Whether or not the description of these as ‘lute’ works is justified has long been a matter for debate, and in their annotation Stephan Schmidt and Claude Chauvel inevitably fail to resolve the matter, though they lean more in the direction of ‘yes’ than any lutenist I know. In a sense it matters little, for the works have been performed and recorded on a variety of other plucked-string instruments – harpsichord and lute-harpsichord as well as guitar – in exemplary fashion. The ‘standard’ six-string guitar is a baritone instrument, but its lowest register is not extended enough to avoid the need for compromises; accordingly guitars with more strings (the extra ones at the bass end) have been in use for over 30 years. Goran Sollscher’s Deutsche Grammophon recordings on an 11-string alto guitar (10/84 and 1/89) remain as fresh as they were then. Now Stephan Schmidt, using 10 strings, sets a new benchmark with this magnificent set. The extra four strings give firmer bass and more resonant bass lines, as did Sollscher’s five, and free the player’s left hand from the restriction of having to hold many of them down.
Schmidt’s touch is happily light in the galanteries and in the Loure of BWV1006a, but there is gravity in the unhurried sarabandes – such variations apply not only to pace but to spirit, too. He knows when to embellish (which he does with elegance) and when not; the profound simplicity of the Sarabande of BWV995 calls for no gilding of its lily and Schmidt gives it that respect. His rubato ‘bends’ a little more than Sollscher’s and he is less conservative in his approach to embellishment – but attitudes to such matters have eased during the last one-and-a-half decades. If there is a better version of these works on any kind of guitar in terms of content and recording quality I have yet to hear it – and three cheers for its presentation in a form that is free from the frustrations of the jewel-case.'