From the very beginning of this project, we were seeking a distinct and resonant sound and therefore chose to record using archtop guitars. Pioneered around 1890 by luthier Orville Gibson, the archtop guitar was created by adapting violin construction techniques to the guitar. The result is an instrument that shares many materials and structural features with the violin, though the acoustic outcome is entirely different. This is largely due to the different ways the strings are set in motion: with a bow in the case of the violin, and with fingers or a pick in the case of the guitar.

Eddie Lang, born in 1902, was the first great virtuoso to adopt the Gibson L5, and we are fortunate many of his recordings still survive. Known as the father of Jazz Guitar, Lang also embraced classical repertoire, as in his magnificent rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3 No. 2.

It is somewhat unfortunate the acoustic archtop guitar eventually drifted away from classical music, perhaps due to the rise of Segovia’s nylon-string guitar. Yet Lang belonged to an Italian tradition that had long used steel strings in classical performance. Bert and I feel the acoustic archtop guitar is now returning to its rightful place in the classical world, and we are proud a prestigious label like Pentatone has chosen to support and preserve this vision.