The Renaissance Album

Alonso de Mudarra (Composer), Peter [composer] Philips (Composer), Francesco (da Milano) Canova (Composer), John Dowland (Composer), Arnolt Schlick (Composer), Hans Neusidler (Composer), Simone Molinaro (Composer), Luis de Milan (Composer), Luys de Narvaez (Composer), Antony Holborne (Composer), Robert [2] [Composer] Ballard (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Alonso de Mudarra, Peter [composer] Philips, Francesco (da Milano) Canova, John Dowland, Arnolt Schlick, et al.
• Audio CD (June 13, 2006)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000B8ISNW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,141 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Master of lute music, December 7, 2006

By 

Paul Magnussen (Campbell, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Renaissance Album (Audio CD)

This album takes the playing of Renaissance music on the guitar to a new level.

Transcriptions from the Renaissance lute (and its cousin, the vihuela) formed a staple of the guitar repertory from the advent of Segovia (which is to say the 1920s) well through the 1960s; to the extent that few guitar recordings (and even fewer recitals) did not start with a few such pieces. These transcriptions were considerably facilitated by the facts that the lute until around 1580 had six or fewer courses (string pairs), and its tuning could be simulated by merely tuning the third string of the guitar down a semitone (although Segovia, characteristically, didn't bother).

Around the start of the 17th century, however, the lute started acquiring extra bass strings, so that the resulting pieces can no longer be played on a standard guitar without mutilation. This, and more particularly a strong revival of interest both in the lute itself (spearheaded by Julian Bream) and in historical "authenticity", has resulted in the almost total eclipse of Renaissance lute music in guitar recitals.

Until Göran Söllscher, that is. For Mr Söllscher is one of the few guitarists in the World to play an 11-string alto guitar constructed by Georg Bolin; and the result of that combination, whether Greensleeves or Bach, is simply magnificent.

The present album is a tribute to the late Per-Olof Johnson, the Julian Bream of Sweden and the artist's teacher. He it was who in the 1960s collaborated with Bolin to develop the alto guitar, explicitly to explore the lute repertory.

Söllscher's playing does in fact remind me of Bream's brilliant but now-aging recording's from the 60s -- and properly so, for no one understood this music like Bream.

For me, this was easily the best release of 2005 in any genre: well over an hour, and not a single bad track. When it comes to lute music, you can't go wrong with Söllscher.

P.S. For Dowland fans, the particular Fantasia played here is P.1, and "A Piece Without Title" is P.78.

6 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Really, Really Bad, August 15, 2006

By 

Stephen A. Bright "CathedralGuitar.com" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Renaissance Album (Audio CD)

I got this after enjoying Mr. Sollscher's 11-String Baroque CD. However, the sound on this CD is not as good, and the interpretations of this music leaves a lot to be desired - a LOT! In general, lute players offer much better interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque music than guitar players, and this CD proves it. It sounds to me like this CD was mainly made as a commercial opportunity, with very little care given to the music. Save your money or shop elsewhere, as this is a very unsatisfactory CD.