Luogo e data di registrazione		Plenarsaal, München (Germania) - 28/30 ottobre 1974
	Registrazione: live / studio		studio
	Executive Producer		Dr. Andreas Holschneider
	Recording Producer		Dr. Gerd Ploebsch
	Balance Engineer		Heinz Wildhagen
	Prima Edizione LP		ARCHIV - 2533 294 - (1 LP - durata 45' 33") - (p) 1975 - Analogico
	Prima Edizione CD		ARCHIV - 447 727-2 - (4 CD's - durata 71' 05"; 73' 47"; 68' 14" & 62' 37" - [CD3 1-19]) - (c) 1995 - ADD
	Cover		Frederik von Valckenborch: Musikantengruppe (Öil auf Holz) - Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg - Photo: Scala Florenz
	Note		-

 

In the 16th century lutenists played a privileged role among court and town musicians (as may be seen from their high rates of pay) and they often became confidants of their patrons and protectors (as can be seen from various special grants), for there was scarcely a situation that they did not accompany with their music - even if hidden behind a curtain! Moreover, they instructed members of the court and citizens of the town in the art of playing the lute and thereby were best informed about all opinions, rivalries and alliances. So it is not to be wondered at if lutenists were heavily, if also secretly, involved in the political scene and pursued their own plans. But it was also inevitable that many a lutenist had to quit his country if political constellations changed, and went in danger of life and limb. The life histories of the lutenists represented in this part of the present recording were governed by this amalgamation of political and musical activity. Diomedes Cato born in Venice, was engaged by the treasurer of the Prussian ruler of Poland, S. Kostka, at the Polish royal court, where he must have rendered such great service to his lord and patron that the latter bequeathed to him 10,000 ylotys. Wojciech (Albert) Dlugoraj was less fortunate. He repeatedly attempted to escape from the service of his master, S. Zborowski, who however compelled him to return each time. Ultimately, because of various intrigues he had to flee to Germany. The Hungarian Valentin Greff-Bakfark (1507-76) felt himself more committed to his patron, Duke Albrecht of Prussia, than to his employer, the King of Poland. First of all lutenist at the Transylvanian court in Kronstadt, on Albrecht’s recommendation he came to the Polish court at Cracow (1549). He took advantage of a year of mourning there, in which no music was required, to pay a visit to Italy, Germany and France, from which he sent political news not to Cracow, however, but to Königsberg. Bakfark attained high status at the Polish court, but nevertheless maintained his close association with Königsberg. At the start of 1566, he had to leave Cracow in all haste and seek refuge in Posen (Pozǹan). He instructed his wife to dispose of all his belongings in Königsberg, while his home in Vilna was seized by soldiers. By way of Vienna (1566) and Kronstadt (1568) he came to Padua (1571), where he and his family later fell victims to the plague. Of Jakub Polak we only know that he gave up his profession in his native country and was active as a lutenist at the French court. Like the output of almost all lutenists, that of Bakfark and the other Polish lutenists is not very extensive, because the lutenists themselves improvised, for the most part. In the books are found versions in tablature (lute arrangements) of concerted vocal music, independent pieces for lute with and without a bass pattern (Passamezzi, as in Preludes and Fantasias), and dances arranged in groups (Galliards, Allemandes, Choreal. etc.). National peculiarities can be detected only in the dance music ofthe respective folk music. Even if no simple definition of a Polish dance can be found - it is nevertheless always a question of a regular-metre step-dance with or without a following leaping-dance - the following features are generally present: a) at the start or at the cadences, sharply accentuated rhythms; b) full-textured, chordal phrases, in which often every note of the melody is harmonized - from which arises a somewhat ponderous impression; c) melodically, a flourish, once hit upon, was frequently repeated; d) the formation of phrases is not uniform: alongside four-bar groups are found irregularly formed six-bar groups, and both forms can occur side by side throughout a dance.