Various Artists - 2 Lutes with Grace - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The plectrum lute duo was one of the most popular ensembles for professional instrumentalists in late 15th-century Western Europe. This recording presents for the first time the bulk of a surviving repertoire that can arguably be considered for the lute duo, performed on two equal plectrum lutes or with a combination of lute and gittern- a smaller member of the lute family. The album, inspired by the Ferrarese virtuoso Pietrobono dal Chitarino (c. 1417-1497), acclaimed in his lifetime as 'the foremost lutenist in the world,' includes the earliest printed lute duos by Francesco Spinacino and Joan Ambrosio Dalza and the two-voice instrumental works by Johannes Tinctoris. The often highly ornamented instrumental duos are mostly reworkings of songs, some of which are given here in a performance with the singer Grace Newcombe to provide the context for the lute arrangements that follow. Album Tracks 1. La Bernardina de Josquin (Arr. F. Spinacino for Lute Duo) 2. Duo [Perugia, Biblioteca Comunale Augusta, Ms 1013 (M 36)] 3. Calata a Doi Lauti 4. J'ay Pris Amours (Arr. J. Martini for Voice) 5. J'ay Pris Amours [Perugia, Biblioteca Comunale Augusta, Ms 1013 (M 36)] 6. Jay Pris Amours (Arr. F. Spinacino for Lute Duo) 7. De Tous Biens Playne 8. La Spagna [Perugia, Biblioteca Comunale Augusta, Ms 1013 (M 36)] 9. Alleluja 10. Je Ne Fay (Arr. F. Spinacino for Lute Duo) 11. Comme Femme Desconfortee 12. Comme Femme Desconfortee 13. Comme Femme (Arr. M. Lewon for Lute and Gittern) 14. Fecit Potentiam 15. Fortune Alas (Arr. D. Fallows for Voice) 16. Fortune Alas [Perugia, Biblioteca Comunale Augusta, Ms 1013 (M 36)] 17. Fortuna Desperata (Arr. F. Spinacino for Lute Duo) 18. Le Souvenir 19. Juli Amours (Arr. F. Spinacino for Lute Duo) 20. Tenor So Ys Enprentyd 21. So Ys Empretid 22. Tout a Par Moy 23. Saltarello 24. Piva (Version for