Weiss, Partitas pour luth - Hopkinson Smith

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Weiss, Partitas pour luth - Hopkinson Smith

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Sylvius Leopold Weiss, Partitas pour luth - Hopkinson Smith (1997)
Astrée E 8620 | EAC APE + scans | ~260 MB

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Weiss, Partitas pour luth - Hopkinson Smith

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In May 1728, at the invitation of the King of Prussia, the Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, Augustus II (also known as Augustus the Strong), travelled to Berlin, accompanied by the four most brilliant members of his orchestra, the violinist Pisendel, the flautist Buffardin and Quantz, and the lutenist Weiss. Thus, Wilhelmina, the sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia and future margravine of Bayreuth, who was herself a keen lutenist, was able to spend much time in Weiss's company during his lengthy stay in berlin; in her Memoirs she paid tribute to the "famous Weis [sic], who so excels at the lute that no one has ever seen his equal and those who come after will have but the glory of imitating him" – a fine expression of Weiss's greatness and influence.

The virtuoso lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1684 or 1685-1750) was respected by his fellow musicians and adulated by princes. Contemporary accounts, despite their terseness and other failings, nevertheless enable us to measure the full extent of his influence. We only have to think, for example, of the many operas, cantatas and serenades with an obbligato part for the lute, theorbo, or even the mandolin, which were composed specifically with him in mind; or of all the lutenists who, directly or indirectly, benefited from his teaching, some of them later becoming famous in their field and thus perpetuating his style through their music; and we must not forget the exceptional dissemination of his works, despite the jealous eye he apparently kept on them.

Thanks to the many connoisseurs and zealous amateurs who copied them out, almost six hundred and fifty pieces for solo lute and a dozen or so pieces of chamber music (unfortunately only the lute part has survived) have come down to us – the largest corpus in the history of lute music. But such profusion by no means implies that his works are lacking in depth – on the contrary: like Bach (his exact contemporary), he took the long tradition he had inherited to its apogee, and he was one of the main initiators of a new movement which Johann Nikolaus Forkel saw as an expression of "the authentic, vigorous German style" of the 18th century. Based on stylistic elements of French and Italian origin, German taste (deutscher Geschmack) scorned the pleasant chatter that was then very much in fashin, instead attaching great importance to the quintessence of the musical work, to perfect expression of the emotions and grandeur (often tinged with gravity) in the discourse. Expressive melodic lines, inventiveness in the rhythms, a lively, full harmony subtending the movements, a blend of orderliness and freedom: those, all too briefly, are the main characteristics of Weiss's music – music that is demanding both on the interpreter and on the listener.

With just one exception, the pieces on this recording are taken from a large volume which was acquired by the British Museum (now the British Library) in 1877, a volume containing some two hundred and thirty pieces in tablature, copied out in a firm and elegant hand. This is one of the most important sources of Weiss's oeuvre and is precious on more than one account: firstly, it contains many pages, additions and corrections in Weiss's own hand; secondly, it includes over a hundred pieces that are not to be found in any other source; finally, it is the only one that gives dates for some of the pieces and, in some cases, the place of composition.

Most of the works in this manuscript belong or are related to a period in Weiss's life about which we as yet know very little: from 1715, when he returned from Rome after spending six years in the service of the Polish Prince Alexander Sobiesky (who died in late 1714), until 1718, when he was appointed to the much coveted post of chamber musician to Augustus II of Dresden. The memory of musical life in Rome, dominated by the personalities of Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti and Arcangelo Corelli, remained vivid to him and his works betray the profound influence they had had on his compositional technique. His experience in Italy enabled the young virtuoso to assert himself as the true champion among Germanic lutenists of that melodious, cantabile style whose pre-eminence they upheld over the elliptical art of the French masters.

With just a few exceptions, the Weiss of that middle period remained faithful to the lute suite (known as Partien or Partita at that time in the Germanic countries). It was composed of a series of dances in the same key, generally with the framework of Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue, with frequent interpolations of Galanterien such as Bourrée, Minuet, Gavotte, etc. The prelude is, par excellence, the touchstone of the improviser, which explains why it is so often missing, as is the case in the London manuscript of the Partita in D minor. The musician may therefore turn to a more complete corroborating source, such as the rich collection of works by Weiss that is kept in Dresden, from which are taken the Fantasia, presented here, and a number of variants for the following dances. The arpeggio, which is the most natural gesture for the lutenist, is taken through the whole instrument's whole range, adopting various figurations with the aim of demonstrating each register in a series of short harmonic sections freed from their bar lines. The Allemande, with the seriousness we expect from this noble dance, is treated in the purest cantabile style. The Courante (whose motif in descending sixths is reminiscent of Domenico Scarlatti) is in complete contrast, the unbroken motion of its quavers producing an effect of very great tension. A constant concern for refinement in the melody is to be observed in the simplicity of the Gavotte, in the Sarabande with its sorrowful strains and in the graceful Minuet. The long pent-up energy is finally let loose in the Italian-style Gigue, carried along by a formula in campenellas which is often to be found in Weiss's compositions.

The Partita in G major, dated 1719, is a unicum in Weiss's oeuvre. The dances in the suite are to be found alongside elements steming from the sonata in the manner of Jan Adam Reinken (Hamburg, 1688), and the combination of Toccata and Fuga, a genre rarely approached by the lutenist, may be considered as a work in its own right. Moreover, the prelude seems to be relegated into the shadow of the impressive Toccata. In the fugue, based on a theme similar to the "Gratias" (from the Gloria) in Bach's Mass in B minor, Weiss uses all sorts of artifices to make up for the fact that it is almost impossible for the lute to support each of the voices – he brilliantly meets the challenge. The Saraband develops a long arioso, effortlessly carried along by the regular motion of the bass, un poco andante. As with most of the suonate Weiss composed during his mature years, it is written in the relative of the main key. The work ends with a veritable concerto grosso finale in miniature: its spirit and verve are worthy of the virtuosos of the bow, against whom, it is said, Weiss did not hesitate to pit himself.

The pieces in D major were taken from two different Partien and were chosen because they are so beautifully developed. Like all lute preludes, this one is not subject to any particular tempo and it is intended to give an impression of having just been created. It thus enables the lutenist to test the tuning, "warm up", and set the mood for the piece as a whole. The Passecaille, based on an unchanging theme of descending bass notes in compound time, presents a series of eleven variations whose ingenuity is quite matchless in contemporary literature for lute. Finally, a Giga, written in Weiss's hand, brings this programme (with a liveliness inherited from Italy, whose lesson Weiss was never to forget) to a spirited end.

Claude Chauvel

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Weiss, Partitas pour luth - Hopkinson Smith

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