Italian Lute Virtuosi of the Renaissance Jakob Lindberg

• 1 Fantasia No. 34, La Compagna 02:50
• 2 Ricercar No. 3 01:29
• 3 Ricercar No. 51 03:19
• 4 Fantasia No. 15 01:35
• 5 Ricercar No. 30 01:13
• 6 In te Domine speravi 01:36
• 7 Nous Bergiers (arr. M. Dall'Aquila for lute) 02:01
• 8 Ricercar No. 32 03:31
• 9 Plus nulz regretz (arr. M. Dall'Aquila for lute) 03:59
• 10 Pavan, La Romanesca 02:19
• 11 Fantasie No. 20 06:51
• 12 Or vien ca, vien, m'amye (arr. A. de Rippe for lute) 01:57
• 13 Fantasia No. 22 01:34
• 14 Fantasia No. 66 04:10
• 15 Quanta beltà, quanta gratia e splendore (arr. F. da Milano for lute) 02:45
• 16 Fantasie No. 13 04:47
• 17 O passi sparsi (arr. A. de Rippe for lute) 04:29
• 18 Fantasie No. 16 05:29
• 19 Ricercar No. 33 02:06
• 20 Saltarello, La Traditora 02:06
• 21 Fantasia No. 19a 03:24
• 22 Il est bel et bon (arr. M. Dall'Aquila for lute) 02:08
• 23 Fantasia No. 55 05:47
• 24 De mon triste et desplaisir (arr. F. da Milano for lute) 01:44
• 25 Tu disoys que j'en mourroys menteuse que tu es (arr. F. da Milano for lute) 02:01
• 26 Fantasia No. 33 02:55
• Total Runtime 01:18:05

Info for Italian Lute Virtuosi of the Renaissance

The lute flourished in Europe for more than five hundred years, from the Middle Ages until its decline towards the end of the eighteenth century. For large parts of that time it was the most important instrument in Western music and the sixteenth century was one such golden period for the lute. During the late 1400s players had begun plucking the strings using fingers instead of a plectrum and this enabled them to play several lines of music simultaneously. The lute’s range was also expanded to three octaves by the addition of a sixth course.1 The instrument was strung in gut and tuned mainly in fourths, with a major third between courses 3 and 4. After the invention of music printing (c. 1500) lute music began to dominate the instrumental publications in Europe and continued to do so for the rest of the century.

This recording is of music by three prolific musicians of the Italian Renaissance: Francesco Canova da Milano (1497–1543), Marco dall’Aquila (c. 1480 – after 1538) and Alberto da Mantova, known in France during the last two decades of his life as Albert de Rippe (c.1500–51). They were arguably the greatest lutenists of the first half of the sixteenth century and, as the quotation above attests, their touch on the lute produced such ravishing sounds that they moved their audiences in profound ways.

„Whilst all wind and string instruments are sweet, as they retain the quality of harmony that emerges from the spheres while the heavens move, the suavity of sound which the lute gives birth to when touched by the divine fingers of Francesco Milanese, Alberto da Mantova and of Marco dall’Aquila, robs the senses of those listening by making itself heard in the soul.“

Jakob Lindberg, six-course lute

Jakob Lindberg
was born in Sweden and developed his first passionate interest in music through the Beatles. After reading music at Stockholm University he came to London to study at the Royal College of Music. Under the guidance of Diana Poulton he decided towards the end of his studies to focus on music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

Jakob Lindberg is now one of the most prolific musicians in this field. He has made numerous recordings for BIS, many of which are pioneering in that they present a wide range of music on CD for the first time. He is also an active continuo player on the theorbo and archlute and has worked with many well-known English soloists and ensembles.

It is particularly through his live solo performances that he has become known as one of today’s finest lutenists. He has played to audiences in many parts of the world, from Tokyo and Beijing in the East to San Francisco and Mexico City in the West. In addition to his busy life as a performer, Jakob Lindberg teaches at the Royal College of Music in London, where he succeeded Diana Poulton as professor of lute in 1979.

Booklet for Italian Lute Virtuosi of the Renaissance