Complete London Manuscript

Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1687 – 1750) was the foremost lute player of his day, if not of all time, since the technique of lute playing reached a peak in his compositions, only to die out completely but a few decades after his death, not to be heard again until our lifetimes.Weiss, however, is diminished if he is only considered as the greatest lute player in history. He was also a composer for his instrument - akin to Domenico Scarlatti's importance for the harpsichord - since, like Scarlatti mostly wrote for the harpsichord, the greatest part of Weiss' oeuvre is for the lute. He is not just any kind of composer; Weiss' lute suites, individual movements for lute and the few ensemble pieces which have survived to this day, have the compositional profundity of Bach's works for harpsichord and organ.It is no accident that I compare his music to Bach's in terms of quality, for Weiss and Bach were good friends who likely performed together on many an occasion in Leipzig and Dresden (though only one meeting in 1739 between the two is documented). Like the Bach family's tradition for playing the organ, he came from a family with tradition for playing the lute. It is not known when Bach first met Weiss, but it is likely that it would first have happened after Bach moved to Leipzig in 1723 and started forging close ties to the musical establishment in Dresden, where Weiss was employed. It is improbable that the earliest of Bach's works for lute, the Suite in E minor, BWV 996 (likety composed in Weimar sometime between 1707 and 1717) was written for Weiss (there is the question whether this suite was even written for the lute, since it may have been composed for a keyboard called "lautenwerk" as notated in the surviving MS (which isn't by Bach). The Prelude in C minor BWV 999 dated ca. 1720 likewise, is probably too early to have been written for Weiss, since he was busy traveling throughout Europe in the late 1710's and early 1720's. However, the remainder of Bach's works and transcriptions for lute composed after 1720 were likely to have been with Weiss in mind. Bach's respect for Weiss is illustrated by Bach's transcription of Weiss' Lute Suite No. 47 as a duo for harpsichord and violin (BWV 1025), in which Bach composed new material for the violin part and added an introductory fantasia using lutenistic motifs that may stem from Weiss. Weiss' voice leading, harmonization and breadth of compositions, in turn, is quite reminiscent of Bach's compositional style, though Weiss' works have a more French sound than most of Bach's works without the word "French" in the title. Like Bach's music, Weiss's suite movements often have motivic-thematic connections that bind the suite movements together.This collection is a re-issue of separate CD's recorded by Canadian Michel Cardin over a period from 1992 to 2004, which present the entire "London Manuscript" of Weiss' works. It is considered one of the most important volumes of music of all times for solo instrument. In this “London Manuscript”, located in the British Library, we find 317 pages of tablature for Baroque Lute containing 237 pieces by Weiss. These works are grouped into 26 full solo sonatas with additional material interspersed in the form of 3 preludes, 2 fugues, 1 prelude and fugue, 2 fantasias, 2 tombeaux, a caprice, an overture, a plainte, assorted minuets, gavottes, etc., in addition to five grand duos including the three concertos for lute and transverse flute of four movements each (the flute part is missing) and two mystery sonatas with neither soprano voice nor title information (believed with a high degree of certainty to be duets). The nomenclature “London Manuscript” is used to distinguish this collection from various other Weiss folios that are housed in Dresden, Salzburg, Vienna, Moscow, Paris, etc. It should be noted that the London Manuscript, despite its extraordinary significance, is representative of less than one half of the total output of this remarkably prolific composer.Composed between 1706 and 1730, this massive musical oeuvre was never published during Weiss' lifetime. In fact Weiss pre-dated Paganini with his penchant for maintaining exclusive proprietorship of his virtuoso works for himself and very few friends. Silvius Leopold must have had a high degree of confidence in the first owner of this collection by allowing an exception to this rule for a certain Herr Adlersfeld (otherwise unknown). Perhaps he allowed it knowing that Adlersfeld was not a lutenist but rather a collector wishing to keep his exclusive treasure forever. From a collector to another, the volume passed from hand to hand, before being acquired for two pounds Sterling by the British Museum in 1877. In this manuscript, D. A. Smith has accurately identified six different sorts of handwriting, including that of the master (Weiss) himself.From this we can ascertain that the work was extensively revised, most notably in those pieces that were edited by the five other copyists. We now know that the pagination and the piece numbering are contemporaneous with the edition of the works. All this supports a central thesis that the manuscript was meticulously revised by an author who viewed the individual pieces as part of a unified whole, but was not intended to publication. This would explain the contradiction between the musical perfection and the disregard for titles, minute chronology (specific dates are provided for only a few pieces and sonatas) and precise separations between the works.Though not including all of Weiss' compositions, the Manuscript is thus highly representative of Weiss' compositional development and style from his youth to his maturity. As such, it is as daunting a musical and technical challenge to record as, say, the complete piano sonatas by Beethoven. Michel Cardin plays excellently throughout the recordings, though here and there his intonation is very slightly off (in comparison with Bartos' ongoing recording of Weiss' complete lute works for NAXOS, which unfortunately seems stalled at present). I doubt anyone without a trained musicians' ear would hear or notice a few minor imperfections here and there in the last couple of CDs, which contain the individual movements not included in any suites; Cardin's playing of the 26 suites on the remaining CDs is otherwise pitch-perfect. So overall I'd wouldn't rank Bartos' playing as superior to Cardin's; both are of equal merit in each musicians' way of playing. Cardin's phrasing, tempi and sensitivity to the musical interpretation are very convincing, no less so than Bartos' in terms of musicianship. This makes the present recording an excellent penchant to Bartos' recordings, especially if you - like me - are frustrated by NAXOS' intermittent release of new CDs in the Bartos series. The best recording of individual movements and Weiss' gorgeous Tombeaux and "L'Amant malheureux" is still that by Lutz Kirchhof on Sony, issued back in the 90's (listening to which I fell deeply and happily in love with Weiss' music).Technically, the recording is wonderful. Clear yet with deep resonance and richness of sound. No complaints there - great job by the recording technicians.This box set is definitely a must-have for Weiss fans or, indeed, lovers of baroque music with qualities at Bach's level performed with virtuosity and sensitivity. Weiss' music is not just gratifying to listen to; he often surprises with his harmonies and beautiful melodies, yet it is also deeply relaxing to sink into Weiss' world and just let it wash around you and absorb you. As a stress buster, no music is better than Weiss' - only the music of Bach, Mozart, Schubert et al. reaches the same levels of these lute compositions' abstract qualities and soothingly pensive character.A highly recommended box set!

Omigosh, is this wonderful! I got it yesterday and have started at the back with numbers 12, 11, 10 played so far. The written explanation by him and about him are invaluable. I know so much more from reading these things before playing all of the CDs.This collection, made in 2014, seems to be typical of what is going on in America. The nice CD players made some years ago, or a machine that you can buy yet today for about $50 (like a boombox but plain black...still has a tape player and recording ability to tape)seem to have started to become dinosaurs. So CD companies are putting out these enormous collections of previously-recorded and now - remastered, in some cases - are being made available like some last-ditch effort at capturing a market of us "come lateleys" to sell us these splendid artists' life renditions.This set is a combination of over 14 years of supremely wonderful recordings.I mention this because, it is a concern of mine that people are hustling through their lives so fast anymore that they do not understand that they might want to have access to these beautiful CD recordings to play again, years from now.Downloading is the thing happening now. Has it occurred to any of these people that they will, from a $3 download, own absolutely nothing if the electronic storage of the information is eliminated at some future time? A carefully-taken-care-of CD will last a lifetime,I have read.With Michel Cardin, you have the superb of the superb. Along with O'Dette, H. Smith, J. Williams, N. North, M. Barrueco, R. Barto and some others like Sharon Isbin and Ana Vidovic...lutenists and classical guitarists....there can be nothing more eloquent and exquisite.Thanks to all. n morse

I have very little to add to Caveat Auditor's comprehensive review, which includes a helpful introduction to the life and works of this greatest of composers for lute. My one admonition to all lovers of Baroque music would be to purchase this relatively inexpensive set without delay. I am not kidding when I say that Weiss's music is as great at Bach's--at least if one limits the comparison to his chosen medium. (As far as I know, Weiss wrote no choral music and very little chamber music, though some delightful sonatas for transverse flute and lute are included in this collection). Given the quality of of Weiss's music, is no wonder that Bach admired him; for his mastery of every musical parameter--melody, rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, form--is total. There are fugal and chromatic movements in this collection that rival anything by the Leipzig Cantor, and much else that evinces an immediately accessible, tuneful style reminiscent of Handel or Telemann. Perhaps the only reason why Weiss's music is still relatively unknown, is that he composed almost exclusively for a relatively "shy" instrument which, as such, will never have the glamour or garner the following that other stringed instruments (including guitar) have enjoyed. This may explain why there is really no "standard repertoire" for lute comparable in public esteem to that for violin or cello--though there should be!In any case, this collection features the artistry of one who could well claim to be a Heifetz or Rostropovich among lutenists. Pierre Cardin's performances of these (presumably) technically demanding works is, in a word, stunning--as full of expression and subtle nuances as it is of virtuosity. Well recorded in a fairly resonate acoustic, these discs will provide countless hours of musical nourishment for adventurous listeners.

uno de los compositores preferidos

Maestro insuperable del laúd barroco a una altura digna del mejor Bach. Sublime. Mágico. Único. Irrepetible. Virtuoso y con corazón.

Egal ob sie sich der Musik von S.L.Weiss intensiv widmen wollen oder nur einfach schöne Barockmusik für den Hintergrund suchen (für was übrigens diese Aufnahme fast zu schade wäre!), kaufen sie dieses package bedenkenlos. Der Sound ist auf allen CDs makellos, sowohl bei den Solostücken als auch den Duos. Ein sehr informatives, allerdings nur englisch gehaltenes booklet liegt ebenfalls bei. Klare Empfehlung, besonders zu diesem sehr günstigen Preis.

It's fascinating, comparing these performances to Robert Barto's on the Naxos set. Direct overlap between the two sets is limited, few sonatas appearing in both sets. They use different numbering/catalogue systems - his and Barto's no.2 are the same, but Barto's no 5 in G (a particular favourite of mine) on Naxos disc 2 is Cardin's no.4. Barto is listed in the booklet as one of Cardin's (many) teachers.I find Cardin's performances, expressive, exciting, exhilarating – but, and it's a big but, they are peppered with the sorts of rattles, buzzes and squeaks that inevitably turn up in live performance but which you don't expect in studio performances. Faster movements are a white-knuckle ride, you get the feeling that he's playing at the limit. The effect can be thrilling – take for example the Gigue in Sonata no 10. But many performances contain the sorts of imperfections which you'd expect would cause a studio producer to suggest a retake. I don't find anything like this anywhere else in my large lute CD collection. Worth mentioning that Barto's producers on the Naxos set (at least up to volume 8) are the team of Norbert Kraft and Bonnie Silver, who are behind so many great plucked instrument CDs.At the other end of the scale, it's instructive to compare Cardin's rendition of Weiss's heart-rending Tombeau sur la mort de M.Cajetan Baron d'Hartig (disc 10, track 19) with Barto's (on volume 5 of his set). Barto's is controlled, powerful, emotional, whereas for me Cardin (in his slightly longer performance) starts to flounder.I would not hesitate to recommend this exciting and refreshing set, which really brings these Weiss sonatas to life – and at this price, for so many more works by this great composer, there's no excuse for not buying it. But I can't quite give it 5 stars.

Sapevo dell'importanza di questa registrazione, avvenuta in un lungo periodo di tempo, tra il 1992 e il 2004. Ma i dischi erano usciti in Canada e all'epoca non ero riuscito a trovarli. Solo poi ho visto che la Brilliant aveva evidentemente acquistato i diritti, e li aveva pubblicati in Europa. L' ascolto dei dischi è stato quindi davvero emozionante (non ho ancora completato l'ascolto, sono 12 dischi!), il compositore è uno dei grandi del liuto, dovrebbe essere conosciuto anche oltre i confini dello strumento. Il liutista (Michel Cardin) dà al liuto un suono stranamente dolce e forte al tempo stesso, e fa uso di molti abbellimenti, che questa musica richiede, con buon gusto senza strafare. Grande bellezza.