This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players. ----- The lute music from this period represents some...

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

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The lute music from this period represents some of the best ever written for the instrument. Under Lindberg's fingers, and on his beloved Sixtus Rauwolf lute (c. 1590), even the relatively straightforward anonymous Scottish pieces included here are imbued with the same affecting lyricism he lavishes on the [other] works.

– Gramophone

***** (out of 5)
The sound of Jakob Lindberg's lute, made by Sixtus Rauwolf in the last decade of the 16th century, is unusually warm. A meticulously voiced recital that moves between court, theatre, and tavern. Lindberg conjures an age that was as perilous as it was rich in musical invention.

– BBC Music Magazine

JACOBEAN LUTE MUSIC • Jakob Lindberg (lt) • BIS 2055 (81:12)

Works by: DOWLAND, ROBINSON, R. JOHNSON, BACHELER, HELY, J. GAULTIER, ANONYMOUS

Jakob Lindberg here turns to familiar territory, and deals with it in exemplary, historically informed fashion. His phrasing is impeccable, and the articulation of multiple lines, always clear and balanced. Great reserves of color can be heard in the slower, longer works, such as the pavans by Robert Johnson and Danile Bacheler, while all the divisions in the many faster pieces are tossed off with deceptive ease, and on occasion, an appropriate dash of humor. Not the least of the disc’s charms is the program itself, cleverly varied by length, character, complexity, and textures over a succession of works.

In short, this is one of Lindberg’s most immediately accessible releases to date. I’ve heard him accused in the past of too great a sense of restraint, but never found this true, myself; and here there certainly is no room for that complaint. Without ever waxing sentimental, a rich vein of expressiveness should be obvious to all on this generously timed disc. Highly recommended.

FANFARE: Barry Brenesal