Thomas Langkowsky

Guitarist, Germany
Arciliuto forte in d and Bach lute

 My Arciliuto forte arrived here in Ahaus undamaged. After about half an hour the instrument started to open. I’m not religious, but it was a bit like entering a cathedral. I have never experienced this with an instrument like this before. I have to say that my expectations are absolutely exceeded – the response and homogeneity is excellent in all registers and one has the feeling of having ‘pure sound’ on one’s lap. The Arcliuto forte is a real challenge for me as a guitarist with its cathedral-like reverberation, the extremely fine response and the large tone volume. I enjoy the opportunity to play baroque literature from the original sources. But this is only an introduction to the fascinating sound world of this instrument, which always inspires you to travel into new musical territory. At first I oriented myself to the playing instructions of the classical baroque lute – interestingly enough my guitar playing became more expressive and nuanced through the development of a suitable technique for the right hand. The daily practice is a meditation – the Liuto forte an attitude towards life – I wouldn’t want to miss it anymore.