J.S.BACH Lute Suites BWV 995-998; Prelude,
Fugue & Allegro BWV 998.
Paul
Galbraith
(guitar)
Delos DE 3258 59'38"
Less well known than the cello and violin suites, these span the whole of
Bach's working life and are of high quality. For Bach the lute had a symbolic
significance and the works here have sacred connections; the G minor sarabande
quotes the et incarnatus est from the B minor Mass and the C minor,
the final chorus of the St Matthew Passion. The former also exists in a cello
version (the 5th cello suite), the others not. Galbraith has further
arranged them for his special 8-string guitar, which he plays upon a wooden
resonance box; its mellow tone here is soothing. Arrangements are now again
all the rage!
Galbraith points out the close similarity of sound between lute and clavichord
(Bach's professed favourite instrument!) and that he actually developed a
keyboard instrument, the lautenwerk, designed to sound like a lute.
These suites generally use a dark, lower register, and I have found them
gratifying to play on the clavichord, contrasting with the prevailing colour
of most other music.
A welcome addition to any Bach collection, well recorded in November 1999
and with good notes by this fine British guitarist to sort them all out their
complicated derivations.
Reviewer
Peter Grahame Woolf
