Jakob Lindberg - Lindberg: Seven Suites of Swedish Folk Tunes (2002)

This recording further justifies Jakob Lindberg’s position as one of the leading lutenists of his generation. The lute, notorious for producing extraneous noises and unwanted overtones is skilfully tamed in his hands. Clear melodic lines, exact rhythms, together with precise decorations and phrasing, are all part and parcel of his technique.

The repertoire is all taken from Swedish folk music, the various pieces comprising polkas, waltzes and lullabies, (plus, of course, a number with Swedish titles unfamiliar to me). These are grouped together to form "suites" and although originally they apparently had no such connections, they are related regionally which makes for convenient programming.

Five of the seven suites begin with "preludes" of Lindberg’s own making, using material from the original music. The individual suites do have their own distinctive characters and Jakob Lindberg substitutes his 13-course baroque lute for a 7-course soprano lute for one of the suites and then a 5-course baroque guitar for another, the subtle contrasts in timbre ringing the changes nicely.

The recorded sound on this disc is very good, a clear improvement on earlier BIS recordings of the lute and the guitar, some of which I felt were treated with too much reverb. Here the lute is captured more faithfully, making the listening experience more enjoyable. ~ Andy Daly