LSA Quarterly (November 2008)

Von edler Art, recorded by lutenist Michael Gondko and keyboardist Corina Marti is an excellent introduction to mid- to late-15'h century music performed on stringed instruments. The CD's twenty-six selections are performed on a lute in A, a 4-course gittern in C and a magical sounding rare early keyboard instrument, the claviciterium. All of the instruments are strung in gut and blend well when played together. In fact, one might expect the performers on this recording to play primarily as an ensemble, but there are only six duets on the CD. The majority of the pieces are recorded as instrumental solos by either Gondko or Marti, a decision that allows the listener to hear this contemplative music at its most introspective. The selections range through several different l5'h and early 16ü century composers and sources, with about half of the CD devoted to the Paumann sources, Lochamer and Buxheimer. Gondko and Marti have split these selections so that we can hear how Paumann might have played some of them either on his lute or a keyboard. The solo lute recordings from Buxheimer work exceptionally will in this regard. Michael Gondko's interpretations of this music on the lute are very convincing. After hearing Praeambulum super C on the lute, it is hard to 58 imagine it having been written for the organ; it sounds so natural as lute music. I am equally impressed by Corina Marti's playing on the claviciterium, an instrument with an upright soundboard which sounds like a large virginal. Her touch is light but firm. I found her rendering of Modocomo with its companion Repeticio to be particularly fine, as she expertly weaves her claviciterium through this dark and compelling musical odyssey. The CD concludes with a small collection of pieces from the Blindhamer mqnuscript (c.1525) played by Michael Godko on his A lute. The German lute tablature manuscript is so named because several of its pieces have attributions to Adolf Blindhamer, a lutenist in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. These are some of the first recordings of music from this manuscript, which was relatively unknown until its facsimile publication in 2003 by Martin Kirnbauer and Crawford Young. Again Gondko shows himself to be a sensitive and expressivel utenist as he skillfully interprets the technically challenging lute music of one of the instrument's early masters. According to the liner notes, Gondko's selections attempt to recreate Hans Gerle's description of the "widely known" Blindhamer's performance style. His clear and well-paced execution has done so in a manner that is successful to my ears. My only quibble with this CD is the title. Von edler art was a popular German lieder from the tum of the l6'h century for which a large number of beautiful lute and other instrumental arrangementss urvive. Yet, inexplicably none of them appear on a CD with this as the title. Oh well, so small a matter should prevent no one from enjoying the delicate art explored here.

Dick Hoban