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Sixto 1
Juan Sixto
Kate Lewis
Fret board Literature
February 23, 2011
The Classical Guitar
The Classical period represents a colossal change for the guitar where we
witness both the renewal of interest in it as well as its greatest physical alterations.
During this period Fernando Sor and Dionisio Aguado take on the major task of
becoming ambassadors of the guitar and showcasing the fact that the guitar was no
longer simply an accompanying instrument. During this period the guitar goes
through some major renovations that include the addition of a sixth string and the
development of fan bracing.
It is suggested by present evidence that the guitar progressed to six single
strings somewhere outside of Spain in either France or Italy. It is difficult to
pinpoint the precise place where the six-‐single-‐string guitar first arose because an
existing guitar by Montron made in France is dated 1785 and one by Antonio
Vinaccia of Naples is also dated 1785. The addition of a sixth string was of great
benefit to the instrument because it extended its musical range down a fourth
allowing the guitar to achieve the perfect cadence and the plagal cadence in the
lowest three strings. However, the most important innovation was the appearance
of fan strutting on the under side of the guitar’s table. Previously, the underside of
the table was designed to simply withstand the tension of the strings but reduced
the flexibility of the board and disturbed the sound. The discovery of fan bracing
Sixto 2
provided the necessary support to the soundboard and it made it more effective in
transmitting sound.
Padre Basilio is credited for having sparked the revival of interest towards
the guitar in Spain during the Classical period. Padre Basilio was an organist at the
convent in Madrid, but in returning to the guitar he revived the punteado approach
and managed to elevate the instrument from its role of strummed accompaniment.
His influence reached Don Federico Moretti, who studied and expanded Basilio’s
style by publishing his own method in 1799. In the same year Fernando
Ferrandiere, one of Basilio’s students, published his own method titled “Arte de
tocar la guitarra espanola por musica”. These men were important in laying the
foundations of the guitar revival, but it was Fernando Sor and Dionision Aguado,
who were the leading exponents of the instrument and managed to successfully
showcase it to the rest of Europe.
Fernando Sor was born in Barcelona in the year of 1778 and was fortunate to
receive a musical education at the monastery in Montserrat. When he left the
monastery he returned to Barcelona where he fell under the influence of Moretti’s
compositions. It was during this time, 1797 that Sor was inspired to compose his
first opera “Telemaco en la Isla de Calipso”. The opera was a success and five years
later he was fortunate to come under the patronage of Duke of Medina-‐Celi. During
this period he produced two symphonies, three string quartets and a number of
songs. But political turmoil and confusion in the country gave Napoleon the
opportunity to force the Spanish King to renounce to the throne. During this time
Sor became sympathetic to the French ideals of revolution and when Spain regained
Sixto 3
their independence, Sor decided to leave the country and move to France in 1813.
Once in France he became established as a teacher of the instrument and it is during
this time that the first publications of his guitar music date. After two years in
France he moved to London where theater productions as well as a number of
successful guitar recitals kept him busy. The success of ballets such as “Alphonse et
Leonore” and “Cendrillon” allowed Sor to fund his own career as a guitar recitalist in
Moscow. In 1839, Fernando Sor returned to France and remained there till the day
of his death. This period is noteworthy for his vast collaboration with Dionisio
Aguado.
Dionisio Aguado was born in Madrid in the year of 1849 and it is known that
he showed an early talent for music and was a student of Padre Basilio during his
college years. But it was the guitarist Manuel Garcia to whom Aguado owed his
major education in the guitar. During the French invasion of Spain Aguado
retreaded to the village of Fuenlabrada, near Aranjuez, where he devoted his time to
teaching and perfecting his technique on the guitar. During this period he managed
to produce several volumes of studies for the instrument. In 1826 Aguado travelled
to Paris where his music was already well known and instantly gained a reputation
as a virtuoso and teacher. While in Paris he met Fernando Sor, they developed a
profound friendship and collaborated to give many concerts across France. At this
point Aguado was mesmerizing audiences with his right-‐hand technique of using his
fingernails for plucking the string to produce clarity in sound. In 1838 Aguado
returned to Madrid and was to remain until his death in 1849. In his life span
Dionisio Aguado wrote several dozen studies, rondos, dances and fantasias. Among
Sixto 4
his achievements were two extremely popular guitar methods that were frequently
republished in the 19th century, “Metodo para Guitarra” and “Nuevo Metodo para
Guitarra”.
The guitar undergoes major changes during the Classical period. We witness
both the renewal of interest towards the instrument as well as its greatest physical
alterations. The most prominent innovations that the guitar goes through include
the addition of a sixth string and the development of fan bracing. Evidence shows
that Fernando Sor and Dionisio Aguado become the leading exponents of the
instrument and successfully champion the instrument across Europe during the
Classical period.
Sixto 5
Turnbull, Harvey. The Guitar from the Renaissance to the Present Day. Westport,
Connecticut: The Bold Strummer, 1991. 62-‐84. Print.
Summerfield, Maurice J.. The Classical Guitar its Evolution, Players and Personalities
since 1800. 5th ed. United Kingdom: Ashley Mark Publishing Company, 2002.
29. Print.
Heck, Thomas F. "Gove Music Online." Aguado (y Garcia), Dionisio. Oxford Music
Online. Database. 22 Feb 2011.
Wade, Graham. Concise History of the Classical Guitar. Pacific, MO: Mel Bay
Publications, Inc., 2001. 81-‐82. Print.
Faucher, Francois. "Classical Guitar Illustrated History." Classical Guitar Midi. Web.
21 Feb 2011.
<http://www.classicalguitarmidi.com/history/guitar_history.html#19th_Sor
>