Mézangeau, Gaultier & Mouton: Pièces de luth

January 2022 marks the 350th anniversary of Denis Gaultier’s passing (the exact date being unknown). Gaultier was the leading figure of the rich French school of lute in the 17th-century, stimulated by king Louis XIII’s own skills and taste for the instrument. Gaultier left three books of pieces which captivates by their melodic beauty. He was often confused with his older cousin Ennemond Gaultier “le Vieux” whom he sometimes added the compositions in his own pieces (for instance in the suite in D Major recorded here).

Performed by Anthony Bailes, this beautiful panorama of French lute is completed by pieces of René Mézangeau and Charles Mouton, a brilliant musician and last representative of the lute tradition before it became outdated at the turn of 18th-century.