S.L. Weiss' Tombeau sur la mort de M. Comte de Logy arrivee 1727. Inaugural recording on my 11-string guitar.
I am pleased to present my latest video with my 11-string guitar, performing the Tombeau sur la mort de M. Comte de Logy arrived 1727 by the baroque composer and lutenist Silvius Leopold Weiss (1685-1757).
My fascination with baroque music, particularly the oeuvre of S.L. Weiss, has always been a driving force in my concert programs.For an extended period, this theme has remained an integral part of my musical pursuits, even culminating in my master's thesis at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, where I analyzed the difficulties of transcribing Weiss's Lute Music onto the modern guitar. However, the challenge of adapting this rich and delicate baroque lute music has often left me longing for the deep bass notes that are so integral to the original compositions, mainly due to the lack of open bass strings on the modern guitar.
My journey with this unique 11th string guitar began in 2010 when the skilled Brazilian luthier Valentim Carlos Gomes initially crafted it as an 8-string guitar. Initially, I drew inspiration from the pioneering work of Paul Galbraith, who incorporated extra treble and bass strings to enrich his 8-string guitar. Yet, as I delved deeper into the profound world of baroque lute music, a growing desire for additional open bass strings arose within me to more faithfully capture the essence of S.L. Weiss's compositional genius.
After years of experimenting with various tunings, an unconventional idea took root in my mind. I decided to have three more open bass strings implanted into the guitar. Indeed, there have been several models of 11-string guitars, and even those with more strings, in existence for a few decades, most notably the alto guitar conceived by the luthier Georg Bolin, which is attuned a third higher than the traditional guitar. However, being left-handed, I wished to repurpose my 8-string guitar for this project instead of commissioning a new one. While many luthiers might have been initially skeptical of this unorthodox approach, I consulted with the German luthier, Wolfgang Teller, who possesses vast experience in crafting guitars as well as citars. With his remarkable skills and open-mindedness, he successfully transformed my 8-string guitar into an 11-string masterpiece, delivering a sonorous resonance rich in harmonics.
With this expanded range of bass strings, I can now explore better the intricate nuances of lute compositions. The lower notes in the open basses are essential for capturing the authentic spirit of this instrumental idiom.
In the presented video, I unveil my inaugural recording on this 11-string guitar, performing S.L. Weiss' Tombeau sur la mort de M. Comte de Logy arrivee 1727. This work, originally composed for the baroque lute in the key of Bb minor, has traditionally been interpreted on the modern guitar in B minor, following the pioneering interpretation by Julian Bream. Following extensive experimentation with various tunings and transcriptions, I opted to tune it closer to the conventional guitar and perform it in A minor. This choice, in my view, elicits a darker tonal quality, imbuing the piece with a more melancholic ambiance that is closer to the sound of the baroque lute.
Join me on this musical journey by watching the video here: