Hopkinson Smith plays Weiss on a 1755 Widhalm Swan-neck Baroque Lute

00:00 introduction Suite d-moll 0:09 Prélude 1:29 Allemande 4:51 Courante 6:33 Menuets I und II 9:02 Bourrée 10:48 Sarabande 13:06 Gigue 14:55 Tombeau sur la Mort de M. Conte de Logy arrivée 1721 23:40 Prélude und Fantasie c-moll Suite D-dur 28:15 Prélude 29:59 Aria 35:04 Courante 38:20 Sarabande 42:48 Passagaille 46:52 Gigue The Widhalm lute is similar to an aged aristocratic general, the hero of battles long since fought, still with an elegant and proud bearing, but also, no longer the tactician he once was. The strengths of the instrument - apart from the amazing phenomenon that it has survived in playing condition without restoration - lie in its wonderfully rich bass register and in the clear singing quality of the upper strings (the first five courses were strung in gut for this recording). Its strong qualities include a middle register with less power than it probably had originally, and also