Born in London, England, Nigel North was Professor of lute at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London), the Royal Conservatory in Den Haag (Netherlands) and the Hochschule der Künste (Berlin). Since 1999 he has been Professor of Lute at the Early Music Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington in the United States. Initially inspired into music at age seven by the early 60’s instrumental pop group ‘The Shadows’, Nigel studied classical music through the violin and guitar, eventually discovering his real path in life, the lute, when he was 15. Basically self-taught on the lute, he has since 1976 developed a unique musical life which embraces activities as a teacher, accompanist, soloist, director and writer. His principal music passions apart from teaching are accompanying singers, the solo lute repertoires of Elizabethan England and late German Baroque music of Bach and Weiss. Recordings include a 4 CD box set Bach on the Lute (Linn Records) and 4 CDs of the lute music of John Dowland (Naxos).
This disc is the second in a new series of four recordings of the lute music of Weiss for BGS records. The first ? titled The Heart Trembles with Pleasure ? was released to great critical acclaim in November 2010; it was shortlisted for a Gramophone Award, and BBC Music Magazine hailed North’s “scrupulously considered yet spontaneous” performances. Future plans with the BGS label also include a three-disc set of lute works by Francesco da Milano.
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The lute music of il Divino Francesco Canova da Milano (1497 - 1543), Vol. 2 For lute and viola da mano -
Nigel North continues his series of iconic lute recordings on BGS Records with the third volume in his series of works by Sylvius Leopold Weiss. Galanterie charts music for 13-course lute thought to have been composed between 1720 and 1730, whilst Weiss was employed as a royal chamber musician for the Elector August II of Saxony.Nigel North has assembled this programme of three sonatas, described by one of Weiss’s contemporaries as being: “... so filled with such ingenious, charming, well-connected ideas that one beautiful and exceptional thought accompanies another ... His playing consists of alternation between forcefulness and delicacy, as the music demands, and his concerti as well as his suites charm the ear extraordinarily.” -
World-renowned lutenist Nigel North begins a new series of recordings with BGS exploring the lute works of il Divino, the nickname of Francesco Canova da Milano (1497-1543). -
The first release in Nigel North's new series for BGS of the works of the master 18th-century lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss. Nigel North is one of Britain's best-known and loved musicians, appointed Professor of Lute at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at the age of just 21. North combines a historically-informed approach with his own natural musicality to create trully spellbinding performances. -
The follow-up disc to Nigel's Gramophone Award-nominated debut recording, incorporating middle-period pieces from Weiss's career as he took up a position in the court of Dresden. Nigel North is one of Britain's best-known and loved musicians, appointed Professor of Lute at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at the age of just 21. North combines a historically-informed approach with his own natural musicality to create trully spellbinding performances.
