Toyohiko Satoh - J.S.Bach & Weiss: Lute Music (2015) CD-Rip

"Toyohiko Satoh – Bach & Weiss Lute Music – Carpe Diem Records Internationally renowned lute virtuoso Toyohiko Satoh’s latest recording of compositions by J.S. Bach and Silvius Leopold Weiss is equal parts musical reappraisal, historical performance re-enactment, and personal spiritual quest. Played on an extremely rare, 11 course Greiff lute built in 1611, the 2 cello suites by Bach and one of the 3 chaconnes by Weiss required some alteration by Mr. Satoh; the Bach pieces were simply transposed to new keys, while Weiss’s “Ciacona G Minor” (originally written for 13 course lute) has undergone some re-writing to accommodate the differences between instruments. As Mr. Satoh points out in the liner notes, such alterations, whether key transposition, re-arrangement or re-writing were standard operating procedure when this music was written; as such, they qualify here as historically informed performance practice. Produced, engineered, and mastered by Jonas Niederstadt, the sound quality is pristine and crystal clear, with none of the distracting variations in volume or tone from one track to another that so often occur in recordings of this kind. . The playing itself is everything one would expect of a virtuoso musician whose past mastery of each text is further inspired by the chance to perform on an important heritage instrument. Mr. Satoh’s stated goal of expressing “…the greater spirituality the music contains…” seems to have been realized. His modest declaration regarding this quest that “…it seems to me that I am heading in the right direction”, must surely be the understatement of the year. A must-have for fans of early music and the baroque period, as well as students of the guitar and/or lute, “Bach & Weiss Lute Music” by Toyohiko Satoh can be unconditionally recommended to the general listener looking for a unique, transcendent experience. Highest possible recommendation 10 out of 10 Oscar O. Veterano"