of self: the performances are extremely expressive and tender, but you never for one moment think that she's expressing herself. This is rather different from the only other recording dedicated to François Dufaut I've heard, viz:



where Hopkinson-Smith's personal involvement in the music, his commitment, is palpable. For once with Hopkinson Smith, it's not flashy!

Both seem to me very satisfying, I prefer Richter at the level of technique - she can make a greater variety of tones, timbres and textures come out of his lute. Her style is totally unassertive. Her humility and reticence, her seriousness and tranquility, are attributes which suit me well.

[Mandryka]

Sandro Volta's Kapsberger CD exudes total love for the music, it is one of the most emotionally intense lute CDs I have ever heard. He is so poetic it's untrue, like all the best musicians he knows just how long to hold a note and a pause. Very good, this one.

[Richard]

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Great thread. Here's a couple of boxes I found when glancing through my shelves. The Anthony Rooley collection came out about 10 years ago. I'm not sure whether it's still available.

The Konrad Junghänel edition is a brand new release. Mine just arrived this week.

[Mandryka]

This is not a bad Piccinini recital from Nigel North. It's very "Apollonian", you know, there's zero feeling of improvisation, spontaneity. He doesn't overstate the affects, which is probably right for Renaissance music like this. The beauty comes mainly from the balance, the level headedness of it. And the catchy tunes and the cool sounding instrument. Nigel North's style here makes me think of finely carved marble. Good sound, nice lute which is both quite  muscular and quite sweet at the same time, paradoxically maybe. It's always nice to hear a chittarrone too, though I maybe have heard ones with more personality, I'm not sure.

[Mandryka]

I think this recording of a selection of music by Piccinini by Luciano Contini is a success in every way. The music is fabulous; the performances are full of tenderness and feeling; the instruments are characterful, rich and honey-toned; the sound quality is truthful.