Masters Of The Lute

This is Matthew Wadsworth's finest release to date,... a gem of an album, which exudes intelligence, sensitivity and sheer class (...) (....)A richly painted recital that really shouldn't be missed." (...) Editors Choice

The blind lutenist presents a well balanced album of lute treasures. Wadsworth's touch is fleshier, more personal than before. The low weighty throb of the bass strings haunts royally. Cutting's Greensleeves cunningly disguises the familiar, while Kapsberger's Toccata arpeggiata spreads out the instrument's beauty like a fan. Piccinini's Chiaconna dances with a slow, courteous lightness. The album is graceful, civilised and intelligent, lacking perhaps just the slightest hint of dangerous abandon.

Mood music for Tudor banquets Classic FM (…) Wadsworth is surely one of the finest of the recently-emerges generation of players, and anybody doubting this will surely have such doubts laid to the rest on listening to this recording. (…) Excellent recording by a first class player, and one that I expect to play over and over again.

Wadsworth here shows that he is worthy of joining the company on this disc as a master of the lute. His discreet ornamentation and rhythmic nuances (particularly in the Visée) are well judged, his tone always full and capable of infinite variety.

A gentle, meditative collection of works from Dowland and other masters of the lute (…) (…) the sound here is extremely full and resonant, the playing excellent.

The careful miking, hi-res original DSD recording, and surround sound brings out the deep, rich and gorgeous multi-stringed tone of the lute, which sound so much more expressive in this music than the modern guitar. The sound is even better than that given Sting's lutenist accompanist on his recent much-promoted recording of lute songs. The theorbo or chitarrone has even more bass end, having been developed to be part of the basso continuo ensemble accompanying songs and stage productions. Eventually solo music for the instrument began to appear. The six dance-form movements for theorbo by De Visée are interesting in that he stressed the lowest octave more than most composers of the period, getting an effect akin to the left and right hands of a keyboard instrument.

Wadsworth here shows that he is worthy of joining the company on this disc as a master of the lute. (…)

an excellent introduction to the repertoire of the instrument's Golden Age. (…) (…) Technically a master indeed of his instrument. (…) (…) Cleanly articulated sounded, recorded in rich detail.

Atmospherically recorded, the talented Wadsworth plays a sombre programme of works from the 16th and early- 17th century. Mood music for Tudor banquets.

Geschickt und spannend.

Stijlgevoel, elegantie en autoriteit, heel mooi opgenomen, in een Engels kerkje, zonder enige vorm van galm maar je voelt wel de ruimte. (…)

Wadsworth lädt doch mit der Noblesse seines Spiels zum genaueren Hinhören ein. Er verfügt über einen sauberen und schön abgerundeten Ton, außerdem über ein feines Gespür für die Anmut der Musik (...)