This suite (sonata) for solo baroque lute is number twenty from the collection of Sylvius Leopold Weiss in the British Museum. It is somewhat remarkable in that the only movement that corresponds to the “standard” dances in a suite (Allemand, Courant, Saraband, Gigue) is the gigue. The overture with which the suite begins is a French Overture – That is, it begins with a stately section in dotted rhythm, then a faster section using imitation, ending with another slow section. This movement could be played alone to good effect.
I - Overture
II - Bouree
III - Aria
IV - Menuet
V - Trio
VI - Gigue
The original Ms is in French tablature and is very exact as to where each note should be played on the baroque lute. Unfortunately, that instrument’s tuning is different from the modern guitar as to make those note placements irrelevant for the guitar. In fingering the suite, I have tried to keep the spirit of the music as dictated by the original. The fingering I have added is meant to facilitate performance, and as such is only a suggestion. The tablature is heavily ornamented, but only indicating where to play an ornament and from which direction it should start – the exact ornament is left to the discretion of the player. I have indicated in the fingering only those ornaments which I thought obligatory for the style. Players should feel free to add their own.
Joseph Mayes has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe on both guitar and lute. He is a professor of music at Rowan University where he heads the Guitar and Early Music programs and holds degrees from Thomas Edison College and Shenandoah University. He is well known, not only as a performer, but as an outstanding source of guitar scholarship witnessed in his articles and reviews in periodicals such as “Soundboard” and The Lute Society of America “Quarterly.”
His arrangements and transcriptions have been published by Clear Note, Mel Bay, Plucked String, and Galvanized Music. He has studied with some of the most notable guitarists of the century including Andres Segovia, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, and Jose Tomas, and performed in some of the world’s most prestigious venues. He has recorded 4 solo CD’s of both guitar and lute music.
PREVIEW - I - Overture
PREVIEW - VI - Gigue
