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BWV 999 prelude for life! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnpaMm_2QYc

Bach's lute music towers over everything ever made to me. Can't listen to it on guitar either. Has to a real lute.

don't care either if it was written for lute harpsichord.

Never seen that instrument before. Why are there 6 strings floating out of the arm? Are they ever played? Is it just for the harmonics they produce?

Seems to be a Theorbo.

Here is a video of Rob Scallon interviewing Brandon Acker about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48RVcbkhNHQ

Great video, thanks! Crazy instrument: floating strings, movable frets, last 2 strings are lower in the octave...

The theorbo is very similar to a lute, except with an extra neck, and it usually adds six strings. These are bass strings, which are tuned to specific notes; they don't have a fretboard underneath, so the left hand can't change their pitch.

An excellent video by Elizabeth Kenny, featuring an even longer theorbo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVabz8LneI4

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