Lutenist-composer Sylvius Leopold Weiss, almost an exact contemporary of J.S. Bach, was widely admired in his day and took on Bach himself in an improvisation contest. The booklet for this release quotes various extravagant expressions of praise from Weiss' contemporaries; the album's title comes from one of these. Nevertheless, it has often been difficult to transmit to contemporary audiences what distinguishes Weiss' music from the countless other suites of the period for lute or other stringed instruments. British-American lutenist
Nigel North takes large strides toward rectifying the situation with this collection of suites, interspersed with short, single pieces. The three multi-movement works are designed as a partita, a sonata, and a suite, respectively, but all consist of the typical suite dances (sarabande, courante, etc.) and fit into what was already a long tradition of such works. Weiss used an Italian word, cantabile (songful), to describe his own style, theoretically quite a contrast from the brittle, glittering figurations of French lute music. This cantabile quality is what's hard to put across, for there is plenty of decoration in Weiss' music. This is the particular success of
North's technically adept and nicely recorded release. In simple terms, the lute seems to sing.
North operates from a relaxed, almost commanding attitude. His tempos are on the broad side, and long lines seem to flow from their central tones instead of serving as a framework for ornament. The final Ciacona is not the kind of ultra-virtuosic piece later associated with that dance in Italian violin music, but the whole piece hangs together organically in
North's performance. Sample one of the three Sarabandas (tracks 6, 12, and 19) for the full warmth and elegance of
North's playing, which can be recommended as an introduction to Weiss and even to Baroque lute music in general.