Shaun and I, living half way around the world from one another (Toronto and Sydney), decided to seize the opportunity to record something together while we were in the same place at the same time. We were also keen to ‘play’ with our recording gear. On our only day off from the Oberlin Conservatory’s Baroque Performance Institute (BPI), we set up our combined gear in a ‘classroom’ at Bibbins Hall and played through this exquisite chaconne a few times.

E major, the key the chaconne is in, is not an easy tonality for the theorbo. I felt justified in getting a little help by ‘cheating’, retuning my low G to G-sharp for the outer sections in E major but back to G-natural in the minor section in the middle. Shaun had the amazing fortune to be playing an original Jean Ouvrard bass viol loaned to him by my BPI faculty colleague Mary Anne Ballard, and he sounded amazing on that instrument.

For several years the raw takes sat on both of our computers. Finally, when COVID-19 hit, Shaun had the time to dig up the material, and suddenly there was a first edit in my inbox! Hearing it made me remember that wonderful day when we recorded it. The pandemic, not to mention the geographical distance between us, made me realize in retrospect how precious the opportunity had been to make music in person.

Lucas Harris

When thinking about what to record with Lucas, I knew it had to be something special, substantial and a little bit of a challenge; after all, Lucas is really one of the top lutenists in the world. It then occurred to me that one of my favourite chaconnes for viol, the fiendishly difficult one by Couperin, might never have been recorded with just theorbo accompaniment. This was my chance to see if it could work, and boy did the results exceed my expectations! Lucas provided the most thoughtful yet imaginative accompaniment, even if this piece was in the slightly awkward key of E major.

I am so thankful to Mary Anne Ballard for lending me her historical Jean Ouvrard viol. The experience of playing that viol is comparable to playing a fine, old Italian violin, like a Strad or Amati; its sound is rich, warm and mature, but still with a penetrating yet malleable treble that we hear on French viols. I don’t think I’ve ever played a nicer instrument.

Shaun Ng