Customer Reviews

Sylvius Leopold Weiss: Pièces de Luth (Works for Lute) - Hopkinson Smith

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This was the first weiss-cd I bought, played by my favorite lutenist: Hopkinson Smith. In the meantime I have a collection of 15 Weiss-cd's. So let's compare. Although Hopkinson Smith is the best interpretor of French renaissance lute-music, he is definitely not the best Weiss or Bach interpretor. If you compare the sonata n° 23 in F sharp minor with the version of Lutz Kirchhof (Weiss vol.3), the version of Lutz Kirchhof is a 1000 times better: clearer, more rhythmic... So, who wins the prices for the best Weiss-performances: definitely not Hopkinson Smith, but Robert Barto, Lutz Kirchhof and Konrad Junghänel. I'm sorry Hopkinson Smith, but You should stick to Ennemond Gaultier or Jacques de Gallot: those are the composers you can play best.

Here we have an exceptional selection of works, the sonata in A minor, the sonata in G minor, the fantasy in C minor and the Tombeau sur la mort de Mr De Logy.The works are great, together with Smith's style when interpretating solo lute music.The sound is also fairly good. Only "disadvantage" is the speed in which the tombeau is played (I would prefer it a little faster).

Weiss is a great composer of the same height as Bach, Händel, Zelenka or Vivaldi. Of his vast catalogue only survived almost 600 pieces for lute solo, that's the main reason of he's now a little known composer. Just listen to this superb performance by Hopkinson Smith, the best lutenist of our time, his impressive technique, soft touch and depth makes this CD a meditation with the spiritual message of baroque music.