Hopkinson Smith
Intimate, masterfully plucked early music that feels like a whispered secret. Delicate lute and vihuela pieces for deep focus and quiet reflection.
Intimate, masterfully plucked early music that feels like a whispered secret. Delicate lute and vihuela pieces for deep focus and quiet reflection.
Listening to Hopkinson Smith is like stepping into a Dutch Golden Age painting. The music is defined by an extraordinary intimacy, where the sound of fingers moving across gut strings is as much a part of the composition as the notes themselves. It is a world of wooden resonance, gentle decay, and a profound sense of space. Smith does not just play these pieces; he inhabits them, bringing a rhythmic flexibility and emotional depth to centuries-old scores that makes them feel startlingly present.
What sets Smith apart is his absolute command over a variety of historical plucked instruments, from the deep, growling bass of the theorbo to the bright, crystalline clarity of the Renaissance lute. His interpretations are famous for their 'rubato', a subtle stretching of time that gives the music a breathing, human quality. It is technically demanding music that never sounds athletic, prioritizing the 'affetto' or emotional affect of the baroque and renaissance eras over mere showmanship.
For those new to his work, his transcriptions of Bach are an essential starting point. Hearing the solo violin sonatas or cello suites reimagined for the lute reveals new harmonic layers and a softer, more reflective character than the originals. It is the perfect companion for anyone seeking music that demands nothing but offers a deep, quiet sanctuary.
Hopkinson Smith (born December 7, 1946) is a Swiss-American lutenist and pedagogue, longtime resident in Basel, Switzerland. Smith was born in New York City, the son of architectural writer and photographer G. E. Kidder Smith. He graduated from Harvard University with Honors in Music (Thesis on "The Pavans of Daniel Bacheler"). He moved to Europe in 1973 to study lute and vihuela with the renowned Catalan classical guitarist Emilio Pujol, as well as Eugen Mueller-Dombois. In the mid-1970s, Hopkinson Smith was involved in the founding of the ensemble Hespèrion XX, which led to his ten-year collaboration with Jordi Savall. Since the mid-1980s, Hopkinson Smith has focused principally on solo music for early plucked instruments. These include the vihuela, Renaissance lute, theorbo, Renaissance and Baroque guitars and the baroque lute. His 2000 recording of the J.S. Bach sonatas and partitas for solo violin adapted for baroque lute has been called 'arguably the best you can buy of these works – on any instrument' by Gramophone magazine. He additionally recorded the J.S. Bach cello suites adapted for theorbo. Hopkinson Smith gives concerts and masterclasses throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and North and South America. He lives in Basel, Switzerland, where he taught at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis until his retirement in 2020.
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