Weiss: Lute Sonatas, Vol. 7, Nos. 15 And 48

Robert Barto

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Cat No: 8557806

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Release Date: 30 April 2006

Label: Naxos / Naxos Classics

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 747313280629

Genres: Classical

Composer/Series: WEISS

Description
Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750) Lute Sonatas, Volume 7 'Weiss (Sylvio Leopold), a great lutenist, ... He was first taught by his own father, who brought his splendid natural talent so far, that by his seventh year he had already played before Emperor Leopold I. His compositions stand out above all that are known [today]. To be sure, some say they are difficult, but only those who are too careless or too old, or otherwise prefer another instrument. But they are very hard to find, since he was very reluctant to let them out of his hands. Therefore whoever has a good collection must regard it as a treasure and cherish it. His touch was very gentle; one could hear it, but did not know where the notes were coming from. In improvising he was incomparable; the piano and forte were completely in his grasp. In short, he was master of his instrument and could do whatever he wanted with it. His surviving works consist of solos, trios, concertos, tombeaux, among which the one for Count Losy is incomparable, and a few short Galanterie pieces. When he died in 1750 the world lost the greatest lutenist that Europe has ever heard and admired.' (Luise Gottsched, 1760) These words were written by Luise Adelgunde Victoria Gottsched (1713-1762), the extremely gifted wife of the Leipzig professor of poetry, Johann Christoph Gottsched. Quite the equal of her eminent husband, Luise is only now being truly recognised as an important and original figure in German literature, having in her lifetime suffered the inevitable consequences of being the female spouse of a great man. Her talents embraced music as well as letters; her husband wrote that she was a talented harpsichordist as well as a fine player of the lute, although as a girl in her native city of Danzig she had been forced to teach herself this most idiosyncratic of instruments since there were no competent players to be found from whom she could get lessons. After her marriage in 1735 Luise took advantage of the fact that her new home, Leipzig, was not far from Dresden, where Silvius Leopold Weiss worked at the court of the King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. We know that on several occasions she took lessons with Weiss, and amassed a collection of his music that she, at least, believed to be his complete works. Her characterisation of the impression his playing conveyed is truly valuable, for it shows us that not only was Weiss the great improviser that we know from other accounts, and a composer and player of concertos for the instrument with other instruments, which we knew already, but that in solo performance, particularly in the intimate ambience of a lesson, there was something rare about the sound he produced which was unique and entrancing: 'one could hear it, but did not know where the notes were coming from.' This special quality of sound is what lute players have striven for since the earliest times; something rather similar was said of the great English lutenist John Dowla
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