Missouri Classical Music News and Notes

Krutz's quest began five years ago when he was entertaining some musicians at his shop.

A couple visitors picked up some of Krutz's instruments and began to play. The notes were no different from any other performance, but Krutz said there was a sublime deepness to the music, a resonance between the instruments that he felt in his chest.

"The sound weighs more; it sounds bigger - almost like a woofer," he said.

Enthralled, Krutz wondered what it would sound like if an entire orchestra was playing with his instruments.

In the 1600s and 1700s, it was common for chamber orchestras and other groups to perform on instruments from a single maker as most groups were outfitted by royalty or the church and used local artisans.