Bach: Complete Lute Works / Yasunori Imamura

The greatest legacy for this instrument is undoubtedly that of Bach, of which relatively many are left. They are a treasured repertoire for lute players. Imamura recorded the complete works twice, once in 1990 and once in 2018, and the 1990 disc has a sharp, slightly harder tone (due to the nature of the instrument?) and a faster tempo that eliminates unnecessary agogic, but the performance is relatively solid. But that is relative to the performance of the 2018 disc. In the latter, from the prelude of the first E major suite, his playing is clearly more aggressively transformed than it was 30 years ago. His seemingly out-of-the-ordinary tempo and full of ornaments, as well as his tone and dynamism. Above all, one could feel the composure with which he confronted Bach’s music with a “playful” spirit. The technique has been further refined, and the listener cannot help but be captivated. Also included in this recording are rarely performed aria of early lute version of the Matthew Passion and others, featuring Dominik Wörner. #baroque #bach #片山俊幸