The Dresden Manuscript
The Sächsische Landesbibliothek of Dresden has six volumes of French tablatures, referenced as D‑Dl Ms. Mus. 2841‑V‑1,1 à 6. The 34 solo sonatas therein, of various origins, are written in French tablature for the baroque lute (11-course for the earliest, but mainly 13-course). They are scrupulously arranged by key in five volumes, plus a volume of ensemble music of which only the part of a single lute is extant. All pieces were composed by Silvius Leopold Weiss, from 1706 to the last days of his life in 1750. These manuscripts constitute one of our most precious sources for the composer’s music.
The sonatas, either autograph or meticulously copied, were compiled by a collector. He classified them according to age and tuning of the bass courses, very carefully assembled and, later, bound them. Several annotations, pencilled in by Weiss at a late stage, denote an elderly hand.
In the first five volumes, we can identify three different handwritings: that of Weiss himself, that of the manuscripts’ compiler (whose writing style seems to have changed over a long period of time), and that of another copyist, often less careful and precise.
The Sächsische Landesbibliothek purchased the manuscripts in 1929, at the sale of the collection of the musicologist and bibliophile Werner Wolffheim (1877‑1930). Several pages were subsequently damaged during the bombing of Dresden in 1945.
Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687‑1750)
Silvius Leopold Weiss was born in 1687 in the village of Grottkau, near Breslau. His father Johann Jacob, a proficient lutenist, taught his three children how to play, as well as the rules of harmony and the practice of basso continuo. A child prodigy, Silvius Leopold performed before the Emperor Leopold I who, although consumed with his war against Louis XIV, was a great music lover.
From 1707 to 1714 he lived in Italy. In Rome, he met Arcangelo Corelli and befriended the Scarlattis. Subsequently, he is thought to have entered the service of the Governor of Further Austria, who resided in Innsbruck. In 1718, he obtained a well-paid position in the Dresden Court Orchestra.
A first mission took him to Vienna for eight months, where he was immersed in the musical life of Austria, both at the Court and in town. It was there that he discovered the galant style, which would leave its mark on all his future compositions.
Silvius Leopold Weiss frequented the best musicians of his era. He was appreciated by princes, often lutenists themselves. Thus, between 1725 and 1730, he made several sojourns in Prague to teach his art to Prince Lobkowitz and his wife, to Johann Antonin Losy von Losimthal (Count d’Logy), Imperial Governor of Bohemia, or to Ludwig Joseph Cajetan, Baron von Hartig, Imperialo Governor of the city of Prague. Silvius Leopold Weiss met and played music with Johann Sebastian Bach when the latter, living in Leipzig, came to visit his young son Wilhelm Friedmann, an organist in Dresden.
Weiss was the main promoter of fundamental modifications to the lute: the addition of a 13th course and the subsequent lengthening of the lowest courses by means of a second pegbox on a neck extension, similar to the theorbo.
Silvius Leopold Weiss was an accomplished musician whose compositions were very solid, placing him on a par with his most distinguished contemporaries: Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel or Jan Dismas Zelenka. However, he only composed for his instrument. His daily practice of continuo and improvisation deeply influenced his entire work. His characteristic touch can be found in his unmeasured preludes and in his skillful handling of very elaborate sequences. He always made brilliant use of the possibilities afforded by the lute’s particular tuning.
Silvius Leopold Weiss died on 16 October 1750, leaving his widow Marie–Elizabeth and his seven children in financial straits. His son Johann Adolf Faustinus (1741‑1814) was the only one to follow in his father’s footsteps, and became a chamber lutenist at the Court of Dresden. Silvius Leopold Weiss was buried outside the city walls, in the Katholischer Friedhof.
Jean-Daniel Forget | Le Luth Doré © 2015
Sonata 12 in A Major
Suonata del Sigre Weiss
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Menuet
Ciacona del Sigr. S. L. Weiss
Sonata 44 in A Major
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande
Menuet
Gigue 1
Gigue 2
Sonata 16 in A Major
Allemande
Paysanne
Sarabande
Vivace
Menuet
Gigue
Sonata 45 in A Major
Introduzzione, Allegro, Largo
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande Grave
Menuet
Presto
Sonata 47 in A Major
Suonata del Sig.re S.L.Weiss
Entrée
Courante
Rondeau
Sarabande
Menuet
Allegro
Sonata 48 in F‐sharp minor
Suonata del Sig.re S.L. Weiss
Prélude
Allemande Andante
Courante
Bourrée
Sarabande Andante
Menuet
Presto
Addendum
Sarabande
Ms. Code | Ms. Name | Library Name | Country |
---|---|---|---|
Bk | Breitkopf (incipits) | Thematischer Katalog Breitkopf, Supplement IV, 1769 | Germany |
A-ROI | A-RO Lauten-Ms. | Rohrau, Graf Harrach'sche Familiensammlung
Provenience: Salzburg |
Austria |
A-Wn18829 | A-Wn ms. 18829 | Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Musiksammlung | Austria |
CZ-Bm372 | CZ-Bm Ms. sig. A.372 | Brno, Moravské zemské muzeum, oddělení dějin hudby MZM
Provenience: Musicalien-Bibliothek des Stiftes Raigern 5.b. |
Czech Republic |
CZ-Po | CZ-POm s.c. (III) | Podĕbrady, Polabské muzeum v Poděbradech | Czech Republic |
D-KNu | D-KNu Ms. 5.P.171 (olim Ms. 1.N.68) | Köln, Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek | Germany |
F-PnThII | F-Pn Rés. Vmc ms. 61 (olim: Bibl. Mad. Thibault)
In Venetiis 7.7br.1712 |
Paris, Bibliothèque National
Provenience: Bibl. Mad. Thibault |
France |
F-Sim | F-Sim ms. Rm 271
(Baltic) Lutebook |
Strassbourg, Institut de Musicologie de l'Université | France |
GB-HAB2 | GB-HAdolmetsch ms II.B.2 | Haslemere, Carl Dolmetsch Library | Great Britain |
GB-Lbl30387 | GB-Lbl Add. Ms. 30387 | London, The British Library
Provenience: Prague |
Great Britain |
I-Ven | I-BDG ms. sans cote | Bassano del Grappa, Biblioteca Civica
Chilesotti manuscript (Chilesotti's transcription of the ms, now retained lost) |
Italy |
PL-Wu2003 | PL-Wu RM 4136 (olim Mf. 2003) | Warszawa, Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Warszawie, Gabinet Zbiorów Muzycznych | Poland |
PL-Wu2004 | PL-Wu RM 4137 (olim Mf. 2004) | Warszawa, Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Warszawie, Gabinet Zbiorów Muzycznych | Poland |
PL-Wu2005 | PL-Wu RM 4138 (olim Mf. 2005) | Warszawa, Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Warszawie, Gabinet Zbiorów Muzycznych | Poland |
Work Title | Piece Title | Ms. Code | Ms. Page | |
---|---|---|---|
Sonata 12 in A Major Suonata del Sigre |
|||
Prélude | Bk | 2 | |
Allemande | A-Wn18829 GB-Lbl30387 |
22v 51v |
|
Courante | A-Wn18829 CZ-Po GB-Lbl30387 |
23v 14 52r |
|
Bourrée | GB-Lbl30387 PL-Wu2004 |
52v 10v |
|
Menuet | GB-Lbl30387 PL-Wu2004 |
54r 11v (1) |
|
Ciacona del Sigr. S. L. Weiss | A-Wn18829 GB-Lbl30387 |
25v 54v |
|
Sonata 44 in A Major | |||
Prélude | - | - | |
Allemande | A-ROI Bk CZ-Bm372 F-PnThII GB-HAB2 I-Ven PL-Wu2003 PL-Wu2005 |
27v & 29r (ensemble) 1 45 14v 127 504.2 15r 121 |
|
Courante | A-ROI CZ-Bm372 F-PnThII GB-HAB2 I-Ven PL-Wu2003 PL-Wu2005 |
27v & 29r (ensemble) 46 12v 127 (2°) 504.3 15v 122 |
|
Bourrée | A-ROI CZ-Bm372 D-KNu F-PnThII F-Sim GB-HAB2 I-Ven PL-WRu PL-Wu2003 |
28r & 30v (ensemble) 47 32r ("Scherzo") 13r 17v 25 & 128 505.2 41 15r (2) |
|
Sarabande | A-ROI CZ-Bm372 F-PnThII GB-HAB2 I-Ven PL-WRu PL-Wu2003 |
28r & 30r (ensemble) 45 15r 128 (1) 505.1 42 (1) 16r |
|
Menuet | A-ROI CZ-Bm372 D-KNu F-PnThII I-Ven PL-WRu PL-Wu2003 PL-Wu2008 PL-Wu2009 |
28v & 31r (ensemble) 47 32v 13r 504.4 42 15v 122 (1) 176 (1) |
|
Gigue | A-ROI CZ-Bm372 F-PnThII GB-HAB2 I-Ven PL-WRu PL-Wu2003 PL-Wu2005 |
28v & 31v (ensemble) 48 13v 129 505.3 43 16v 123 | |
Gigue | - | - | |
Sonata 16 in A Major | |||
Allemande | A-Wn18829 Bk GB-Lbl30387 |
13v 3 74v |
|
Paysanne | A-Wn18829 CZ-Po GB-HAB2 GB-Lbl30387 |
16v 13 141 76r |
|
Sarabande | A-Wn18829 GB-Lbl30387 |
17v 76v |
|
Vivace | A-Wn18829 GB-HAB2 GB-Lbl30387 |
15v ("Echo") 29 75v ("Air en echo") |
|
Menuet | A-Wn1078 A-Wn18829 CZ-Po GB-Lbl30387 |
47v ("Mad: la grondeuse Menuet") 20v 15 77r |
|
Gigue | A-Wn18829 CZ-Po GB-Lbl30387 PL-Wu2004 |
18v 18 55v 11v (2) |
|
Sonata 45 in A Major | |||
Introduzzione Allegro, largo | - | - | |
Courante | - | - | |
Bourrée | - | - | |
Sarabande Grave | - | - | |
Menuet | - | - | |
Presto | - | - | |
Sonata 46 in A Major | |||
Ouverture Largo, Allegro | Bk | 2b (Fuga) | |
Courante | - | - | |
Bourrée | - | - | |
Sarabande | - | - | |
Menuet | - | - | |
Presto | - | - | |
Sonata 47 in A Major Suonata del Sig.re S.L. Weiss |
|||
Entrée | BWV 1025 Bk |
2 4 |
|
Courante | BWV 1025 | 3 | |
Rondeau | BWV 1025 D-Mbs5362 |
4 40v |
|
Sarabande | BWV 1025 | 5 | |
Menuet | BWV 1025 | 6 | |
Allegro | BWV 1025 | 7 | |
Prélude 30* in F-sharp minor & Sonata 48 in F-sharp minor Suonata del Sig.re S.L. Weiss |
|||
Allemande Andante | Bk | 49 | |
Courante | - | - | |
Bourrée | - | - | |
Sarabande Andante | - | - | |
Menuet | - | - | |
Presto | - | - | |
Passionate about the baroque era, Jean-Daniel Forget is a self-taught lutenist. In order to play the forgotten (lute) works of the 17th and 18th centuries, he has copied (and studied) their manuscripts for almost 20 years.
A long career as a computer scientist, having made him expert in programming, allowed him to utilize the normal logic of writing music, especially that which transcribes tablature for instruments with fretted strings.
In collaboration with Guy Grangereau. he has posted his tablatures on a public internet site that is frequented by many lutenists and guitarists.
Forget was enlisted by Miguel Serdoura to help prepare the musical examples for his fine Method of the Baroque Lute. Further on, he continues to assist Serdoura in the preparation of his (lute) editions.
Guy Grangereau is a professional musician who studied guitar playing in Paris, notably with the Brazilian Turibio Santos. Then, he perfected his musical knowledge at Martenot school in Paris.
Since 1984, he gave guitar and piano lessons and, for twenty years, he taught guitar in music schools.
His favorite instrument is a guitar (Maurice Dupont) initially with 13 strings, to which a 14th string was added; more recently were added two strings and a theorbo neck for the last four strings. This 16 strings instrument can be tuned in thirds (open tuning); he uses it to transcribe solo harpsichord works. He also plays a 14-course theorbed baroque lute (Stephen Murphy).
Since 2010, he is collaborating with Jean-Daniel Forget for the copy of German baroque lute manuscripts of the 17th and 18th centuries, in bringing more particularly his musical expertise to the review of the Silvius Leopold Weiss’ work.
• Editor(s): Jean-Daniel Forget & Guy Grangereau
• Music period: Baroque
• Instrument(s): 11c/13c Baroque lute
• Instrumentation: Baroque lute solo
• Notation: French tablature
• Modern edition: Urtext
• Publisher: Le Luth Doré Urtext Editions
• Year of publication: 2015
• Collection: Lute and Theorbo Music Collection
• Pages: pp. 120
• Dimensions: 230x310 mm
• Weight: 0,320g
• Binding: Section sewn glue binding
• ISMN: 377-0-0017-8803-6
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