This is a terrific introduction to a mostly forgotten or ignored composer. Some of the intervals and progressions seem to be precursors for very modern jazz. Maybe that's my take on it but Leopold Sylvius Weiss is worth exploring, and Robert Barto seems to have spent a lot of time learning and understanding these rigorous and exhilirating compostions.
July 20, 2008naxos has provided me with so much great music over the years at budget price, i want to thank the folks over there right up front. this is one of my very favorite naxos releases. i know next to nothing about the lute. never touched one, never seen one in person. how many strings are on the things, anyway? to the listener, i don't think that it really matters having such answers resolved. just listen. this is gorgeous, quiet music. perfect for late at night. the tone of the instrument combined with the atmospherics of the canadian church that this recording was made in is haunting on the ears. i listen to this disc over and over again. great stuff for reading to in the evening. thanks again, naxos.
March 18, 2007 |  | ROBERT BARTO is the name of the lute-player |  |
How come neither the rewiews, nor the description of the album mentions ROBERT BARTO as the lute-player? Those who love the lute know that Silvius Leopold Weiss is the greatest lute composer of all times. His compositions are (in my view) as good as those of J.S.Bach. So in order to enjoy the magnificent compositions of Weiss, you need a very good lute-player. BARTO equals the finest lute players of today, such as Konrad Junghänel, or Hopkinson Smith. And if you want to buy a Weiss record, buy the best (in this case the cheapest!). And Barto is no doubt the best of them all. I can listen to his interpretations of Weiss over and over again. Strangely enough, he recorded The sonatas for Lute, volumes 1 and 2, on Naxos. Normally I don't buy Naxos-records, because they're not only very cheap in price but also in quality. I make an exception for this two ravishing lute CD's. Buy them! And enjoy one of the greatest composers ever, played by one of the best lute players of today. However, don't buy volume 3, played by Lei Franklin: it's worthless! But listen also to the Weiss-CD's played by Konrad Junghänel and Hopkinson Smith. Robert Barto has also recorded Weiss-sonatas for two lutes (with Karl-Ernst Schröder)on the Symphonia label (1998). Exceptionally good, but normally priced. And I can't find it in the Amazon-catalogue. Shame on you, Amazon! This heavenly music should be much more popular with the audience. And I hope Robert Barto records many more CD's with music of S.L.Weiss.
December 3, 1999| | | This album is a dream-come-true for music lovers! | |
I bought Volume I of the Weiss Lute Music last year and was thrilled by the contents and the beautiful quality of the sound. Whereas Bach may sound pedantic, Weiss is soul-soothing. When I discovered that Volume II was coming out, I was more than thrilled. I bought it two days ago and I am not disappointed. Contents and sound are, again, glorious. And the NAXOS price? How can one quibble with this? The CD would be worth it at three times the price. For those of you who search for civility and repose in today's frantically insane, computer- generated world, Weiss is for you, either volume. The sound is warm, full, intimate without being being "in-your-face." It surrounds you. And the lute music, itself? Well, this is NOT ground-breaking music, this is NOT the depths of soul-searching or profundity.... but, yes, it IS beautiful and calming and.... a balm. Yet, like some guitar music, it is NOT boring or inane. This is the kind of music that should be "piped into" the "war rooms" of the world. It beats Valium, too. And psychiatry.
March 24, 1999More reviews at Amazon.com ...
