J.S. Bach: Gigue & Double in C minor BWV 997, played by Narciso Yepes (13-course LUTE)

Guitarist Narciso Yepes made the first complete recording of Bach's lute works, not only on his 10-string guitar, but, before that, on period instruments (10-, 13-, and 14-course baroque lutes). Various lutenists had been approached to record these works as part of the complete recording of Bach's entire output. However, all of them claimed that some of the works were "impossible". Yepes refused to accept this. "Maybe difficult, but not impossible."

Through his subsequent research into period instruments and period performance practices, Narciso Yepes solved the problem of Bach's lute works. Through historical precedents and analysis of the music, he found the appropriate instruments and tunings for each composition. After two years, in 1972, he performed and recorded all Bach's lute works on the lute, including the "impossible" ones. Not bad for a guitarist.

NB: One could write a detailed discussion here about the many historical sources that justify Yepes's solutions - e.g. proof that various tunings other than the "nouveau-ton" [A-d-f-a-d'-f'] or "D minor tuning" were in use on the treble strings of baroque lutes; that tablature was already being decried as "pernicious" and phased out as early as 1680; that Bach owned at least one lute, not only a lute-harpsichord, and was associated with various lutenists; that baroque lutes with various numbers of strings or courses and various scale lengths existed, not all tuned to the same actual pitch (whatever their nominal pitch might have been); among other documented historical facts - but unfortunately the word limit here does not permit such detail.)

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Instrumentation and tuning for Bach's lute works, based on Yepes's research:

BWV 995 (G minor)
14-course theorbo-lute
tuning: f'-d'-a-f-d-A-G-F-Eb-D-C-Bb1-A1-G1

BWV 996 (E minor)
13-course lute
tuning: g'-e'-b-g-e-B-A-G-F#-E-D-C-B1

BWV 997 (C minor)
13-course lute
tuning: g'-eb'-c'-g-eb-c-G-F-Eb-D-C-Bb1-Ab1

BWV 998 (E-flat major)
14-course theorbo-lute
tuning: g'-eb'-bb-g-eb-Bb-Ab-G-F-Eb-D-C-Bb1-Ab1

BWV 999 (C minor)
10-course lute
tuning: f'-d'-a-f-d-A-G-F#-Eb-D

BWV 1000 (G minor)
13-course lute
tuning: f'-d'-a-f-d-A-G-F-Eb-D-C-Bb1-A1

BWV 1006a (E major) PRELUDE
14-course theorbo-lute
tuning: g#'-e'-b-a-e-B-A-G#-F#-E-D#-C#-B1-A1

BWV 1006a (E major) SUITE
14-course theorbo-lute
tuning: g#'-e'-b-g#-e-B-A-G#-F#-E-D#-C#-B1-A1

Of course, other solutions are also viable, as is the option of transposition (e.g. BWV 996 transposed down a whole tone from E minor to D minor). Nominal pitch in baroque music anyway leaves room for a great variety of actual pitches; also, transposition whether on paper or on sight was a commonly expected skill/practice in the baroque period (with examples in Bach's authenticated works). Thus the superiority of the "original" key is a moot point. However, these above are Yepes' solutions and they may be of service or interest to lutenists and guitarists.

NB! These are Yepes's solutions for the lute only. They do not reflect the tuning of his 10-string guitar, which requires different solutions. When performing Bach's lute works on the guitar, Narciso Yepes did not use a so-called "baroque tuning":

"No, I do not play [baroque lute music on the guitar] with a d-minor tuning, but I also have a guitar in d-minor tuning with fourteen strings; but for me it is very difficult to travel with the guitar and the lute, and the other guitar and the other lute, and the third guitar and the fourth lute... With the ten-string guitar I have many possibilities, and I do not need the baroque tuning exactly." (Narciso Yepes. Soundboard. 1983)