The Cello Suites have been borrowed by guitarists for decades, now it is the turn of a lutenist—and why not? When I asked Paul Tortelier about the practice he said, ''Providing it is done with knowledge and love of the music one cannot object''. Of course some have done, but I would have thought the time has passed when there was need for the lengthy apologia offered in the annotation. Indeed, Hopkinson Smith's majestic performances are perfectly capable of speaking for themselves. The arrangements are convincingly made, with implied basses and a few well-placed chords added; of course there are places where one might do it differently but, since none of us is Bach, there always will be. While Hopkinson Smith indulges in some deft embellishment he eschews it in the Sarabande of BWV1010, where it would surely not be out of place, though he simplifies the final bar of its first half and restores Bach's text in the repeat. These are expressive interpretations that, in the same way that some guitar arrangements do, enhance the music by discreetly fleshing out the more skeletal of the original textures, and they are graced by a skilful rubato that never loses touch with the pulse or hints at incipient romanticism. The warm but clear sound of the 13-course lute is faithfully recorded, though some bass notes come through weakly.'