"[The theorbo] was developed at the end of the 16th century in Italy. Essentially, it's a big lute," Wadsworth told ERR. "It has the body of a lute and up here an extra neck, which is added on. This is because of the very long bass strings," he said, adding that the bass strings are only played with the right hand.

"[A theorbo] is about 20 centimeters longer than a guitar from the bridge to the nut," Wadsworth explained, and the instrument is best suited for playing chamber music.

Wadsworth was born in Manchester, U.K. with blindness but, as a musician, has never considered his lack of eyesight a disadvantage.

"I started as a guitarist when I was about six. I played classical guitar and I also played electric guitar in rock bands," Wadsworth said. "Then I went to the Royal Academy with classical guitar."

However, his first introduction to the theorbo was something of a happy accident.

"A friend of mine was doing a 17th-century opera and they said, 'would you come and play the theorbo?'" he says, admitting that he had no idea what the instrument was at first.

Fortunately, the Royal Academy had one, which Wadsworth was able to borrow. After initially thinking it was a nightmare to play due to its size and the number of strings, Wadsworth was persuaded to persevere and eventually got hooked.

"I like the music so much but I also do really enjoy playing music with other people," he said.

To play the instrument, Wadsworth had to cut off the fingernails on his right hand, as a theorbo is played using the fingertips. While that doesn't sound like such a dramatic move, he says, he had previously taken meticulous care of his nails as he needed them to play classical guitar.

"I was suddenly rubbish on the guitar and the lute," he says. "I had to work very hard to get to the right level again."

Wadsworth now has a theorbo that folds in half, which makes it much easier to travel with. Nevertheless, he still had to pay for an extra seat on the plane to bring it with him to Estonia. With the instrument costing approximately €10,000 it is definitely not worth risking transporting it in the hold, Wadsworth says.

Matthew Wadsworth will be performing on the theorbo during the Tallinn feat. Reval Early Music Festival on Sunday, November 24 at Tallinn Town Hall. The festival begins on Saturday, November 23.

More information is available here.

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