Weiss: Dresden Manuscript, Vol. 1 - Paul Beier (CD)

Sylvius Leopold Weiss was born in the then Bohemian province of Silesia (now in Poland) in 1687 and grew up under the strong influence of Losy, which can be seen clearly in his early compositions. After his Italian sojourn (1710-14), Weiss became deeply involved with the Prague musical milieu and, according to numerous documents, he must have spent much time there even after he was invited by Augustus the Strong, on the 23rd of August 1718, to become an "Electoral Saxon and Royal Polish Chamber Musician" at his court in Dresden. In the years between 1717 and 1724 he worked closely with Johann Christian Anthoni von Adlersfeld at the Prague Music Academy to create one of most extensive collections of his music ever assembled, what we now know as the "London Manuscript." Also, in this period he worked with the Prague lute maker Thomas Edlinger to improve upon the 11-course instrument normally used by adding two bass courses to extend it's range. Two different solutions were possible: using thicker or slightly longer strings. The thicker strings didn't sound very good, so the extra length was decided upon. The added bass courses were placed on a newfangled contraption attached to the side of the pegbox, called a "bass-rider." This is the kind of lute I play for this recording.