Silvius Leopold Weiss (1686-1750)
Sonatas for Lute Volume 3
No. 2 in D major; No. 27 in C minor; No. 35 in D minor

Silvius Leopold Weiss is just beginning to be recognised as one of the most important German composers of the first half of the eighteenth century. The delay is perfectly understandable: a composer whose œuvre is confined to a single genre, solo lute music, is bound to be thought of as interesting to specialists only. Yet in his day this lutenist, an exact contemporary of J.S. Bach, was regarded with awe similar to that accorded the great Leipzig organist by listeners and fellow-composers alike. The two were even compared by contemporary writers, especially for their legendary skill in improvisation, and Weiss was honoured as the highest-paid instrumentalist in the glittering musical establishment at the Saxon Electoral and Polish Royal Court at Dresden, and lived there in some comfort and security. Bach, whose by no means comfortab