This recording offers the complete lute works of J.S. Bach, including solo works and pieces from the St John Passion and St Matthew Passion where the lute appears in an ensemble setting.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bach's inventory of possessions at his death included two lute-harpsichords, as well as three harpsichords, one lute, and a spinet, suggesting his interest in the lute-harpsichord.
Compositional Technique
The German lute virtuoso Lutz Kirchhof observed that Bach was not a lutenist, as his pieces often require instrumentalists to make interventions to be playable on the Baroque lute.
Instruments
The lute works on this recording are played on three different Baroque lutes, two made by José Miguel Moreno in 2010 and 2011, and one by Hendrik Hasenfuss in 2012.
Performer Biography
Dominik Wörner, the bass-baritone featured on this album, won first prize in the vocal section of the International Bach Competition Leipzig in 2002.
Composition History
Only seven of Bach's compositions (BWV 995-1000 and 1006a) are listed as being for lute, and it is not certain that each was originally intended for the instrument.
Performer Biography
Yasunori Imamura, the Baroque lute player on this recording, is recognized as one of the most prominent figures of the lute, both as a soloist and a continuo player.
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