Hopkinson Smith has been called the most moving of present day lutenists...he approaches the lute's universe with a musicality which goes far beyond the seemingly limited voice of his instrument. We invite you to explore on this website the magic of his lute and its music.
Bach ayant fait lui-même de nombreux arrangements, aussi bien de sa propre musique que de celle d'autres compositeurs, l'idée de faire une transcription pour luth baroque seul des six Sonates et Partitas pour violon solo est une prémisse plus qu'acceptable.
Read MoreArguably, nothing by Bach is fairer game for transcription than the six 'Solos for violin without accompanying bass'. He himself transcribed one for lute, and is reported to have played them on the keyboard, filling in the implied harmony of the violin line. From one he created an organ concerto; his eldest son made keyboard works of two more.
Read MoreHopkinson Smith makes such a good case for Bach's Sonatas and Partitas on the lute that his recording is arguably the best you can buy of these works - on any instrument
Read MoreSylvius Leopold Weiss probably did not worry much about posterity; few 18th-century musicians did. And posterity duly ignored Weiss, partly because there was nothing suitable on which to play his music. It was tailored for the Baroque lute, a sonorous but difficult instrument that largely disappeared within a generation of his death.
Read MoreOn attendait avec impatience cette intégrale des Sonates et Partitas par Hopkinson Smith. Transcription complète de l'œuvre pour violon seul, elle marque L'aboutissement d'une profonde familiarité avec l'oeuvre de Bach dont Hopkinson Smith gravait il y a vingt ans l'intégrale des pièces pour le luth. Elle marque aussi l'apogée d'un art sans équivalent.
Read MoreHopkinson Smith plays the lute like it never went out of style. His virtuosity goes beyond physical facility to realize a rare metaphysical poetry, and in the process he brings these age-old inventions to life. Anyone thinking the preceding claim verges on the hyperbolic should audition Smith's latest issue, an Astrée album of Partitas by the great Baroque lutenist/composer Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1686-1750).
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