‘Luthomania’

Luthomania is pretty well the embodiment of the terms "multicultural" and "world music". The Belgian trio combines plucked instruments from every corner of the world: the Chinese pipa (a kind of lute), for example, in a dialogue with the Arab oud (a lute-like Arab stringed instrument) and the Western lute and theorbo. For Perigrina, Luthomania is joined by the Trio Cuerdas, which plays instruments from the same three regions of the world: the baroque harp, the zheng (a kind of zither), and the qanûn (a stringed instrument). Each of these musicians navigates from one culture to another, conjuring up impressionistic, meditative atmospheres and displaying staggering virtuosity.