When I want to relax and feel inspired, Robert Barto’s recordings of Sylvius Leopold Weiss’s sublime lute music are my go-to. I also used to listen to these recordings when baking, so my family is now conditioned to expect baked goods when they hear lute music! This extensive “Introduzzione” movement showcases Weiss’s inventive, idiomatic lute style—full of character and improvisatory flair. Barto’s wonderful sense of timing, as well as his ornamentation, give the music an ethereal quality.
