Sylvius Leopold Weiss, 1687-1750

Selected Recordings

Suite in D Minor

Courante in F Major

Parita No. 7

Selected Sheet Music

Passacaille

Source: IMSLP.org

Showcase Piece

Fantasia in C Minor

Notes and Commentary

Sylvius Leopold Weiss was a German composer and lutenist. The son of Johann Jacob Weiss, also a lutenist, he served at courts in Breslau, Rome, and Dresden, where he died. He was one of the most important and most prolific composers of lute music in history and one of the best-known and most technically accomplished lutenists of his day. He wrote around 600 pieces for the instrument, most of them grouped into “sonatas” (not to be confused with the later classical sonata, based on the sonata form) or suites, which consist mostly of baroque dance pieces. Weiss also wrote chamber pieces and concertos, but only the solo parts have survived for most of them. In later life, Weiss became a friend of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and met J.S. Bach through him. The two were said to have competed in improvisation. He lived from October 12, 1687, to October 16, 1750.—Excerpted from Wikipedia