Classical Guitar History & LiteratureSOAR

Dr. Douglas Rubio

Session No. 1The RenaissanceThe Baroque, Part 1

The Vihuela(da mano)• 1536-1576

• Guitar-shaped

• Flat back

• Straight neck

The Lute• Pear-shaped

• Curved back

• Tilted tuning peg box

Luis de MilánFantasía XVI1536Improvisatory

Luis de NarváezFantasía XIII1538Much more imitative counterpoint than early fantasías

Luis de NarváezGuárdame las vacas1538The very first published set of variations

Uses the romanesca bass line

John Dowland1563-1626

John DowlandThe Earl of Essex’s GalliardLively dance in ¾Form: A A’ B B’ C C’Uses “divisions” in the repeated sections

John DowlandCan She ExcuseLute song

John DowlandGoe from My WindowBased on a ballad tuneVariation formA A1 A2 A3 etc.

The Baroque GuitarFlourished 1670 to 1700

Robert de ViséeSuite in A Major: AllemandeSlow dance in 4Remnants of the strummed style of playing

Binary form (AABB)

Robert de ViséeSuite in A Major: CouranteFaster dance in 3 (and sometimes 2)

Robert de ViséeSuite in A Major: SarabandeSlow dance in 3Emphasizes the second beat

The “Lute” Music of Johann Sebastian Bach1685-1750

J.S. BachLute Suite No. 1 in E Minor:PreludeQuasi French overture styleBegins with “passaggio” melody linesChordal section with dotted rhythmsImitative fugal section

Session No. 2The Baroque, Part 2The Classical Period

J.S. BachLute Suite No. 4 in E Major:PreludeOriginally for unaccompanied violinThis theme was also used in a cantata

J.S. BachLute Suite No. 3:Gavotte; Gavotte en rondeauUpbeat dance in 2The first gavotte is followed by another gavotte

with more flowing melodic lines, followed by a return of the first gavotte.

Bach’s own arrangement of his Cello Suite No. 5Bach adds chords and bass notes that the cello—a

primarily single-line instrument—can’t play.

J.S. BachPrelude, Fugue, & Allegro:II. FugueStarts with a section that has a series of imitative

entries of melody lines (called the “subject”)These are followed by sections with no complete

subject entries at all.Very unusual da capo fugue

ABA form

J.S. BachPrelude, Fugue, & Allegro:III. AllegroBinary form (AABB)Fast “motor” rhythms

The Guitar in the Classical Periodc. 1780-1830

Changes to the instrumentSingle strings instead of coursesAdded a 6th stringNo more re-entrant tuningBigger bodyStill smaller than a modern guitar

Fernando Sor (1778-1839) Introduction and Variations on a Theme of Mozart, Op. 9Typical slow introductionA theme from Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute, presented in binary form (AABB)

A series of variations on that themeOne is typically contrasting, in this case slow and in a minor key

Ending coda

Fernando SorSonata in C Major, Op. 15 bis In sonata form Exposition (statement of themes) Development

Takes material from the themes and plays with it Harmonically unstable; many key changes

Recapitulation Restatement of the original themes in the home key

Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829)Grand Overture, Op. 61 In sonata form Slow introduction Exposition

Themes presented in A major, and then E major

Development C major, D minor, E major Includes new material

Recapitulation

Session No. 3SpainLatin America

Spanish Guitar Music in the Late-19th and 20th CenturiesAntonio Torres guitar from 1890

With Torres, the size and shape of the classical guitar becomes standardized for most of the 20th century and beyond.

Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909)Capricho Árabe Starts with a slow, improvisatory introduction featuring scales

that sound quite middle-eastern. Then the “singer” comes in with a beautiful melody in minor

accompanied by the guitar. As is typical in Spanish music, there is a contrasting section

in the middle, in this case in a major key.

Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)Sevilla Originally a piano piece Typical ABA form First section is the “dance” part of Spanish folk music Contrasting copla middle section full of pathos and cante

jondo Return of the dance

Federico Moreno Tórroba (1891-1982)Sonatina: I. Allegretto Known for his zarzuelas Wrote a lot of guitar music for Andrés Segovia

Mostly miniatures

Conservative in his musical vocabulary

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)Soleares Wrote for Andrés Segovia More influenced by flamenco guitar playing than the other

composers who wrote for Segovia A soleares is a type of flamenco piece, but the tempo and

strict rhythmic pattern don’t fit Turina’s piece.

Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999)Concierto de Aranjuez: II. Adagio NOT written for Andrés Segovia The opening theme (with guitar and English horn) has been

used by many other musicians, including Miles Davis and Chick Corea.

Also prominently used in television commercials for the Chrysler Cordoba, with its “soft Corinthian leather”

Written after his wife’s miscarriage Musically takes us from profound sadness, to anger, to

acceptance

Latin American Guitar Music in the 20th Century Heitor Villa-Lobos Agustín Barrios Léo Brouwer

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)Etude No. 11 in E Minor One of 12 etudes written in the 1920s Slow introduction Fast section sliding only two fingers up and down the 4th and

5th strings “Tremolo” section moving octaves against open strings Return of the “two-fingered” section Return of the slow introduction

Heitor Villa-LobosPrelude No. 1 in E Minor One of five preludes written in 1940 Subtitled “Homage to the Brazilian Country Dweller” Begins with singing melody in the cello range A fast, dance-like middle section A section made up of one big major chord “planed” around to

different positions Return of the “cello” melody

Agustín Barrios (1885-1944)“Chief Nitsuga Mangoré, the Paganini of the guitar from the jungles of Paraguay”

Agustín BarriosConcert guitarist

Agustín Barrios (1885-1944)Cueca One of his pieces inspired by Latin American folklore A Chilean folk dance One section is played with only tamboura in the right hand

Agustín BarriosLa catedral Inspired by 19th-century European music and by the music of

J.S. Bach Allegedly inspired by a religious experience of walking into a

Catholic cathedral Three movements

I. Preludio II. Andante religioso III. Allegro solemne

Léo Brouwer (b. 1939)Drume negrita Translated as “Sleep little black girl” Known also as Afro-Cuban Lullabye An arrangement of a Cuban popular song A very free arrangement with added material, altered

melodies, and reharmonized chords From his early period when he was most inspired by Latin

American popular and folks music

Léo BrouwerThe Eternal Spiral (1971)

Written after attending an avant-garde music festival in Poland

Section 1: Dense “tone clusters” arpeggiated very quickly in “cells” that last for an indeterminate length of time

Section 2: More tone clusters punctuated by individual notes; ends with indeterminate pitch notated with squiggles

Section 3: Tapping on the fingerboard with both hands Section 4: Improvising on three notes with occasional other

notes interspersed Section 5: Fast arpeggios, ending with fast tone clusters

again as in the opening

Léo BrouwerThe Black Decameron (1981): II. The Flight of the Lovers through the Valley of the Echoes Based on African folk-tales by German ethnologist Leo

Frobenius Starts with a four-note figure (“the call”) heard throughout Three arpeggiated chords represent “the prophecy” The first gallop of the lovers “The call” again The lovers call each other in imitation Through the valley of the echoes Final arpeggiated chords

The 20th Century elsewhere in Europe and America

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)Nocturnal (after John Dowland), Op. 70 (1963) Written for British guitarist Julian Bream Based on John Dowland’s lute song, “Come Heavy Sleep” Not a theme and variations, but a variations and theme One of several Britten works from this period that deals with

sleep

Britten Nocturnal I. Musingly II. Very agitated III. Restless IV. Uneasy V. March-like VI. Dreaming VII. Gently Rocking VIII. Passacaglia IX. Theme

Dusan Bogdanovic (b. 1955)Six Balkan Miniatures (1991) One of many modern guitarist-composers Nationalism now comes from other countries than just Spain

and Latin America

Steve Reich (b. 1936)Electric Counterpoint: I. Fast Written for jazz guitarist Pat Metheny Thirteen guitars and two electric basses Often played with tape accompaniment and guitar soloist