Only the direst of DIY could engineer a shelf that might collapse under the weight of recordings of lute concertos, yet there are very many still to be recorded, maybe even performed in this century. Naturally, most were written by lutenists – such as Hagen (1720-87) and Kohaut (1726-84); the latter wrote dozens of them, but few have ever seen the light of performing day since their own time. The other two works on this recording are arrangements: Fasch adapted an oboe concerto in D minor, a key that perfectly fits the baroque lute’s lock. The Haydn is a free arrangement (by whom is unknown) of his String Quartet, Op. 1 No. 6. The concertos are in the Italian style and three-movement form that became fashionable in eighteenth-century Germany. These are concertante works rather than virtuosic concertos, in which the lute either takes the lead, engages in conversation with the others or simply provides accompanimental figures. The writing for the lute is naturally more demanding in the works by lutenists and in the Hagen it even has written-out cadenzas.
There is a wealth of delightful music here, not least in the slow movements, and the performances are of the highest order. Hopkinson Smith is both technically gifted and abundantly musical, and his companions play with the utmost sensitivity. The recording is about a semitone lower than concert pitch, and in quality and balance it could not be better. Strongly recommended.
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