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The Dresden Manuscript, Lute Sonatas | Vol. 5/5

Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750) • Baroque lute • French tablature

Method for the Baroque Lute. A practical guide for beginning and advanced lutenists

Miguel Serdoura (1973) • Baroque lute • French tablature

The Dresden Manuscript, Lute Sonatas | Vol. 1 to 5 | Complete

Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750) • Baroque lute • French tablature

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• Author(s): Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750)
• Title: The Dresden Manuscript
• Sub-title: Lute Sonatas
• Year of edition: c.1700-1750
• Source: Dresden Ms. D-Dl Mus. 2841-V-1
• Volumes: 1-5

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Description

The Dresden Manuscript

The Sächsische Landesbibliothek of Dresden has six volumes of French tablatures, referenced as D‑Dl Ms. Mus. 2841‑V‑1,1 à 6. The 34 solo sonatas therein, of various origins, are written in French tablature for the baroque lute (11-course for the earliest, but mainly 13-course). They are scrupulously arranged by key in five volumes, plus a volume of ensemble music of which only the part of a single lute is extant. All pieces were composed by Silvius Leopold Weiss, from 1706 to the last days of his life in 1750. These manuscripts constitute one of our most precious sources for the composer’s music.

The sonatas, either autograph or meticulously copied, were compiled by a collector. He classified them according to age and tuning of the bass courses, very carefully assembled and, later, bound them. Several annotations, pencilled in by Weiss at a late stage, denote an elderly hand.
In the first five volumes, we can identify three different handwritings: that of Weiss himself, that of the manuscripts’ compiler (whose writing style seems to have changed over a long period of time), and that of another copyist, often less careful and precise.

The Sächsische Landesbibliothek purchased the manuscripts in 1929, at the sale of the collection of the musicologist and bibliophile Werner Wolffheim (1877‑1930). Several pages were subsequently damaged during the bombing of Dresden in 1945.

Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687‑1750)

Silvius Leopold Weiss was born in 1687 in the village of Grottkau, near Breslau. His father Johann Jacob, a proficient lutenist, taught his three children how to play, as well as the rules of harmony and the practice of basso continuo. A child prodigy, Silvius Leopold performed before the Emperor Leopold I who, although consumed with his war against Louis XIV, was a great music lover.

From 1707 to 1714 he lived in Italy. In Rome, he met Arcangelo Corelli and befriended the Scarlattis. Subsequently, he is thought to have entered the service of the Governor of Further Austria, who resided in Innsbruck. In 1718, he obtained a well-paid position in the Dresden Court Orchestra.

A first mission took him to Vienna for eight months, where he was immersed in the musical life of Austria, both at the Court and in town. It was there that he discovered the galant style, which would leave its mark on all his future compositions.

He subsequently settled in Dresden where, although he often travelled, he spent the rest of his life. He was a brilliant continuo player at the Court, the Church and, above all, the Opera. His playing and improvisations were so highly esteemed that he became the best paid and most demanded instrumentalist in Dresden; even the considerable financial incentives offered by the Court of Vienna could not lure him away.

Silvius Leopold Weiss frequented the best musicians of his era. He was appreciated by princes, often lutenists themselves. Thus, between 1725 and 1730, he made several sojourns in Prague to teach his art to Prince Lobkowitz and his wife, to Johann Antonin Losy von Losimthal (Count d’Logy), Imperial Governor of Bohemia, or to Ludwig Joseph Cajetan, Baron von Hartig, Imperialo Governor of the city of Prague. Silvius Leopold Weiss met and played music with Johann Sebastian Bach when the latter, living in Leipzig, came to visit his young son Wilhelm Friedmann, an organist in Dresden.
Weiss was the main promoter of fundamental modifications to the lute: the addition of a 13th course and the subsequent lengthening of the lowest courses by means of a second pegbox on a neck extension, similar to the theorbo.

Silvius Leopold Weiss was an accomplished musician whose compositions were very solid, placing him on a par with his most distinguished contemporaries: Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel or Jan Dismas Zelenka. However, he only composed for his instrument. His daily practice of continuo and improvisation deeply influenced his entire work. His characteristic touch can be found in his unmeasured preludes and in his skillful handling of very elaborate sequences. He always made brilliant use of the possibilities afforded by the lute’s particular tuning.

Silvius Leopold Weiss died on 16 October 1750, leaving his widow Marie–Elizabeth and his seven children in financial straits. His son Johann Adolf Faustinus (1741‑1814) was the only one to follow in his father’s footsteps, and became a chamber lutenist at the Court of Dresden. Silvius Leopold Weiss was buried outside the city walls, in the Katholischer Friedhof.

Content

Sonata 33 in F Major
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet 1
Menuet 2
Gigue

Sonate 32 in F Major
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Bourrée
Menuet 1
Menuet 2
Gigue

Sonate 1 in F Major
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet
Gigue

Sonate 28 in F Major
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet
Presto

Sonate 34 in D minor
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Menuet
Sarabande
Menuet
Gigue

Sonate 11 in D minor
Fantasia
Allemande
Courante
Gavotte
Sarabande
Menuet
Gigue

Sonate 35 in D minor
Allemande
Adagio
Courante
Paysanne
Sarabande
Adagio
Menuet
Allegro

Sonate 36 in D minor
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet
Allegro

Sonata 37 in C Major
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet 1
Menuet 2
Presto

Sonata 38 in C Major
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet
Presto

Sonata 39 in C Major
Ouverture
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet
Presto

Sonata 40 in C Major
P. S. A. S. M. L. D. de Lobkowitz
Entrée
Spiritoso
Courante
Paysanne
Sarabande
Menuet
Allegro

Sonata 41 in A minor
Allemande
Courante
Rigaudon
Sarabande
Menuet
Gigue

Sonata 42 in A minor
Allemande
Largo
Allegro
Bourrée Posato
Sarabande
Menuet
Gigue
Presto

Sonata 29 in A minor
Entrée
Courante
Musette
Menuet
Sarabande
Paysanne

Sonata 43 in A minor
Allemande
Andante
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande Andante
Menuet 1
Menuet 2
Presto

Addendum
Sarabande
Sarabande
Presto

Sonata 12 in A Major
Suonata del Sigre Weiss
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Menuet
Ciacona del Sigr. S. L. Weiss

Sonata 44 in A Major
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet
Gigue 1
Gigue 2

Sonata 16 in A Major
Allemande
Paysanne
Sarabande
Vivace
Menuet
Gigue

Sonata 45 in A Major
Introduzzione, Allegro, Largo
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande Grave
Menuet
Presto

Sonata 46 in A Major
Ouverture Largo, Allegro
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet
Presto

Sonata 47 in A Major
Suonata del Sig.re S.L.Weiss
Entrée
Courante
Rondeau
Sarabande
Menuet
Allegro

Sonata 48 in F‐sharp minor
Suonata del Sig.re S.L. Weiss
Prélude
Allemande Andante
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande Andante
Menuet
Presto

Addendum
Sarabande

Sonata 4 in B-flat Major
Suonata del Sigre. Sylv. Leop. Weiss.
Prélude, Ouverture, Allegro
Presto
Courante
Bourrée
Gavotte
Menuet
Menuet

Sonata 49 in B-flat Major
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande Grave
Menuet
Presto

Sonata 15/23 in B-flat Major
Allemande
Courante
Moderato
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet
Gavotte
Gigue

Sonata 50 in B-flat Major
Introduzzione
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet
Presto

Sonata 21 in F minor
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande Adagio
Menuet
Gigue

Sonata 25 in G minor
Prélude
Allemande Andante
Passepied
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet
Gigue

Sonata 51 in G minor
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Polonoise
Menuet
Presto

Sonata 7 in C minor
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Gavotte
Gigue

Sonata 27 in C minor
Allemande
Gavotte
Rondeau
Sarabande
Menuet
Rigaudon
Angloise

Sonata 52 in C minor
Ouverture: Largo, Allegro, Vivace
Courante Assai moderato
Bourrée
Siciliana
Menuet
Presto

Sonata 30 in E-flat Major
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Rigaudon
Sarabande
Gavotte
Menuet
Allegro assai

Specifications

• Editor(s): Jean-Daniel Forget & Guy Grangereau
• Music period: Baroque
• Instrument(s): 11c/13c Baroque lute
• Instrumentation: Baroque lute solo
• Notation: French tablature
• Modern edition: Urtext
• Publisher: Le Luth Doré Urtext Editions
• Year of publication: 2015
• Collection: Lute and Theorbo Music Collection

Volume 1

• Pages: pp. 104
• Dimensions: 230x310 mm
• Weight: 0,320g
• Binding: Section sewn glue binding
• ISMN: 377-0-0017-8801-2

Volume 2

• Pages: pp. 134
• Dimensions: 230x310 mm
• Weight: 0,320g
• Binding: Section sewn glue binding
• ISMN: 377-0-0017-8802-9

Volume 3

• Pages: pp. 120
• Dimensions: 230x310 mm
• Weight: 0,320g
• Binding: Section sewn glue binding
• ISMN: 377-0-0017-8803-6

Volume 4

• Pages: pp. 116
• Dimensions: 230x310 mm
• Weight: 0,320g
• Binding: Section sewn glue binding
• ISMN: 377-0-0017-8804-3

Volume 5

• Pages: pp. 68
• Dimensions: 230x310 mm
• Weight: 0,320g
• Binding: Section sewn glue binding
• ISMN: 377-0-0017-8805-0

Editors

Jean-Daniel Forget

Computer Scientist, Lutenist

Passionate about the baroque era, Jean-Daniel Forget is a self-taught lutenist. In order to play the forgotten (lute) works of the 17th and 18th centuries, he has copied (and studied) their manuscripts for almost 20 years.

A long career as a computer scientist, having made him expert in programming, allowed him to utilize the normal logic of writing music, especially that which transcribes tablature for instruments with fretted strings.

In collaboration with Guy Grangereau. he has posted his tablatures on a public internet site that is frequented by many lutenists and guitarists.

Forget was enlisted by Miguel Serdoura to help prepare the musical examples for his fine Method of the Baroque Lute. Further on, he continues to assist Serdoura in the preparation of his (lute) editions.

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Guy Grangereau

Guitarist, Lutenist

Guy Grangereau is a professional musician who studied guitar playing in Paris, notably with the Brazilian Turibio Santos. Then, he perfected his musical knowledge at Martenot school in Paris.

Since 1984, he gave guitar and piano lessons and, for twenty years, he taught guitar in music schools.

His favorite instrument is a guitar (Maurice Dupont) initially with 13 strings, to which a 14th string was added; more recently were added two strings and a theorbo neck for the last four strings. This 16 strings instrument can be tuned in thirds (open tuning); he uses it to transcribe solo harpsichord works. He also plays a 14-course theorbed baroque lute (Stephen Murphy).

Since 2010, he is collaborating with Jean-Daniel Forget for the copy of German baroque lute manuscripts of the 17th and 18th centuries, in bringing more particularly his musical expertise to the review of the Silvius Leopold Weiss’ work.

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Urtext

Le Luth Doré Urtext Editions

The Le Luth Doré Urtext Editions offer musicians and musicologists worldwide reliable and authoritative musical texts. The main features are:

• superb and aesthetically appealing music engraving
• optimized for practical use (page turns, fingerings)
• books originally in Italian tablature are published in both Italian and French tablatures
• high-quality and durable (cover, paper, binding)
• both original and modern prefaces, documentation of the corrections made and explanatory footnotes in English, French, Italian, German …

About Le Luth Doré Urtext Editions

Our editions are urtext: we strive to provide reliable musical texts that are as true as possible to the existing sources and the composer’s intentions. We are aware, of course, that it is impossible to reconstruct the one and only urtext. Often, several manuscript sources exist for the same piece, and there is little reliable guidance for determining which version best represents the composer's intentions.

Although we cannot entirely dissipate historical uncertainty, we can compare texts and correct obvious errors, which sometimes occur even in autograph manuscripts. Sources have been meticulously examined - note by note, mark by mark.

When facing ambiguity inherent to the sources, wise editorial judgment must take the place of textual certainty.

The most important observations and editorial decisions are elucidated in the prefaces, in the critical commentary, in footnotes, or marked as such in the musical text. It therefore comes as no surprise that an editor has to invest a great deal of patience, knowledge and time when piecing together an urtext that is true to the source and, hopefully, to the composers’ intentions as well. Proven specialists with extensive knowledge and experience edit our Le Luth Doré Urtext Editions in close cooperation with our Editorial Department.

Each verified musical text preserves the original fingerings and notation of ornamentation and, in the absence of original manuscript notations, also sets forth helpful suggestions by modern masters regarding useful fingerings and ornaments faithful to historical style, as a stimulus to further thought and a starting point for the student's approach to performance.

We are deeply grateful to all the extraordinary musicologists, music teachers and artists that put their knowledge and experience at our disposal for Le Luth Doré Urtext Editions.

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