Marcin Dylla plays Lute Suite BWV 996 by Bach

Polish guitarist Marcin Dylla plays Lute Suite in E Minor, BWV 996 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). This comes via his fantastic YouTube channel.  Great performance with a pronounce rhythmic feel and directness in the praeludio that really refreshed the piece for me. Some impressive work in the gigue as well with some tight little ornaments. It’s great to have the entire suite in one video and by such a great musician. Of course, Bach didn’t specifically write any works for the lute, at least not in practical terms. He likely composed the works on lute- harpsichord (lautenwerk), an uncommon instrument, and so they became popularly known as Lute Suites. Bach was familiar with lute players of the day such as Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1687–1750) and even arragned one of works and met with him in person on a number of occasions. So it’s not inconceivable that Bach could have imagined a lute performing the work or even loosely intended it.

Sheet Music & Lessons for Bach on the Site

Bradford Werner
Bradford Werner

Bradford Werner is a classical guitarist and music publisher from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He originally created this site for his students at the Victoria Conservatory of Music but now shares content worldwide. Curating guitar content helps students absorb the culture, musical ideas, and technique of the classical guitar. Bradford also has a YouTube channel with over 94,000 subscribers and 13 million views. He taught classical guitar at the Victoria Conservatory of Music for 16 years and freelanced in Greater Victoria for 20 years and now dedicates much of his time curating content online and helping connect the classical guitar community. See more at his personal website.

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  1. Una versió extraordinària de la suite BWV 996. Molta claredat en el fraseig. I una musicalitat que trobem en pocs guitarristes en l’actualitat. A part de la seva qualitat tècnica, es per a mi la musicalitat la seva qualitat més destacable d’aquest grandiós guitarrista.