Rating: 5/5
Review:
A very good recording
This is a very good recording of some of Kapsberger's lute music by the young Bulgarian lutenist Yavor Genov. I hadn't heard Genov before, and on this evidence I'm impressed. He was a student of Jakob Lindberg and some of Lindberg's brilliance shows though here.
Kapsberger was a lute virtuoso active between about 1600 and 1650. He wrote delightful, original music which deserves to be much better known. He stands at the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque: echoes of Dowland are audible in some pieces (the opening of Gagliardia 12, for example, is very reminiscent of Dowland's Earl Of Essex, His Galliard) while others look forward to a more ordered, contrapuntal style. It's great stuff, I think.
Genov plays it very well indeed. He has a very good technique, although his sheer verve does allow things to become a little ragged in places. Personally, I don't mind this because the overall effect is so pleasing and he draws such a lovely sound from his lute. He is plainly completely in sympathy with Kapsberger and has the skill to bring his music to life beautifully.
If I were allowed to own only one disc of Kapsberger's music I would stick with my much-loved disc by the great Paul O'Dette, I think, but this is a very welcome addition to my collection and I will be looking out for more of Genov's work. Warmly recommended.
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