DOWLAND: Lachrimae Pavan; Forlorn Hope Fancy ( Fantasie No2) : WEISS: Suite No25 in Am : BACH: Suite Francaise No1in Dm - BWV 812 : RAMEAU: Les Tendres Plaintes ; L'Entretien Des Muses; Le Rappel Des Oiseaux; Les Tricotets; L'Indifférente; Les Sauvages
Michel Grizard
Skarbo: DSK1171
French guitarist Grizard has here produced a set of recordings of music originally written for the Baroque and Renaissance Lute or the Harpsichord, from Dowland to Weiss. The guitarist does use period guitars and is very knowledgeable about particularly the early 19th Century’s music. Indeed all the arrangements are his own, on this album, and three of the Rameau works are apparently available in print too.
The first thing to know is that the recording is beautiful, bright and vibrant and very clear. The opening two Dowland pieces are stunningly played and one of the best I have ever heard, apart from, obviously, players performing them on the original Lute.
Now, when we get to Silvius Leopold Weiss, the greatest player of the Baroque Lute, I have to confess that I am an avid lover of both Weiss, and the instrument he originally wrote his multitude of works for. Having such a huge span from the bottom to the top of the lute, it is largely impossible to play anything of his music and not miss the last octave or so in the bass, simply because guitars don’t go that far down. I must confess that this performer here has done a great job of making the pieces in the suite not sound deficient in the bass end. It goes without saying that the Suite in Am is wonderful music, performed beautifully, and as far as guitar performances go, definitely one of the best.
The Keyboard French Suite No1 of Bach is not a piece I have come across before on guitar, so I was initially surprised to find it on one guitar only, but it works really well, and like all Bach, sounds wonderful as a guitar piece. Grizard moves the key from its original Dm to Em .
The final pieces on this recording are all Rameau, originally of course for keyboard. The style of these pieces involves many ornaments , always something that makes playing tricky on the guitar , especially when there are so many of them. It is therefore great to be able to say that, like everything else on this recording, Michel Grizard does a fabulous job of making these pieces sound absolutely like they were written for it. The 8 + minutes of L’Entretien Des Muses is, I suspect a real handful, but it is one of the standout pieces in this final set of six pieces, and it just provers how, in the right hands, this music , that you would not particularly think of as guitaristic , can in fact be made exactly that.
This is a lovely collection of pieces that were a constant joy and as the recording quality is beautifully clear and involving, I can only say that this wonderful recital should be in everyone’s collection, if the repertoire appeals.
Chris Dumigan
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