[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Titel: ” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_accordion closed_toggle_background_color=”#f2ebeb” icon_color=”rgba(161,14,47,0.7)” admin_label=”Akkordeon FAQ” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ hover_enabled=”0″ border_width_all=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_accordion_item title=”1. Are Liuti forti %22original%22 lutes?” open=”on” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
The instruments that are offered today under the label “real” or “historical” lutes are not usually originals but replicas of museum instruments that were silenced more than two centuries ago. Consequently, no serious statements can be made about the similarity between the sound of the copy and that of the original. If one would like to use the term “original” lute, then it should be used far more for the liuto forte. These instruments are not copies of models whose sound can no longer be determined today, but – just like the lutes of the past – original creations which are oriented to self-chosen musical standards.<\/p>\n
See also:<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”2. Was the Liuto forte developed for lutenists, or for guitarists who wanted to play a lute without having to alter their technique?” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]<\/p>\n
The Liuto forte was developed for musicians. For open and creative people who would gladly take part in a tradition, without desiring to be imprisoned within it.\u2028Our instruments in no way make concessions to the needs of guitarists. It is nevertheless easier and more satisfying for a guitarist to make music on a Liuto forte than on a historical lute. To the extent that you use a purely guitar technique, you will probably produce a sound reminiscent of the guitar. A lutenist, on the other hand, using a specific lute playing technique can raise associations with what is known as a \u201chistorical\u201d lute sound. The sound of the Liuto forte lies quite independently between these extremes, while including both. We are dealing with a truly new instrument. More than a few musicians and listeners have already decided that it sounds like an ideal lute, or how an ideal guitar really ought to sound.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”3. What can you play on a Liuto forte?” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]<\/p>\n
Whatever you like! Pieces for lute, for guitar, new music, early music, chamber music, arrangements, simply everything. Of any acoustic plucked instrument on the market today, the Liuto forte is the most efficient and versatile. It is limited to no one particular musical style.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”4. What exactly sounds better on a Liuto forte than on a guitar or a historical lute?” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]<\/p>\n
Again, to put it simply, anything and everything! But that is a question of taste, after all. Why not find out for yourself?<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”5. Why does the Liuto forte sound richer and fuller than either a guitar or a historical lute? What is the trick? Is there a secret?” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]<\/p>\n
There are many secrets involved, but no trick. In terms of acoustics, the basic lute body, itself an early form of the loudspeaker, is considerably more efficient than the box form of the guitar\u2019s resonating chamber. See under About the Liuto forte\/Methods of Guitar and Lute construction.<\/a> To make matters worse, the glued-on nature of the guitar fingerboard and the waisted sides of the guitar body drastically dampen and reduce the resonance of the soundboard above the sound hole; to such an extent that guitar construction could be called \u201cparaplegically lamed\u201d in this area. Almost everything sound-wise happens in only one half of the soundboard. Even if the fretboard were not glued to it, any resonating potential of this part of the sounding table is severely handicapped by the stiff nature of the incurved sides of the guitar. The upper half of a lute\u2019s soundboard, however, is not hampered and takes a lively part in the acoustical events, in tandem with the lower half. In this sense, in comparison with a guitar\u2019s mono speaker, lutes behave like a stereo system and this accounts for their impression of a more interesting and varied sound. For an optical view of this phenomenon, please refer to the modal analyses included in the section Models\/ Quality Control on this website particularly noting the ranges 368 & 421 Hz. See under About the Liuto forte \u2013 Research<\/a>. The \u201cbigger\u201d tone of the Liuto forte when compared to the historical lute, on the other hand, is due to its modified soundboard construction. This intensifies the stereo effect mentioned above.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”6. Does a Liuto forte sound more like a lute or like a guitar?” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]<\/p>\n The sound palette available to you on a Liuto forte is so wide that you can very closely approach, according to your manner of playing, both the sound of early guitars and renaissance and baroque lutes. \u2028But if you decide otherwise, and adapt your style to the vast possibilities of this instrument, then it will gradually begin to sound like itself, a Liuto forte. From that moment on, the question just asked becomes relatively uninteresting.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”7. Is the Liuto forte a hybrid instrument?” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]<\/p>\n The claim that our instruments are hybrids of lutes and guitars is based on a fundamental misunderstanding. Liuti forti are not mixtures of lutes and guitars but one hundred percent lutes. Their internal construction remains firmly in the traditions of European lute making, yet exceeds them in certain points, making use of new constructive elements, such as the arching of the soundboard prior to its attachment to the body. This procedure effectively prevents the sagging of the soundboard in front of the bridge, which has remained an unsolved problem of old lutes. The barring beneath the bridge in the Liuto forte is a modification of the exclusive use of slightly asymmetrical fan bars invented by the famous lute maker Joachim Tielke (1641-1719) and perfected by Sebastian Schelle (1676-1744). We extend this fan barring beyond the region of the bridge, as had already been done by the legendary Bolognese lute maker Laux Maler with his descant bars. Long before guitar makers of the nineteenth century discovered the advantages of exclusively fan barring under the bridge, it was already a standard feature in the final phase of historical lute making.\u00a0 The Liuto forte can only be called a \u201chybrid instrument\u201d, inasmuch as the best characteristics of various historical lute types have been combined (theorbo, archlute, ang\u00e9lique and late baroque lute etc). But, in this light, all its forerunners would have to be equally called \u201chybrids\u201d. The theorbo is a mix of bass lute in g and archlute, the archlute a mix of tenor and alto lute, and the late German \u201cswan neck lute\u201d, with a flat body and triple rose, is a mix of Italian archlute, French d minor lute and the ang\u00e9lique. The makers of the Liuto forte are resuming the tradition in the spirit of the past, great European tradition of lute masters. These differed from their modern followers in that they looked to the present and the future, rather than considering only the past. Being original, they were less bothered with authenticity and \u201cfaithfulness\u201d and clearly saw no objection to combining various constructive elements in the interests of serving the music of the time. The astounding variety of historical lute types has its roots in this spirit of openness. We follow the example of the old masters, in also looking forwards.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”8. Are Liuti forti heavily built instruments with high string tension?” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]<\/p>\n Liuti forti have a medium string tension and are as lightly built as historical lutes. They gain their power and richness of colour solely from an alteration in the internal construction.\u00a0 To compare Liuti forti with heavily built harpsichords from the early twentieth century (\u201cpianos with harpsichord mechanics\u201d), or with the infamous \u201cWandervogellaute\u201d (a guitar in lute form), is therefore absurdly irrelevant. It is now generally recognised that the manufacture of these instruments in the 1920s and 30s was not based on any detailed examination of historical models. In contrast, the construction of the Liuto forte has been based on extremely careful study of 17th and 18th century lute construction. The step from the historical lute to the Liuto forte is to be understood as taking place conceptually after and not before the informed copying phase of historical models. It can also be compared with the development of a baroque violin into a violin of the 19th century. Just as the rebuilt violins of the great Italian masters remain authentic violins, so the Liuto forte remains an authentic lute, even if, for some of the adherents of historical instruments, this should be found disturbing.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”9. Is the Liuto forte too strong in the lower end of the sound spectrum? Is its tone too bassy?” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]<\/p>\n The Liuto forte lies exactly in the middle of a spectrum whose outer extremes would be marked, on the one hand, by the rather bright tone of historical lutes (for today\u2019s ears often too trebly and sharp), and, on the other hand, by the darker timbre of the classical guitar, which is a (sometimes gloomy) consequence of certain aspects of its construction. A Liuto forte has just so many fundamental and overtone characteristics as are required to achieve, over a range of four octaves, both a warm, singing descant and clear, sonorous basses; without taking refuge in octave stringings, which are accompanied by immense technical disadvantages. There are certain guitarists and historical lutenists, due perhaps to their outsider status in the field of classical music and their close familiarity with their own sound, who are not generally accustomed to question the suitability of their instrument for ensemble playing. The inadequacies of acoustical balance which often result are usually compensated for by a nice combination of forbearance on the part of musical partners and the audience\u2019s good will. With the Liuto forte conditions have once again been provided for the complete integration of a plucked instrument into ensemble music. An acoustical concept was necessary which took note of the sound spectrum of classical ensemble instruments and thus avoided either too bright or too dark extremes of tone. \u2028Interestingly, musicians who are neither players of classical guitar or historical lute, and judge according to general criteria, such as transparency and ability to project, have tended spontaneously to prefer the Liuto forte, when they hear them in direct comparison, to both classical guitars and historical lutes. To get an impression of what has just been said, please pay attention to the sound balance between human voice and plucked instrument in the Dowland recordings with Eric Bellocq, Liuto forte, and Damien Guillon, Countertenor (headphones recommended) or the duo Bensa-Cardinot and compare them with any other recording of the same pieces using either historical lute or classical guitar:<\/p>\n 1. Eric Bellocq and Damien Guillon:
(Headphones recommended)<\/p>\n