Mario D'Agosto - Johann Sebastian Bach: Complete Music for Lute (2013) 2CDs

Posted By: Designol

Mario D'Agosto - Johann Sebastian Bach: Complete Music for Lute (2013) 2CDs
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 363 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 248 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Brilliant Classics | # 94408 | Time: 01:46:39

No more than a handful of pieces represent the entire musical heritage for baroque lute by Johann Sebastian Bach – not a lot when we consider the enormity of the composer’s total output. Although it is not known whether Bach himself played the instrument, the seven works which are ascribable to it continue to enjoy extraordinary attention on the part of musicians due to their exceptional quality, and indeed the majority originate from the areas of Germany that were home to the lute’s greatest exponents – musicians who we can be almost certain the composer came into contact with.

This recording thus presents four compositions in suite form and three pieces of a different nature, all belonging to the florid repertoire of the courtly Salonmusik that was in vogue among the German upper classes at the time. Performing them is acclaimed Italian lutenist Mario D’Agosto, whose changes in tonality aim to better serve the capacities of the instrument (BWV 996 and 997, for instance, were written for the ‘Lautenwerk’, a sort of lute‐harpsichord favoured by Bach) and whose embellishments are testament to the high level of ornamentation which played such an intrinsic role in baroque performance practice.

This new recording by Italian lutenist Mario d’Agosto uses a 13‐course Baroque lute. The skilful embellishments of his playing reflect the Baroque period’s advanced art of ornamentation.

Booklet contains notes on the composer and music, as well as a biography of the artist.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s music for lute has been something of a question mark. It is known that one of his friends was Silvius Leopold Weiss, and he was certainly aware of Johann Christian Weyrauch, whose tablature was widespread during the later years of Bach’s lifetime and who apparently adapted this to some of Bach’s music performed on this disc. That there was an active group of lutenists in and around Leipzig also is an historical fact, but just how much of it had an impact on Bach is a matter of debate. Certainly Weiss was highly regarded, for Bach adapted a lute sonata by him as a suite for violin and continuo (BWV 1025). But the lute only appears sporadically in Bach’s original works, such as both the St. Matthew and St. John Passion s, as well as a couple of cantatas. Here, however, the usage is more as a continuo instrument with a few solo licks, and so one must ask whether any of the works in this collection are really traceable back to Bach himself as original compositions for the instrument.

Lautenist Mario d’Agosto sidesteps the issue, though he does note that at least the four suites (here noted as suites or partitas) do exist in Bach’s autograph. These are, however, either arrangements of suites for other instruments—BWV 1006a, for example, was originally written for violin—or ambiguous in their designations, such as BWV 996, which most probably was originally for harpsichord or a hybrid keyboard instrument called a Lautenklavier . He even notes that the pieces mostly required some transposition to fit the normal Baroque lute, which he does (though he does acknowledge it in his notes).

So, how do they sound? The answer is generally very well, though of course the texture is thinner (for which the recording often has a fair amount of reverb added to give it depth). There is no doubt that under d’Agosto’s capable hands the intricacies of the music are deftly done. The inner voices, particularly in movements such as the opening Prelude of the E-Minor Suite, are quite clear. There is, or course, a certain static quality of the instrument, which does not allow for too much contrast, and I find that smaller doses than both discs increases the enjoyment of the music. As with any instrument like a lute, the swishing sound of movement of the fingers on the neck is distinctly audible at times, which cannot be helped. And in the pieces such as the G-Minor Fugue the themes are clear, but as the multiple voices enter I find the harmony becomes a bit muddy, forcing the lute to thin out the texture.

The final verdict on this two-disc set is rather more ambivalent than I had expected. My own personal taste runs to the originals of these transcriptions, for therein I find many of the musical nuances that the lute transcriptions provide only with difficulty. That being said, d’Agosto’s playing is quite excellent, and is a good example for fretted instrument players to follow. There is a certain static quality of the music, which may be endemic to the works themselves, and then of course there is the overriding issue of whether the claim for complete lute works by Bach has to be interpreted in a singular fashion. Still, if you want something rather interesting and are willing to view these pieces in the light cast by the lute, then you will probably find them quite appealing.

Review by Bertil van Boer, Fanfare







Tracklist:

CD1:

Suite in E minor, BWV996:

01. I. Prelude (03:06)
02. II. Allemande (03:14)
03. III. Courante (02:40)
04. IV. Sarabande (04:02)
05. V. Bourйe (01:44)
06. VI. Gigue (03:27)

Prelude, Fugue & Allegro in E flat major, BWV998:

07. I. Prelude (03:04)
08. II. Fugue (06:47)
09. III. Allegro (04:20)

Suite in G minor, BWV995:

10. I. Prelude (05:59)
11. II. Allemande (05:05)
12. III. Courante (02:28)
13. IV. Sarabande (03:31)
14. V. Gavottes I & II 'en Rondeau' (04:50)
15. VI. Gigue (02:31)

CD2:

Partita in C minor, BWV997:

01. I. Prelude (03:54)
02. II. Fugue (07:43)
03. III. Sarabande (04:24)
04. IV. Gigue - Double (03:32)

Partita in E major, BWV1006a:

05. I. Prelude (04:50)
06. II. Loure (03:11)
07. III. Gavotte 'en Rondeau' (03:43)
08. IV. Menuets I & II (05:24)
09. V. Bourйe (02:26)
10. VI. Gigue (02:52)

11. Prelude in C minor, BWV999 (01:40)

12. Fugue in G minor, BWV1000 (05:57)


Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

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Mario D'Agosto / Bach - Complete Music for Lute - CD1

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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
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Official DR value: DR13

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Bitrate: 471 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================


Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

EAC extraction logfile from 2. July 2015, 20:31

Mario D'Agosto / Bach - Complete Music for Lute - CD2

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log date: 2016-03-31 12:18:43

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Analyzed: Mario D'Agosto / Bach - Complete Music for Lute - CD2
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR13 -8.98 dB -25.49 dB 3:55 01-Partita in C minor, BWV997 - I. Prelude
DR14 -9.29 dB -26.56 dB 7:44 02-Partita in C minor, BWV997 - II. Fugue
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Official DR value: DR13

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================================================================================


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