Guitar Composers of the Classical and Early Romantic Period
Circa 1780-1900
"Guitar compositions of the 19th century, with the exception of those of a didactic nature, haven't received the attention they deserve from either scholars or performers. The superficial accusation made of such literature that it is of little artistic value, is the result of a series of misconceptions which have been passed on due to the absence of an adequate historical and aesthetic analysis, and due also to the unfamiliarity of the performers with music which demands a brilliant technique too often superior to their ability. Oppressed by the works of the great Romantics and intimidated by such technical difficulty, guitarists have preferred to ignore a period which often presents music of excellent substance.. However, today increasing attempts are being made to revalue the music of those who kept the instrumental tradition alive even in the countries that saw an almost total predominance of opera. A careful selection of these compositions reveals works which compare well with the best pages of other more successful composers and which deserve to be in cluded in today's concert programmes."
- In memory of Ruggero Chiesa (1933 - 1993)
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Recommended 6-string Early Classical-Romantic Guitar Composers (by birth date):
1 Major non-guitar composers included for time frame point of reference
2 Composers which were major orchestral composers but minor guitar composers
I find it is helpful to place each composer in a timeline next to their peers, to better understand the stylistic aspects of interpretation. The more you play 19th century music, you will find there is a major difference in each decade. The music of 1800-1810 sounds very different from the music of the 1830's for example. The guitar music before about 1825 really falls more into what is commonly described as the "Classical Period" - while guitar music after about 1825 becomes more "Romantic Period." There is not a specific date that this occurred; rather, it was a gradual process of evolution which continues to this day.
The Classical Guitar Composers List (CGCL) Homepage provides a succinct reference to composers for solo classical guitar. Each entry of the list consists of the composer's full name, year of birth, year of death (if applicable), and nationality. Alphabetizing is simply done by dropping all accents and diacritics. This is an excellent place to find many obscure composers.
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"The "Golden Era" of the guitar began with the eminent Italian guitarist and composer, Ferdinand Carulli (1770-1841), whose "Guitar Method" became popular throughout Europe. He was followed by Matteo Carcassi, author of a "Method," etudes and technical works, known to every guitar student. Next came Mauro Giuliani, Luigi Legnani, and Zani di Ferranti, all Italians. In Spain we find Dionisio Aguado and Ferdinand Sor, the latter acknowledged as the greatest composer, and called the Beethoven of the guitar. Somewhat later appeared Napoleon Coste in France and J. K. Mertz in Austria. These men not only were great artists, giving recitals in all the music centers of Europe, but composers as well, leaving behind them hundreds of beautiful compositions for their instrument. To students of to-day the classic works of these masters are indispensable." - George C. Krick
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Choosing the Edition Type
Where possible, I prefer the Facsimile Edition as the most authoritative source, and is often the best edition in terms of page turns, fingering, completeness of dynamics, etc.. This is a photo-copy of the original 19th century edition, re-printed. The drawback is some editions can be worn and hard to read, and do not offer many fingerings to assist the beginning player.
The Article by Robert Spencer: "The Type of Edition We Should Play From" is an excellent summary of the benefits of facsimile editions. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the late Robert Spencer for his selfless efforts to make original editions available to performers and publishers. Without Spencer's efforts, we would probably not have available today the fine editions of Chanterelle and Tecla and others which made the original music available to the public.
Other edition types include "Urtext" - which is supposed to be a re-engravement of the original to enhance readability, but without changing anything in the original, like fingerings or notes, except for correcting obvious errors. However, only a few publishers adhere to this standard.
Most modern editions are revisions - meaning that a modern editor has imposed their opinion of fingerings and interpretation on the score.
Another type of edition is an Anthology - which contains a large number of pieces from many composers in a collection.
Principal Composers
This page discusses the guitar composers of the so-called early romantic guitar era of the late 1700's and 1800's whose music is known to me, and in my opinion made a contribution to the repertoire. It is by no means an exhaustive list, since there were probably hundreds of minor composers, many of whom have fallen into obscurity due to lack of available primary source material, or amateurs who did not write good material in my opinion.
I emphasize the most well-known composers of early 19th century guitar music, who have withstood the test of time, and whose music is still readily available in print. I also discuss several composers whose music is not as well known, but in my opinion is of high quality and worthy of performance. I also discuss a few composers whose music I have played in order to give a qualitative assessment. Although some scholars may disagree with my editorial choices, I feel that my non-commercial review and rating of this music is a useful service to provide to the public who may have limited time and resources to spend on music.
Although there were thousands of pieces published in this time period (indeed my library is over 10,000 scores, all of which I have at least skimmed once), there is a vast difference in quality of the music. Much of the very obscure music is not missed. However, there are many fine composers, and many gems to be found, if you are willing to sift through a lot of material to find them. Hopefully the recommendations on this web page will be useful. Fred Noad's assessment in his anthology "The Classical Guitar" is that Sor and Giuliani were miles above their competitors; and while I agree that they were among the best, I feel this point is greatly exaggerated:
"Although the total surviving body of guitar music from the early nineteenth century is vast, there are few compositions that can be classified as "major works".... Nevertheless the two most able composers, Sor and Giuliani, were able to approach the larger canvas.... both use the guitar in a grand manner with orchestral suggestions in the texture.... I realize that the collection heavily favors the work of Sor and Giuliani; but after examining literally hundreds of compositions of other composers of the period in the hope of finding a neglected masterpiece, I have come to the conclusion that there is a considerable qualitative gap between these two leading figures and all their competitors..." - Fred Noad.
I might add that later composers, such as Coste and Mertz were also exceptional composers, whose guitar music equalled or surpassed at times Sor and Giuliani. Noad did not mention them compared to Sor and Giuliani because he grouped them into his next book and into a later era. However, Coste and Mertz were rather limited to the guitar, whereas Sor and especially Giuliani were full chamber orchestra composers with the capacity to write large scale compositions. The other composers listed here wrote many fine pieces, but often their top pieces did not reach the height of excellence of the others, and their pieces varied considerably in quality. There are many fine arrangements of opera tunes, themes and variations, etc., by lesser-known composers - if you are willing to sift through a lot of music to find them.
Each composer listed is divided into links to biographical information, difficulty level, and my "editor's choice" of the best sheet music available in print. Although it may be interesting as an academic pursuit to list the complete works of a composer, the average person does not have access to obscure libraries scattered across the globe. This is a practical list of what is readily available. I have wasted hundreds of dollars buying bad editions, which have lots of errors, as well as poor revisionist fingerings, or which offer only a few "selected" pieces. In my 20+ years of experience playing this music, I strongly recommend to players that you get the complete works editions, facsimile copies where available, or modern urtext editions which are faithful to the original score, and stay away from anthologies or heavily-edited pieces. There are really not very many sources which meet this criteria, and I have saved you the pain by identifying them below.
Dionisio Aguado, 1784 - 1849
Biographical Information:
Aguado wrote several excellent concert pieces, such as the "Fandango" and the "Rondos Brillantes op. 2", but as is so common, the only pieces well-known by Aguado are the simple exercises from the Method for amateurs. Even Segovia played only these simple etudes, and ignored the "real" pieces that Aguado published. You will also find lots of waltzes for amateurs; some of them have simple charm, but these were mass-market publications which are not representative of Aguado's best works.
Aguado and Sor lived in the same apartment building in Paris, and played in duets together. Aguado is known for his use of the fingernails, while Sor advocated no nails. It is said that Sor claims that Aguado preferred Sor's tone, but Sor acknowledged that Aguado was able to achieve greater speed with the use of nails.
The Dionisio Aguado Home Page has more information about the composer.
Difficulty Level and Scope:
Aguado was limited to pieces for the guitar; to my knowledge he did not write any pieces with other instruments, except for revision of Sor's guitar duets. Like most guitarists of this era, Aguado's music can be classified into 2 categories: virtuoso concert works, and amateur pieces. Aguado's virtuoso works are limited to a few opus' - which are fine concert pieces, and very demanding on technique. The Rondos op. 2 (including the famous Rondo in A minor) and the Fandango stand out in my mind as his finest works. Most of Aguado's output was simple studies, waltzes and other dances targeted toward beginners, and short pieces like the Minuets, most likely due to publishing demands. Although some charming short pieces are found, much of the amateur music is tiresome and predictable, and lacking the musical content Sor was able to achieve with simple beginner works.
Available Repertoire:
14 Works by Aguado are available for free PDF download from REX and Boije.
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There is only one published source of Aguado's complete facsimile works, Chanterelle Editions, resold by Mel Bay Music Publishers Publications. This is a 4-volume set. If I had to pick one, I would pick Volume 3, which is the works with opus number. Volume 4 is works without opus, also a good choice. Volumes 1 and 2 are reprints of the studies and method, and there is some redundancy between volumes 1 & 2, as different editions are presented of the same work. The method is the facsimile written in Spanish, which is nearly useless if you do not read Spanish. For a good English translation of the method, Tecla provides the Dionisio Aguado: New Guitar Method, translated into English by Louise Bigwood.
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Editor's Suggested Picks:
Aguado's works fall into 3 general categories: 1. Studies 2. Light Pieces for amateurs 3. Virtuoso concert works.
Many of Aguado's studies are nice, short pieces which remain popular. Some of them can be tedious, however. The light pieces for amateurs consist of mostly waltzes and contradances which grow tiresome, although a few charming light pieces can be found by sifting through the stack.
Of the virtuoso concert works, Opus 2 "Rondos" stands out as a masterpiece which deserves a full recording, of all movements and pieces contained therein - my challenge to concert artists searching for worthy and under-played repertoire. The Rondo in A minor (marked as #3) is perhaps Aguado's most famous piece, with current recordings by David Russel and others. It is a real show piece, fun to play, dazzling and interesting (as an aside, the original publication incorrectly numbered the titles - there are actually 3 works, each with a slow and fast movement, thus "Rondo #3" is actually Rondo #2, second movement, etc.).
From opus 3 come a few short, charming works, including a Minuet recorded by Norbert Kraft. The opus 16 Fandango is a worthy concert masterpiece, with an excellent recording by Carle Trepat on a gut strung Torres. Also opus 15, the Menuet Affandango is exceptional. Both fandangos allude to the energetic, fiery Spanish popular style.
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Lorenzo Micheli has recorded an exceptional CD entirely of Aguado's music, including his best works - the entire opus 2 Rondos, opus 15 Menuet affandango, opus 16 Fandango variations, and selections from the studies. Long overdue, this CD is a standout effort, with impeccable musicianship and style of the period, and recorded on an 1850's French romantic guitar. This is on the "Stradivarius" label, and I was able to find copies on most major online CD retailer sites. |
Aguado is well-known for advocating a tripod device to hold the guitar and thereby free the player from holding the guitar, and allow more of the instrument to vibrate freely. James Westbrook's book shows photos of 2 Aguado-owned guitars by Lacote and Laprévotte, which are unusual in appearance and undoubtedly custom made for Aguado. First, their dimensions are larger than most guitars of the day, more like a modern guitar in proportion. Second, Aguado advocated the modern-style bridge. Aguado is known to have used guitars by both these makers, and the famous lithograph showing a guitar with oval-shaped soundhole is certainly by Laprévotte. It is also speculated that Aguado may have played early guitars by Guadagnini at one point, based on other sketches. The CD which goes with the Westbrook book (see accessories and recordings pages of this web site) features performances of Aguado on a Lacote which was outfitted for the Aguado tripod, and thus it may have been associated with Aguado or his circle directly.
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Heinrich Albert (1870-1950) and the Munich Guitar Quartet
Although beyond the time period scope of this web site, Albert deserves mentioning. Stylistically, Albert's music is of the German-Viennese tradition and could easily pass for compositions written decades earlier, and sounds great on period guitars. Also interesting is the fact that terz guitar, Staufer-style instruments, and multi-bass / harp guitars, as well as music by Mertz and other mid to late 19th century composers, were all very active in Germany until easily the 1920's. Albert is also known for his method, arrangements, teaching, and guitar quartet which have all made an impact.
Andreas Stevens now owns 2 of Albert's former guitars and has recorded Albert's works. Andreas informs that "In his public appearances he first played a Raab Wappengitarre because he found that the sound of his Hauser unfortunately did not carry enough, from 1910 - 1914 he played a Modelo Guadagnini from Mozzani and from 1914 to his death he played different guitars from Gelas, Paris."
Works by Albert can be found in REX and Boije.
Two informative articles on the net are: Harp Guitars - Featured Player of the Month, 7-04 and Orphee: Heinrich Albert and the First Guitar Quartet, by Allan Morris.
Julián Arcas, 1832 - 1882
Biographical Information:
The Spanish guitar concert virtuoso, professor, and composer Julian Arcas is famous today for being Tarrega's teacher, as well as being the guitarist who worked with Torres to slightly modify the guitar's design to its current standard.
Arcas was active at a very early period, indeed the same time period as when Mertz, Coste, Regondi, and Legnani were publishing many of their finest compositions - the 1860's.
Stylistically Arcas reminds me of a cross between Aguado and Tarrega, not surprising since Arcas was taught by his father, who studied directly with Aguado or one of Aguado's followers. Arcas and Tarrega sound very much alike on some pieces, as indeed both players were part of a Spanish tradition and style which included many others. No doubt Arcas was ahead of his time, another hallmark of a good composer.
Arcas wrote many extended operatic pot-pourris, just like Mertz and Coste - for example, opera arrangements of Verdi, Bellini, Rossini, etc., are among Arcas' works. In addition, Arcas wrote many classical arrangements of popular Spanish songs and dances, such as the Bolero. This popular style is very traditional and "Spanish" sounding, and it later became the flamenco style. Other compositions are in a more classical form, such as Minuets and other original compositions.
Much of this repertoire has been long-neglected and out of print. However, with the recent publication of Arcas' complete works, once again this material is starting to become recognized as among the best gems of the entire repertoire. There are 52 published original compositions and arrangements of considerable variety and depth. The writing is at a high level, musically and technically. I have had to re-think Arcas' place in history based on this edition.
Biographical information is listed at these web site:
Arcas Bio
Arcas Bio
Difficulty Level and Scope:
Arcas was limited to pieces for the guitar and guitar duets; to my knowledge he did not write any pieces with other instruments. As was common practice, Arcas composed mostly arrangements or fantasies of operas or folk songs, in addition to a few original themes. Arcas did not write simple music for beginners, and the technical demands are high. At least an intermediate level of technique is required to play any of Arcas' music, and many pieces require a very advanced technique.
Available Repertoire:
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There is only one published source of Arcas' complete facsimile works, available from FFSI, GSP and others:
"Julian Arcas Complete Works for Guitar (Obras Completas para Guitarra)" - Edited by Melchor Rodriguez
52 pieces for guitar (1 unpublished) in original 19th century facsimile edition.
Historical notes and analytical commentary of each piece in English and Spanish.
This is a very thick book, around 270 pages. It is expensive but worth it.
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Editor's Suggested Picks:
The works of Arcas in my opinion are of high quality, and stylistically fall inbetween Aguado and Tarrega. They deserve much greater exposure and are beginning to be discovered. My personal favorites:
- *Bolero - my favorite guitar piece of all time
- *Fantasia sobre Verdi Traviata (often incorrectly attributed to Tarrega) - nice recording by Claudio Marcotulli
- *Coleccion de Tangos - sweet recording by Carle Trepat on a gut strung Torres
- *Visperas Sicilainas: Bolero
- *El Pano / Punto de la Habana
- Minueto en Mi Menor
- El Madrileno Schotisch
- Motivo de Barbero de Sevilla
- Manuelito
- Los Panaderos Bolero
- Marina Tango
- La Cubana
- Fantasia sobre motivos Heterogeneos Bolero
Hector Berlioz ( 1803 - 1869 )
 | Berlioz is famous as a classical orchestral composer with a unique style, but not as a guitarist. In actuality, guitar and flute were the only instruments he could play. Berlioz initially made his living as a guitarist, and he published a few pieces for guitar during the first quarter of the 19th century. As no solo guitar works have been located, most likely Berlioz only published for guitar as accompaniment. As a friend of Paganini, Berlioz owned a guitar by Grobert of Mirecourt, which he and Paganini signed, and is now in a Paris museum. |
Jan Nepomucen Bobrowicz (1805-1881) was a Polish virtuoso guitarist and composer. He was a student of Giuliani, who was known for ensemble work including performances with Paganini.
Available Repertoire:
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The Digital Guitar Archive has published an authoritative edition of Bobrowicz titled "Selected Works". Volume 1 contains Variations, and Volume 2 is nearing completion. This edition contains detailed biographical information and serious compositions, of varying difficulty levels. The printing is clear, bold, and urtext - highly recommended.
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11 opus' are also available from REX.
Luigi Boccherini (1749-1805)
 | Mostly known as a chamber composer of superb quintets. In 1769 he settled in Madrid. In the 1790's Boccherini had a patron, the Marquis de Benevente, who was a guitarist. The Marquis commissioned pieces with guitar, and thus Boccherini arranged a few of his prior works to derive the now famous Boccherini Guitar Quintets, which have been recorded by Richard Savino, Pepe Romero, and others - and are regarded as among the very finest chamber works in the guitar repertoire. The Pepe Romero double CD of Boccherini is a must-have recording, as is Richard Savino's. The 6 double-course guitar was popular in Spain at the time of composition, but the Marquis was a subscriber to Aguado's 6-single string method, thus there is still debate as to whether the 6-string or 12-string guitar is best for Boccherini's music. |
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Jaime Bosch "Bosch was a well-known guitarist in late nineteenth century Paris, a contemporary of Coste and a friend of the painter Edouard Manet. A Catalan born in Barcelona, his works show strong Spanish influence" (Brian Jeffery). The Tecla - Jaime Bosch Edition (see link) is a collection of eighteen works for solo guitar, in reprints of their original editions, with 76 pages.
"There are several little gems in this facsimile collection that are well worth playing. In particular I liked Brimborion, Duettino, Meditation, Etoiles et fleurs ... several of the shorter and easier items towards the end of the volume are also very effective ... there is much to simply enjoy in this volume, and it’s a must for anyone purporting to be interested in the music of its century. A centenary well worth marking." (Classical Guitar, December 1996).
6 works by Bosch are available for free PDF download from REX and Boije, including 1 work (opus 86 "Pasa Calle") which is not available in the Tecla edition. The other 5 works are also in Tecla, so you can download to see if you like the composer before buying the edition with 18 works (13 of which are not in REX).
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Jose Broca was a Spanish composer, 1805 - 1882. According to Fred Noad, Broca was a student of Aguado but mostly self-taught. He was established in Barcelona and renown for his playing of works by Sor and Aguado. He was a friend of Julian Arcas and the teacher of Jose Ferrer. Broca's works are elegant pieces in a similar style to Tarrega, but written much earlier. |
Franz / Francesco Calegari (179?-18??) - Very little is known of Calegari. According to Angelo Gilardino, "According to the sources I have at hand, his dates are unknown. Terzi-Vio-Raspelli reference his birth at the end of the XVIIIth century, but do not provide any references beyond their statement. The different sources give Florence as his birthplace and refer to his journey to Germany, where he published music."
According to Marco V. Bazzotti, "Francesco Calegari was a guitarist and composer who flourished in the first half of the 19th century; little information is known about his life. He was probably a native of Florence; he was from a family of prominent
musicians, of which the best known is Antonio Calegari. He started his activity as a concert performer in
Florence, becoming subsequently much admired in the music circles in central Europe, mainly in Germany. He
lived for a long time in Leipzig and Braunschweig, and for a brief period in Paris as well. His compositions were
published by important firms such as Pleyel in Paris, Hofmeister and Schwarz in Leipzig, Ricordi and Canti in
Milan, and Cipriani in Bologna and Florence. In about 1830 he entered in the publishing industry, becoming a
competitor of Cipriani in Bologna. Of his production for guitar--about twenty works in all--we should mention the Variations Op.18 and the Rondò Op.3 for guitar; the Polonese Op.16 for violin and guitar; and several instrumental reductions on themes of
operas."
Six works by Calegari are available for free PDF download from REX and Boije. I had never heard of this composer-guitarist, but I found upon sight reading the music, that it stood out as being of very high quality and fun to play. In particular, op. 4 (Tyroliens Variations) and op. 10 (Schweizer Variations) are my favorites.
Leonard von Call ( 1767 - 1815 ) - Austrian guitarist and composer, and a contemporary of Giuliani in Vienna. Author of mostly chamber works, including a popular easy guitar trio in C. Very classical in style, not very demanding in technique, with an appeal to the amateur audience of the day. Several works, mostly ensemble pieces, are available for free PDF download from REX and Boije.
Antonio Cano ( 1811 - 1897 ).
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"Guitarist, teacher and composer. This pupil of Dionisio Aguado originally practised medicine before devoting himself to the guitar and teaching at the Madrid Conservatoire. He was also official archivist to Queen Isabella the Second. We are indebted to Cano for his guitar method published in 1852 and reprinted in 1868 with an additional treatise on harmony adapted to the guitar. Antonio Cano composed about a hundred pieces and exercises for the guitar. It is probable that he gave lessons to Francisco Tarrega and contributed to the development of the technique of the tremolo. His main contribution to the world of music is his guitar tutorial: "Método de Guitarra" (1852)." - Text provided by Norbert Fischer. |
Matteo Carcassi, 1792 - 1853
Biographical Information:
Carcassi was a virtuoso player who wrote many fine extended works. Carcassi's pieces show originality in their development, and a thorough knowledge of the fingerboard and all its positions - and in many cases innovative technique. Sadly, most publishers continue to publish only Carcassi's pieces for beginners, and the concert-level works are now mostly out of print, despite their high quality. This leaves many people with the mistaken impression that Carcassi is only for beginners.
Carcassi wrote playable and rewarding music for the typical guitarist: there are pieces for a variety of playing abilities, from very easy pieces for absolute beginners, through extended virtuosic operatic fantasies which require an advanced technique. Some of Carcassi's works are comparable to Legnani in terms of musical level and technique. The etudes and simple pieces Carcassi wrote for the purposes of teaching beginners are charming and effective, and they are still popular today with countless amateurs. The Carcassi concert pieces are mostly written at an intermediate to advanced level of playing, and are much more representative of Carcassi's skill. Like most guitarist-composers of this era, Carcassi wrote variations and fantasy forms of popular songs and operas, but Carcassi's skill at this genre far exceeded most of his contemporaries.
Carcassi is most well-known today as an author of studies for amateurs which remain popular and effective. Nearly every classical guitarist has played a Carcassi etude at some point. The Carcassi method book is possibly the most widely used classical guitar method in history; it continues to be a top seller, and it has been continuously in print since its publication in the early 19th century. It remains a relevant treatise, and easily as good as Sor's studies.
I am surprised to find that absolutely nobody, to my knowledge, has recorded any of Carcassi's serious concert works for guitar. They are excellent pieces, comparable to Giuliani or Legnani and surely deserve a decent recording. The only recordings I can find are the etudes and the 6 Caprices - all of which are beginner works.
However, Carcassi is not considered to be an elite composer like Sor, Giuliani, or Carulli due to the lack of large-scale works for other instruments. I am only aware of one piece for piano and guitar by Carcassi; nowhere to be found are works for 2 or more instruments. One could make a similar criticism of Barrios today: an excellent guitar composer, but not a composer of large-scale pieces or orchestral works.
The Carcassi Guitar Method By George C. Krick (1941) - an interesting article from 1941 regarding the continued popularity of the Carcassi Method. Other quotes from Krick:
"Not a great deal is known concerning the early career of Carcassi beyond the fact that he studied the guitar in his youth and, by his concentrated efforts and natural musical endowments, acquired most extraordinary skill upon his chosen instrument. After establishing an enviable reputation as a performer in his native land, he toured Germany, where he was received with unbounded enthusiasm. In 1820 he arrived in Paris and, two years later, made his first appearance in London. These cities had been visited previously by Ferdinand Sor; and the English and French musical public, recognizing the genius of Carcassi, received him with open arms.
Ferdinando Carulli, sometimes called the father of the Italian school of guitar playing, had been a resident of Paris for some years and by his concert performances and guitar compositions had drawn to himself the favor and patronage of the wealthy Parisians. Up to this time he had written and published more than three hundred compositions, among them a method which was a universal favorite. But, with the arrival of Carcassi, the fickle Parisians were ready to transfer their allegiance to the new star on the guitar firmament. Carcassi was in the prime of life, and he introduced a new style of music, more modern, melodious, brilliant, abounding in artistic and pleasing effects and also of but medium difficulty. Publishers importuned him for his compositions, and salons of Parisian artists and of the nobility were thrown open to him. After a few years in Paris, Carcassi again journeyed through England and the various countries of continental Europe, later returning to his adopted city where he died in 1853.
Carcassi must be counted among the greatest masters of the instrument. In his compositions, of which about eighty were published, he shows much originality and individuality. He perfected the method of fingering, introduced many novel effects and carried the resources of the instrument to greater lengths than any guitarist before him." - George C. Krick
See also The Italian Guitar in the 19th-Century: Sixty biographies - Sixty biographies of Italian guitarist composers of Nineteenth century in alphabetic order (edited by Marco Bazzotti).
Difficulty Level and Scope:
Carcassi was limited to pieces for the guitar; to my knowledge he did not write any pieces with other instruments, except for one piece I found for piano and guitar. There are no Carcassi duets known to exist. As was common practice, Carcassi composed mostly arrangements or fantasies of operas or folk songs, in addition to a few original themes, and many theme & variation pieces. Like most guitarists of this era, Carcassi's music can be classified into 2 categories: virtuoso concert works, and amateur pieces. Many of Carcassi's virtuoso works are nice concert pieces that audiences typically enjoy. The difficulty level of most Carcassi pieces, including the concert works, is usually Medium difficulty, which makes this music appealing to accomplished amateur players. A few pieces require advanced technique, but not so advanced as to make them out of reach. I like to think of Carcassi's music as being "accessible" - since it was written idiomatically to the guitar and conceived for a realistic level of ability. Many of his works "sound" harder than they really are, and are designed so that performers with modest technique can dazzle audiencies. Carcassi published many pieces for beginners, including pieces for first year students. Countless guitarists over several generations have thanked Carcassi for providing playable music at all levels of ability.
Available Repertoire:
Over 25 Works by Carcassi, including many extended fantasy works, are available for free PDF download from REX. Another 9 pieces not in REX are available for free PDF download from Boije.
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Without a doubt, the Carcassi Method and the pieces contained within is the most famous work. It is readily available from several publishers, including Mel Bay Music Publishers. The GFA Archives has a few Carcassi pieces, including Sonata: opus 1; Deux airs de ballets de l'opera de Moise de Rossini: op. 28, no. 1. The Caprices opus 26 still circulates as well. A large collection of extended operatic fantasies is available from Donald Sauter in the Guitar music in the Library of Congress. Tuscany Guitar Publications released a Carcassi concert work, Adieux a la Suisse - this is one of Carcassi's best pieces, one that I personally enjoy playing.
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Editor's Suggested Picks:
- Trios Rondos op 2: Rondo 3 is a fiery showpiece that sounds amazing at full speed
- Six Fantasies op 33-38: Operatic pot-pourris. Opus 36 is an arrangement of William Tell, 9 pages - nice! Also, La Fiancee from this series is recommended.
- Opus 41 - Fantasy on the theme "Clic Clac". Tecla's on-line distribution arm "Hebe's Web" has a very clear facsimile of this piece: the harmony is interesting, the fingerings and use of the guitar's resources are clever, overall an original composition around a well-known tune of the day.
- Variations on "Tra La La" - a simple theme becomes intricate and interesting through these innovative and challenging variations, fast and all over the fingerboard - another personal favorite.
- Fantasy on "Robin Adair" - this popular Irish folk song was arranged by Molino and others, but Carcassi's stands out.
- 25 Etudes op 60: Among the finest and most popular etudes for the instrument, easily rivalling the quality of Sor and Giuliani's studies, they are still widely played today. Excellent intermediate pieces.
- Variations on Duc De Reichstadt op 52 - a well-known theme with cool variations
- Three Italian Airs op 9 - popular Italian songs of the day, well arranged and varied
- The Carcassi Guitar Method - still in print today, one of the most effective methods ever written
Ferdinando Carulli, 1770 - 1841
Biographical Information:
Carulli was a prolific composer, an early pioneer who pre-dated Sor and Giuliani, and was considered by many to be the father of the modern 6-string guitar. Some of his best pieces are exceptional, and are among the finest works of this era. In many ways, Carulli is under-rated as a composer and should be re-examined. Carulli's compositional abilities are demonstrated in the many large-scale works for guitar with violin, flute, piano, and many fine guitar duets. Despite this, very little Carulli material is in print: and unfortunately, like Carcassi, only the beginner pieces for amateurs by Carulli can be found in print today, which leaves the mistaken impression that this was the extent of Carulli's capabilities. Today, this situation is starting to be corrected by available free facsimiles from REX, and a few fine recordings of these serious, extended works by Saracino and Savino, among others.
It is often stated, and I agree, that Carulli's output varies in quality considerably, varying from masterpiece gems to tired formulas. However, I believe a composer should be judged by the quality of the concert pieces, not of the pieces published expressly for beginners. I have found upon examining dozens of original facsimile manuscripts and listening to recordings of Carulli's works for guitar with violin/flute/piano, that in general, Carulli made a clear distinction in his publications between beginner pieces and concert pieces. The beginner pieces were clearly indicated as such, and thus they are more limited to the first positions on the guitar, lesser difficulty, and simpler musical ideas, to allow development of the amateur player. The concert pieces are more developed, more difficult, and musically more complex. I also share the firm belief of Richard Savino and others, that Carulli was a top-tier 19th century guitar composer, and vastly under-rated. With a little patience and access to many scores, the gems in Carulli's repertoire are worth the search.
Stylistically, Carulli follows the classical period mold in the style of Mozart and Haydn - it sounds like the late 18th-century style, fast and light with appropriate "affect" and interpretation. In that style, emotions and moods were called "affects" and were confined to a section of a piece. The "affect" did not change until a new section: thus, in accordance with most "classical" period music, individual variations would be major or minor, and consistent in their "affect" - resolute, sad, joyful, etc.. In the later romantic period, "affects" changed frequently and flowed capriciously. In the year 1810, Carulli was already 40 years old - and clearly in 1810, published music followed the classical style. Carulli was very active as a composer from 1800-1820: a true "classical" guitarist. The "romantic" period did not start until at least 1820-30, and we do find evolution in Carulli's later opus numbers to change with the times somewhat. While modern guitarists sometimes think of this music as "cliché" - it must be noted how early this music was published, and as Richard Long points out, Carulli invented many effects and portions of the guitar's language that were new and innovative at the time, and widely copied to the point that today they seem clichés. Another point of interpreting Carulli, is that the pieces will surely sound dull if you play it dull. In other words, add dynamics, phrasing, color, intensity, and emotion to bring out the music.
Carulli's writing was not confined to solo guitar. In fact, solo guitar was the smallest percentage of Carulli's output. Carulli's serious works for guitar duet are among the finest in the entire repertoire (one such duo was recorded by John Williams and Julian Bream), and there are many suites to choose from. Carulli's works for piano and guitar were recently recorded by Leopoldo Saracino (guitar) and Massimo Palumbo (piano): these works comprise fully 8 CD ROM's! Carulli also recorded numerous duos for guitar and flute, guitar and violin, and Guitar Trio (e.g. for Guitar, Flute, and Violin - not for 3 guitars), in addition to various other combinations, including chamber works. In those days, Carulli's vision was to treat the guitar just like any other orchestral instrument, and ensemble playing was a huge part of its purpose.
Biographical notes by George C. Krick.
See also The Italian Guitar in the 19th-Century: Sixty biographies - Sixty biographies of Italian guitarist composers of Nineteenth century in alphabetic order (edited by Marco Bazzotti).
Mario Torta's book about Carulli is a catalog which lists the complete Carulli works and their location: http://www.lim.it/cataloghi/musicalia003torta.htm
Difficulty Level and Scope:
Carulli was a capable composer who was able to write many large scale works for other instruments in addition to solo guitar pieces. As was common practice, Carulli composed mostly arrangements or fantasies of operas or folk songs, in addition to a few original themes, and many theme & variation pieces. Like most guitarists of this era, Carulli's music can be classified into 2 categories: virtuoso concert works, and amateur pieces. Carulli also gave us a third category, that of "intermediate" pieces for good amateur players - as no doubt there was a sizeable number of classical guitarists in Paris looking for good and playable music. Many of Carulli's virtuoso works are superb concert pieces and real gems of the repertoire. The difficulty level varies considerably; the concert works are usually Medium difficulty, but several works require very advanced technique to play at full speed with the intended interpretation. The music was written idiomatically to the guitar. Carulli also published many short and easy pieces for beginners, including pieces for first year students. Given the variety of output (concert solos, concert duets, beginner duets, beginner solos, concert chamber works, beginner chamber works), Carulli wrote compositions to appeal a wide audience. I firmly believe that Carulli should be elevated in status as one of the finest principal composers for the guitar.
Available Repertoire:
Around 45 Works by Carulli are available for free PDF download from REX.
Tuscany Guitar Publications has a few pieces of Carulli. The GFA Archives also has a few Carulli pieces, including a number of flute, violin, viola, and guitar duets. A large collection of extended operatic fantasies is available from Donald Sauter in the Guitar music in the Library of Congress.
Editor's Suggested Picks:
- Chamber works - guitar with flute, viola, piano, violin: our best ensemble repertoire.
- Duets - Forget the dippy, short beginner duos. Carulli's intermediate to virtuoso duos are fantastic.
- L'Orage, op. 2 - This is a very early work, dating from 1800-1810. It is a story for guitar and recited voice, but works well as a solo piece. In this early work, we find many of Carulli's "favorite licks" as well as passages of great beauty and liveliness, and clever use of the guitar. The story is of a thunder storm, a love story, and a battle with a monster. The story is corny, but it helps in the interpretation: for example, "The sky darkens" should definitely trigger the guitarist to play the music to match the story. Clever effects for imitating wind, rain, thunder, and hail are used. The "wailing of the shepherdess" melody is simply haunting. The final section has a wonderful Baroque-style sequence.
- Sonata op 5
- Ouverture, Op. 6 #1 - This can be found in various anthologies. It is a very classical-period overture; fast, lively, and cooks when played at full tempo.
- 3 Sonatines op 7 - A straight-forward classical suite.
- Grande Sonate, op. 16. This is an early work in a pure Classical style. The first movement is a lively overture. The Adagio middle movement is one of the most beautiful passages I have encountered. The Rondo is straight-forward writing and meant to be played very fast.
- Solo, op. 20 - A nice early work, again very much in the classical style.
- Trois Sonates op 21 - possibly Carulli's best solo work; recorded by Richard Savino on Naxos. 3 complete Sonatas, each with 3 movements.
- Cendrillon, op. 44. A three-part work based on the "Cinderella" story; the section of the story is mentioned as the music occurs, as the music is evocative of the story line. Carulli's opus 44 was published in Paris, a potpourri. It may refer to Nicholas Isouard's opera Cendrillon staged in Paris (1810) or a different opera or ballet, or perhaps it was a new work. It seems to be orchestral writing, reduced to guitar, and it seems to be ballet-based, as various dance rhythms are employed. The music is dramatic and varied - in places it sounds Renaissance or Baroque, in other areas operatic. The melodies are infectious, as I find my self whistling the tunes from this work. It is not difficult.
- Variations on "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" op 60 #3 - Tuscany Publications (very good edition IMO). OK, everyone knows this melody, which was originally a French tune from 1761, which Mozart, Beethoven, and others used as a variation subject. Carulli's piece is imaginative in its use of the guitar and worth the effort, as it is a challenge.
- National Airs of Peoples of Europe op 73 - Lots of fun! 6 pieces with variations: French Vive Henri Quatre (ancient Baroque air), Spanish Fandango (fiery!), English Air (God Save the King / My Country Tis of Thee), Italian Tarantella, Russian Chanson (the famous Shone Minka), and a dazzling Austrian Tirolienne (it was popular to copy horn music then).
- Folias of Spain, Variations, op. 75 #2 - Richard Long provided this in the GFA Soundboard magazine; it is a nice set of variations on the familiar Folias tune. There are several "guitar licks" such as pull-off's - as we must remember, first there was Carulli, and THEN there was Van Halen much later...
- Theme with Variations and Rondo op 162 - lots of 9th position passages which sounds sweet on period guitars.
- 3 Divertiments al Espagnole op 209 - especially #3 - this is intended to be imbellished with fiery strumming, etc.
- La Girafe.. op 306 - Tuscany Publications has a nice edition with excellent page turns and fold-outs. This is an interesting work which evokes the awkward gaping walk of the Giraffe at the Paris zoo, the exposition, and so forth.
- 6 Divertissements Brillants op 317 (Chanterelle) - While most of this music is good but not great, the #5 Bolero is saucy and very "Spanish".
- 6 (Sei) Andanti, op. 320 - A Ruggero Chiesa modern edition exists but may be out of print. Of the 6 "Andante" pieces, several of them are appealing: my fave's are #1 and especially #2. Carulli uses many difficult notation figures and some of the pieces seem like written-out improvisations, but #2 is a very nice piece which brings out the midrange on the Lacote.
- Louis-Marie Duvillard (France) recommends these works as well: Solo op. 113, 3 Solos op. 76, Solo op. 229 (Les Adieux), Polonaise op. 141, Sonate op.16 - they are all (except op. 229), in reprint by "Minkoff reprint editions" (but not on REX).
Luigi Castellacci (1797-1845)
According to Richard Long, Luigi Castellacci was an Italian virtuoso of the mandolin and the guitar who later moved to Paris in the 1820's and was a contemporary of Sor, Coste, Carulli, and Carcassi in Paris. Notably, a 19th century source indicates Castellacci played in concert with Sor on at least one occasion. Most of his music is theme and variations of operas, which are rewarding to play because they require intermediate ability to play, but achieve great musical effect.
Napoleon Coste, 1805 - 1883
(click thumbnail to see larger image)
Biographical Information:
Napoleon Coste studied with Fernando Sor, who dedicated 2 pieces to Coste. Coste's music is similar to Sor's, but with a more Romantic French style. Coste's music is excellent quality overall, truly fantastic gems, and pieces range in difficulty. Some of Coste's concert works deserve an eminent place in the repertoire. Segovia only recorded a few etudes by Coste; these are nice pieces, but not representative of the high quality of Coste's extended works. Naxos is issuing the Naxos Complete Works of Coste on CD, for only about $5 per CD. These CD's are of good quality and highly recommended, though it is regrettable that Naxos chose to record these pieces on 6-string guitar, thus missing the extended sonority of the 7 and 8 string guitars for which the pieces were composed.
Players who have only a 6-string guitar should not be intimidated by the occasional 7th string. Coste's publications indicate that the player can raise the octave of these notes, but he prefers the 7-string. The quality of the music is worthwhile to do so. Coste played and wrote for 6-string, 7-string, and perhaps 8-string guitar depending on the piece. In the complete works series, you will find a mixture of 6-7 string pieces, though mostly 7-string. The 7th string was usually the low D, but was sometimes tuned to C. Simon Wynberg claims in the Chanterelle text that C and D are found in the same work, and thus there might have been an 8-string guitar on occasion. If so, the 8th string always low C. However, I found that the C and D occur in different movements and thus the 7th string was probably re-tuned. This 7 string music is perfectly playable on a 6-string guitar, by raising the octave of the low D, or playing in Drop-D tuning, depending on the piece. The low D is used sparingly, so there is not a big sacrifice to raise its octave. However, if you have a 7-string or 8-string classical guitar, you can of course realize the full sonority of the music. It is a subtle effect, but very nice when used. See the 7-string, 8-string & 10-string Guitars Page for more detail about the floating 7-string Coste-style guitar. I enjoy playing Coste on my 8-string Stauffer copy by Kresse.
One biographical detail is worth noting: 1806 was commonly believed to be Coste's birth date until Brian Jeffery later found the birth certificate which confirmed 1805 as the correct date (thanks to Brigitte Zaczek for this info).
Biographical notes by George C. Krick.
Difficulty Level and Scope:
Coste was limited to pieces for one guitar, or at most 2 instruments. Most of his output is guitar solos, with some fine duets and music for violin/flute/oboe and guitar, and a few short pieces for piano and oboe or piano and voice. As was common practice, Coste composed mostly arrangements or fantasies of operas or folk songs, in addition to a few original themes, and many theme & variation pieces.
The difficulty level of most Coste pieces, including the concert works, is usually Medium to Advanced difficulty, which makes this music appealing to accomplished amateur players. A few pieces require advanced technique, but not so advanced as to make them out of reach. Though, the more advanced works do require an accomplished professional to make them sound fluid and flawless. I like to think of Coste's music as being "accessible" - since it was written idiomatically to the guitar and conceived for a realistic level of ability. Coste was particularly skilled at writing for the guitar so that the fingerings are natural, with no awkwardness. Coste did not publish easy music for first year students; his Etudes are dedicated to "Amateurs of Talent" and require at least medium ability.
Coste had a long life span, and was publishing music from the 1830's through the 1870's. During this 40 year period, music changed considerably, and Coste's music changed with the times. I find a lot of variety and originality in his music, and Coste ranks as perhaps my personal favorite 19th century composer. Not surprisingly, much of his music sounds like Sor, but Coste has his own unique style as well, and tended to borrow from other time periods and styles with certain character pieces. Later works became more romantic in character, with extended candenzas, and some early chromaticism.
Available Repertoire:
Around 50 Works by Coste are available for free PDF download from REX, most of the solo, duo, and oboe works, including a couple of rarities not published by Chanterelle: short pieces for voice & guitar, and one for oboe and piano. Also check Boije.
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There is only one published source of Coste's complete facsimile works, Chanterelle Editions, resold by Mel Bay Music Publishers Publications. Volumes 1-6 and 9 are solo material; volume 7 is guitar duets, and volume 8 is flute/oboe/violin and guitar duets. Some volumes are becoming scarce, indicating perhaps this is fast going out of print.
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Editor's Suggested Picks:
- Variations on "Air de la Famille Suisse" by Weigl, op 2 - Entirely 6-string and an early work. Good Naxos CD available. As with the time period, this is an operatic variation set - flashy, yet idiomatic and musical.
- Fantaisie on Ballet d'Armide, op 4 - Also an early 6-string work and somewhat advanced. The introduction is a beautiful C-minor drama, reminiscent of a Sor adagio. The remaining variations are cleverly arranged.
- Souvenirs de Flandres op 5 with 6 pieces; #3, #4 especially and #6 Tarantelle - This early set of arrangements of French folk and regional pieces is exceptional. Most of the works make use of the 7-string guitar, but it is effective on 6-string. The Tarantelle has been recorded separately by several artists; it is 6-string and is an excellent example of the form.
- Fantaisie de Concert, on Meyerbeer, op. 6. Recorded by F. Zigante on Naxos. An exciting advanced work; it makes full use of 7 strings and goes to the 22nd fret, but the modern recording is still effective with 6-strings and harmonics in place of the highest originally fretted notes.
- 16 Waltzes on Strauss, op 7 - While I normally do not like short waltzes, Coste's are musical and interesting, and not all that difficult. Several recordings have been made of or from this set.
- *Lucia di Lamermoor Variations, op 9 - Entirely 6-string. A beautiful work, lively and passionate.
- Grand Caprice, op 11 - McFadden recorded this for Naxos. Originally an unpublished work, it is a flowing, moody caprice.
- *Caprice on the Spanish Air La Cachucha, op 13 - Starobin's recording stands out in my mind as the best. This popular folk song was arranged by a number of composers, but Coste's stands out as a masterful arrangement.
- Polonaise op. 14 - The introduction is the same as the Passage Des Alpes and is optional. The Polonaise section is entirely 6-string and an excellent recording of it by Pavel Steidl is available on Naxos.
- *Fantaisie sur La Norma, op 16 - Coste notes which parts of the work are his, and which are straight arrangements of Bellini. This work is flashy, musical, and varied. One of my personal favorites.
- Souvenirs op 17-23, These "Episode" pieces are all in very different character. The op. 17, Vallee d'Ornans and especially Les Montagnards - is an all time favorite of mine; refers to the mountain men of the French revolution. Also notable are op. 18 Les Bords Du Rhin, Delfzil, op. 19, Le Zuyderzee op 20, and Les Cloches, op. 21 - Fugue et Rondeau - interestingly, the Fugue form was not popular in guitar music; Coste was quite inventive to pull from Baroque compositional form and use delightful Baroque sequences a la Bach or Vivaldi. The other movements of the Souvenirs suite did not appeal to me.
- La Romanesca op 19(bis.) - An ancient air; Sor also arranged this work for violin and guitar. This version was recorded by Starobin; it is fairly easy but gives a somber character and uses the guitar's lower ranges. Here we find the 7th string tuned down to C on 1 note.
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- *Le Passage Des Alpes op 27,28,40 - A suite which is one of Coste's best and most popular works. The introduction evokes the majestic alps, and the remaining 3 movements are intermediate in ability and melodic.
- *25 Etudes: op 38 - mostly for 7-string, many gems. Easily comparable to Sor's Studies in quality. For any 7-10 string player, these pieces are essential.
- Autumn Foliage op 41: Waltz #3,4*,6,7,10,12 - although I usually do not like short waltzes, these 3 stand out of the set.
- Funeral March op 43 - Consists of the somber funeral march (similar to Sor's work in mood and style) - in E minor and melancholy. The Rondeau Allegretto section is a more lively work. The 7th string low-D is only found once and it does not add much, so I play this work on 6-string guitar.
- *Andante et Polonaise op 44, Souvenir du Jura - One of Coste's best pieces, and among the favorites of his students.
- Le Depart op 31, especially Le Retour - This piece refers to historical events on Dec. 29, 1855. This piece is rich in character.
- La Source du Lyson op 47 - Published in 1878, this is a romantic work, similar to Sor's Villegoise Fantasy op. 52 in character. The music is unique to Coste's style and is perhaps the most often recorded work of Coste's in modern times. Martha Masters and others have good recordings of this piece. It evokes an ancient renaissance folk theme and is a concert work.
- Minuetto all Mazourka, from op. 50 - this stands out as a melodic and well-crafted work from the set.
- *Andante et Allegro (no opus) - a superb and gripping concert work.
- Introduction et Variations sur .. Rossini - (no opus) - The Naxos recording by Pavel Steidl is well done. This is a good example of the operatic fantasy genre; an extended concert work from the unpublished series by Chanterelle.
Adam Darr (1811-1866)
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Motivically-based high quality compositions for solo, duo, and quart guitar. I spoke with Joe Costello of Phoenix, Arizona, who discovered the works of Adam Darr in a German library while travelling to Europe. Joe is working to publish these fine works (see JosephCostello Site). REX contains a few short pieces in an anthology as well as a large number of excellent duets for 2 guitars in an Eggers (editor) volume (music from A.Darr in the Number RiBS1075-1 and RiBS1075-2). The Boije collection also has some of the duets missing from REX and a few solo works, mostly short.
"Darr's talents in composing and performing on the guitar are well documented, but his abilities in singing and on the zither are little known to present day music fans of the guitar. Darr was born at Schweinfurt, Germany, 1811 and died at Augsburg, in 1866. At the age of eighteen he began his musical activities in performance and travelled throughout Europe performing before royal courts. At the end of his tour in Russia, he remained in St. Petersburg to teach and perform and after three years returned to a position in Wurzburg. At this time he teamed up with Frederick Brand and began a relationship as a guitar duet performing throughout Germany until his death October 22, 1866." - from Norbert Fischer |
Johann Decker-Schenk (1826-1899)
Decker-Schenk was born in Vienna, but moved to St. Petersburg in 1861, where he established himself as the premier virtuoso and teacher of guitar. He was the son of Friedrich Schenk, who created the spectacular single and dual arm harp guitars, copied by many luthiers, including Mozzani. As he learned the guitar from his father, it is likely that Decker-Schenk utilized these instruments during his career. Other clues include a Russian guitar catalog which lists the wappen-shaped harp guitar as the "Decker-Schenck model." - Gregg Miner, HarpGuitars.Net
REX and Boije contain a few scores. These are all written for 10-string guitar, but most pieces utilize only 2 low notes in the piece which makes it suited to 8-string guitar as well. The low notes are indicated "8" but notated within the normal 6-string octave range, thus 6-string players can also play this music. Some of this music is schmaltzy (think of Tarrega's "Rosita Polka" as the general style) with waltzes, polkas and such - which was popular in that region and time period - but other works deserve merit, including:
- Kleinrussische Tanzweise - by the Russian composer Sarenko but arranged by Decker-Schenk
- Fantaisie Romantique - The best work IMO found in Rex or Boije
- Tyrolienne - Austrian style
- Kiss-Kiss-Miau-Gavotte: Be warned, this melody will stick with you
Søffren Degen (1816-1885)
Jens Bang Rasmussen has worked with Tecla Editions to provide downloadable music scores and biographies from two important Danish composers - Degen and Rung.
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Degen had very close ties to Napoléon Coste, and the music also employs the optional 7th string (tuned to C or D, depending on the piece). For players with 7, 8, or 10-string guitars, this is a welcome addition to the repertoire. The 7th string can be raised an octave for 6-string guitars as it is used sparingly.
The instrument Degen used was made by Stauffer. Stylistically, the music is close to Coste's style. The music is good, but not quite at the compositional level of Coste. Degen has his own style to some degree, and at moments he can write fine and interesting music with depth. At other times, the music can be too formula-based, especially the shorter waltz-based pieces. The longer pieces are more challenging and interesting.
Most importantly, Degen was a master cellist and wrote many pieces for cello and guitar available from Jens Rasmussen and Tecla Editions. These are pehaps the most important works for cello and guitar in the 19th century repertoire, and they are Degen's finest works as well. |
Anton Diabelli ( 1781 - 1858 )
 |  | Guitarist, Composer, Pianist, Publisher. Diabelli is most famous for the theme upon which Beethoven based an extensive set of variations, and for being Beethoven's publisher. Diabelli composed works for guitar solo, duo, and guitar with other instruments, including many pieces for guitar and forte-piano. These pieces are charming, but not of the quality of Giuliani. As a publisher, Diabelli published thousands of works for many instruments, and became wealthy as the owner of Vienna's leading publishing firm. Many guitar compositions were published by Diabelli, including many Giuliani first editions. Interestingly, as documented in Dr. Heck's biography, Giuliani once wrote in a private letter to a friend that Diabelli earned his "eternal contempt" for publishing practices which enriched Diabelli at the performer's expense.
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Several works are available for free PDF download from REX and Boije.
Johann Dubez (1828-1891)
Dubez Bio (In German)
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Dubez was a Viennese guitarist who studied with Mertz and became a virtuoso concert guitarist. Only a few works were published, which can be found for free PDF download from REX (including the Mertz-style Hungarian Fantasy), and also several hand-written manuscripts can be found in Boije. |
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His compositions make extensive use of the 10-string guitar, and it is nearly fruitless to attempt these pieces with less than an 8-string instrument. It also requires 22-24 frets on some pieces, clearly for the Staufer-style guitar. Most of the works are extremely difficult, with fast note flourishes, and clearly written for virtuoso players. In the later 19th century, as the romantic period flourished, instrumental virtuosity and sentiment were prevalent and sometimes overdone.
The Fantaisie Hongrois stands out as probably the best work, and Robert Trent has included this in concert programs. It borrows from the Mertz piece of the same title but is a new composition. While challenging, it is not impossible to play.
Michael Sieberichs-Nau has researched Dubez, and points out that these works are elaborate, only for professionals (like Liszt). Apparently, only 2 works by Dubez were published, and probably due to the technical requirements, other pieces were probably sold as hand-copied manuscripts individually by the composer, a practice which is well-documented during this time period and done by Mertz. |
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The actual guitar used by Dubez has surfaced: a Staufer/Scherzer design with cutaway for easy upper fret access, and 10 strings. Brigitte Zaczek kindly provided photos of a guitar she "recently aquired at an auction in Vienna: a very peculiar specimen of a 10 string guitar, unlabeled but with the signature of Johann Dubez inside. It does not seem to have been built in Vienna but according to Alex Timmerman it shows some similarities with instruments built by Henryk Rudert (Warsaw)." |
Adolph Julius Eggers (1859-1919)
Another later guitarist worth mentioning concerning romantic guitar is A. Eggers.
According to Daniel Fryklund on the Orphee web site, "Eggers was amongst other things a guitar teacher in Copenhagen and produced a great number of song collections with guitar accompaniment, duets for 2 guitars and “12 Spanske Danse og Melodier” [12 Spanish Dances and Melodies] for mandolin and guitar. Eggers also published “Udvalgte Kompositioner” [Selected Works] for guitar solo by J. K. Mertz."
According to by Erling Møldrup, professor of guitar at the Royal Academy of Music in Århus Denmark:
"Adolph Julius Eggers. Cantor and guitarist. Eggers was another of the Danish music personalities who were hopelessly in love with the guitar. Unfortunately, even he was a properly educated composer, he did not write any compositions for the guitar, but however created an enormous amount of wonderful guitar accompaniments of songs by the greatest composers, Danish and foreign. These are arrangements which are still in use today. A real treasure for every guitarist and singer to explore, believe me!"
Several works by Eggers are available for free PDF download from REX. These are a Method for guitar, as well as duet collections from around 1900-1920 which use terz guitar extensively. Many of the famous romantic guitar composers such as Mertz can be found in the Eggers editions. The arrangements are of high editorial quality.
Fernando Ferandiere (1771-1816) Fernando Ferandiere enjoyed a high rank as a guitarist in the eighteenth century and was spoken of in glowing terms by Dioniso Aguado. This remarkable prolific composer wrote two hundred and thirty five works. Ferandiere's most inportant contribution to the classical guitar was his "Arte de Tocar la Guitarra Espagnola por Musica", a method in modern notation for the six-string guitar. The James Westbrook sponsored CD (see Recordings page) has a few nice pieces by Ferandiere on a 6-course Pages guitar.
François De Fossa ( 1775 - 1869 )
 | François De Fossa is beginning to gain notice as a major composer of substantial merit. The solo pieces are advanced and musically rich, and the chamber pieces show Fossa's true capabilities at larger-scale works. Very little guitar music survives, but what remains is superb, including an excellent set of chamber pieces with guitar, and the exceptional Haydn arrangements. Fossa was a friend of Aguado. The outstanding article of M. Ophee provides biographical details: FRANÇOIS DE FOSSA, A French Guitarist in Mexico by Matanya Ophee, and Ophee publishes several works by Fossa. The Ophee edition is superb: it has a good biography, plus the music conforms as a true urtext edition to the originals and I prefer these editions to the facsimile. The music is challenging but well worth the effort. Fossa was not obliged to make a living at music, and thus held to the highest artistic standards of composition. There is one fine guitar duet in the REX collection. The Boije collection contains 2 works not in REX or Orphee. |
Enea Gardana - I have been unable to locate any biographical information on Gardana. There are 19 opus works available from REX and many from Boije as well. All are advanced level, and several were written for guitar with 9 strings. Two of these works I enjoy very much, including the Bolero op. 22 which is an arragement of Verdi's Vespri Siciliani for 6-string guitar; a fiery Spanish-sounding piece, the theme of which also forms the basis of a bolero by Julian Arcas.
Mauro Giuliani, 1781 - 1829
Biographical Information:
Giuliani left his native Italy in his early 20's for Vienna, where he was among the elite composers in Vienna during the early 19th century. His friends included Beethoven, Schubert, Hummel, Rossini, and Paganini, and he performed for the top venues and people of his age. Giuliani played the guitar, Lyra guitar, was an accomplished vocalist, and cellist - who played cello in the world premier of Beethoven's 7th symphony. Giuliani wrote a few complete concertos, with assistance from Hummel to orchestrate them, as well as a great deal of chamber music and duets for 2 guitars, flute, piano, and violin. Late night jam sessions with Schubert and friends were weekly, as well as concert appearances and collaboration with other elite musicians which were a frequent occurence. Giuliani's 200+ vocal works have been compared to Schubert's in their quality, and possibly surpass them. As a close friend of Rossini, Giuliani was given original manuscripts to arrange as he liked, and access to Rossini for input on his Rossini arrangements. Giuliani's solo works number over 18 volumes through Tecla.
Across the board, contemporary reviews of his playing rank him as one of the greatest performers of the guitar to have ever lived.
Giuliani's music is lively, interesting, dynamic and convincing. The guitar writing is idiomatic and clever; always using the guitar to its fullest capacity, so that seemingly difficult pieces are logical and attainable. As with Sor, the parts are "correct" as they said back then - in other words, proper voice leading, harmony, and full parts written out. This music was popular upon its release, and has withstood the test of time.
Giuliani is without a doubt among the top 3 composers for the guitar in the 19th century, and probably for all time.
Dr. Heck has published a complete biography of this diverse, prolific, and amazing composer of the 19th century guitar; it is available through Editions Orphee. I have read Dr. Heck's book, and I would highly recommend it. For an overview, read Dr. Brian Jeffery's article: Notes on Giuliani's music.
See also The Italian Guitar in the 19th-Century: Sixty biographies - Sixty biographies of Italian guitarist composers of Nineteenth century in alphabetic order (edited by Marco Bazzotti).
Biographical notes by George C. Krick (1940).
Emilia Giuliani, Mauro's daughter, also published a few works, as did Michel Giuliani, Mauro's son.
Difficulty Level and Scope:
Giuliani was a capable composer who was able to write many large scale works for other instruments in addition to solo guitar pieces. Giuliani wrote 3 full guitar concertos, and many works for 2 guitars, violin, flute, and piano with guitar. As was common practice, Giuliani composed many arrangements or fantasies of operas or folk songs, in addition to original themes, and many theme & variation pieces. Like most guitarists of this era, Giuliani's music can be classified into 2 categories: virtuoso concert works, and amateur pieces. Many of Giuliani's virtuoso works are superb concert pieces and the very best gems of the entire guitar repertoire. The difficulty level varies considerably. The concert works are usually Medium to Advanced difficulty, with several works that require virtuoso technique, but many fine concert pieces are accessible to intermediate players. The music was written idiomatically to the guitar. Giuliani also published many short and easy pieces for beginners, including pieces for first year students. Given the variety of output (concert solos, concert duets, beginner duets, beginner solos, concert chamber works, beginner chamber works), Giuliani wrote compositions to appeal a wide audience.
Available Repertoire:
Many works by Giuliani are available for free PDF download from REX and Boije. This includes solo, duo, flute & guitar, and a few rarities. Many different versions of each score are available.
Tecla Editions, Dr. Brian Jeffery ed., published the entire Complete Works of Giuliani: vol. 1-18 Solo works, vol. 19-24 Duets, vol. 25-32 Concertos, vol. 33-39 Other works (guitar and other instruments, and vocal works). The original editions vary in readability, but most of them are very easy to read. You are assured of reading uncorrupted original editions. I would not go with any other source of Giuliani; although REX and other sources may have Giuliani works available, Dr. Jeffery provies the authoritative, earliest surviving first editions of each piece. One exception is a newly discovered work through Tuscany Publications: Tre Tarantelle e Balletti nazionali napoletani.
According to Dr. Jeffery:
"I am writing this piece as the editor of all of Giuliani's music - and I mean all, without exception. Back in 1981-83 I did extensive bibliographical work starting from Thomas Heck's invaluable Yale thesis The Birth of the Classic Guitar (1970). I obtained copies of all the early editions (and that means many, many thousands of pages of them). Librarians all over the world were tremendously helpful. Some copies came even from the then Yugoslavia. Some arrived soaked in the rain (unprotected alas by the British Post Office). I sorted out which editions were the primary sources. There were a good many additions to Heck. I then published all Giuliani's music, every piece with new bibliographical notes establishing the original text and often giving lists of suggestions for performance - while making absolutely clear that any such lists were only a starting point for performers. All the 39 volumes are still easily available to performers and scholars today from my firm Tecla and many pieces are available individually."
Editor's Suggested Picks:
- Sonata Opus 15 - One of the best classical guitar sonatas in the entire repertoire. Guitarists should record all 3 movements, not just the first.
- Op. 38: Six variations on "a Schisserl und a Reindl" - This Austrian folk song variation is fun to play and well arranged
- Op. 45: Six variations on "Folies d'Espagne" - Widely played even today, a superb variation set on this ancient air
- Op. 61: Grande Ouverture - A concert showpiece with many recordings
- Op. 107: Variations on a theme of Handel - A famous piece, a staple of the guitar repertoire
- Op. 109: La Caccia - A fun grand rondo on a hunting theme, with hunting horn, cattle drum, and other imitations. Fun!
- Op. 110: Variations on a march by Cherubini - A bit long, but a good theme and variation.
- Op. 125: Six Irish national airs - Famous folk songs of the day, fun to play and appealing.
- Op. 119-124, 6 Rossiniane. Pot-pourri virtuoso fantasies based on airs from Rossini operas. The first, op. 119 is one of the most widely recorded and concertized pieces in the entire guitar repertoire.
- Op. 150: Gran Sonata Eroica - The grand sonata is another concert show piece, equivalent to opus 61.
- Op. 128: Variations on the opera "Amazilia" by Pacini. I discovered this piece sight reading the Giuliani complete works, and it has always stuck as a fine work, challenging but so cleverly written that it falls naturally. This deserves a recording.
- Favorite works without opus include "Variations on the Allegro cantabile from "Tu vedrai" from Bellini's Il Pirata" and "Rondongino Brillante"
- Concerto in A Major - Opus 30. This concerto is a full orchestral work, a masterpiece recorded by John Williams, Richard Savino, and others.
- Op. 137 - Tre Polonesi Concertanti for two guitars. Of the many superb Giuliani duets, this is my personal favorite.
- The flute and violin duos are all of fairly high caliber.
Filippo Gragnani (1767-1812)
- Under-served yet delightful music, especially the duets. Similar to Carulli in style. Gragnani came from Livorno, Italy, from a family of instrument builders and musicians, trained as a violinist, thus the many violinistic effects in his music. He later devoted himself to guitar, visited Germany, and settled in Paris where he became good friends with Carulli. Gragnani dedicated 3 duets to Carulli. Gragnani was particularly talented with chamber music, thus the duets, trios, and works for violin and guitar are among the finest.
It is often said that the exact date of Gragnani's death is not known; only that no references to his activities can be found after 1812. According to Duo Ghiribizzo, as to the living dates of Gragnani, we refer to a biography of an Italian guitarist, Massimo Agostinelli, which documents the dates 1768-1820, even though the death register of Leghorn he quotes says that Filippo died 59 years old, where his lifedates would say 52. In any event, this is later than the 1812 date often cited due to the lack of activities after 1812. Perhaps the lack of press notifications could be due to ill health or retirement, or settling into a quiet teaching career.
In the words of Angelo Gilardino: "It is the case of an eminent
guitarist-composer whose work - a typical expression of the Italian style of
the 2nd half of XVIIIth century - is still little known, because it has been
shadowed by the works of the Italian masters who wrote in more an updated
style (Carulli and Giuliani above all). Really, Gragnani's comparatively
small output stands very well in front of any modern audience and all what
he wrote can be successfully performed in concert nowadays, I would dare to
say more successfully than Carulli's average works and at least as
successfully as Giuliani's pieces.
Filippo Gragnani was born at Livorno (Leghorn) on 1767 and the date of his
death is tentatively fixed on 1812 in Paris. He was one of the sons of a
musical family, mainly devoted to violin and guitar making. He received very
early a first class training as a violin player under the guidance of Giulio
Maria Luchesi - then he can be considered a descendant of the famous violin
school of Nardini (Luchesi's teacher). He shifted to guitar later. He
composed 15 published works.
Besides the Trio Op. 12... I strongly recommend you get acquainted with the Three Sonatas for
solo guitar published by Zimmermann, Frankfurt, under the cares of Guido
Margaria. They are excellent examples of that peculiar Sonata form in two
movements created by Italian masters with a special concern for...melody:
despite the skills showed in the formal design, these Sonatas are mainly
very beautiful songs." - Angelo Gilardino
2 works are available for free PDF download from REX and Boije. Zimmermann also has a modern edition of 3 nice Sonates.
Felix Horetzky / Feliks Horecki (1796-1870)
- Felix Horetzky went from Poland to Vienna where he performed with Giuliani and Diabelli and studied with Giuliani. The preface to opus 15 by Horetzky published in London says "I feel therefore that as I was so fortunate as to receive my musical education from so able a Teacher...". He had a successful concertizing and publishing career and spent most of his life in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Jakub Niedoborek from Lublin in Poland writes that Feliks Horecki was born 01.01.1796 in Horyszów Ruski (village near Lublin) in Poland. See - Józef Powrozniak - Gitara od A do Z PWM 1989 (page 85) ISBN 83-224-0358-5. In this book you can find more interesting information about Polish early romantic guitarists.
From P.J.Bone's 'Guitar and Mandolin', courtesy of Rob MacKillop (note corrections above):
"Horetzky, Felix, a Polish guitarist, born in Prague in 1800 and died in Edinburgh in 1871. He is considered one of the best guitarists of Bohemia, and has been erroneously claimed as that nationality. When he was a child he played the guitar, but with no other intent than amusement. His family returned to their native land when he was in his teens, and made their abode in Warsaw. It was here that he took regular instruction in guitar playing and the theory of music, and from the time he was under a teacher, receiving systematic instruction, his interest in the instrument which had only amused him previously, developed into a passion. When fifteen he commenced a career as clerk in the Chamber of Accounts in Warsaw, but his disposition was was too active to be reconciled to this monotonous life. Having become so absorbed in music and the guitar, and his employment proving irksome, he resigned and commenced to teach the guitar. He also continued his musical studies with increased vigour and a few years later visited Vienna. Here he studied the methods and compositions of the foremost Viennese masters, received higher instruction on his instrument from Giuliani, eventually performing in public with him and also with Diabelli. Such was his success and reputation, that he obtained the patronage of the Royal Court, and was appointed guitar instructor to the Archduchess, and several other members of the royal household, before he had been resident in Vienna a year. His restless nature still predominated and not content with his honourable position, undertook a protracted and roving tour of Europe, travelling through Germany, performing in Frankfurt and other important cities, and then Paris. Just previous to 1820, Horetzky visited London and met with his usual success, for his advent occured at a very opportune time - when England had become familiar with the names of the guitar virtuosi who had created such sensations in Vienna, and Horetzki advertised the fact of his arrival from this famed city by announcing himself on his first compositions published in England as 'F. Horetzky, from Vienna'. He toured Great Britain and eventually made his abode in Edinburgh. In this city he met with a favourable reception, was recognised by the musical puplic and patronised by society as the foremost teacher of the guitar in Scotland; his numerous pupils came from afar, and included the most influential and fashionable members of Edinburgh society... His publications for guitar number considerably more than one hundred and fifty, and they wre exceedingly popular with amateur guitarists of Great Britain, for they appealed to average performers by their simplicity and effectiveness: his celebrated Maestoso and Adagio are pearls of classic beauty... Horetzky was the author of various studies and exercises for the guitar and original songs with guitar and he wrote guitar accompaniments to numerous popular vocal compositions. Many of the later were issued in Scotland and dedicated to his pupils and friends there."
Several works are available for free PDF download from REX and Boije.
Trinidad Francisco Huerta y Caturla ( 1804 - 1875 )
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Pictures of Huerta with a Panormo, and Huerta's 1828 Panormo with label - "This guitar of Brazilian Rosewood and Spruce once belonged to Panormo's son in law, HUERTA. It was his playing instrument. It has a hand written label stating that this guitar was made for AF Huerta. This actual guitar is published in James Westbrook's book, 'The Century that Shaped the Guitar' " (courtesy of Ray Attard).
Huerta was a Spaniard who traveled to New York, and based on the dedications and write-ups surviving, must have been a truly exceptional performer. There are around 25 or so surviving compositions, mostly operatic style and charming miniatures. He was known to play Panormo guitars; Huerta was married to Panormo's daughter, thus G.L. Panormo was the father-in-law to Huerta y Katurla (1804 - 1875). There is a CD out with Huerta music by Stuart Green on a Panormo replica.
Available Repertoire:
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The Digital Guitar Archive has published an authoritative edition of Huerta titled "A. T. Huerta Life and Works". This edition is over 180 pages, including biographical information, photos, and around 25 compositions - the entire surviving guitar works extant at time of publication. As more works may yet surface, future volumes may be forthcoming. The printing is clear, bold, and urtext - highly recommended.
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Bibliography: James Radomski, "Trinidad Huerta y Caturla: First Spanish Virtuoso Guitarist to Concertize in the United States," Inter-American Music Review, vol. 15 (Summer-Fall 1996), no. 2, pp. 103-121.
Bio from Harmonicorde.com:
"Trinidad Huerta was acclaimed during his lifetime as "the Paganini of the guitar." He was highly praised by Hector Berlioz and Victor Hugo. A music critic for La revue musicale declared that Huerta was the best guitarist he had ever heard—even while Fernando Sor and Dionisio Aguado were performing in Paris. The Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung went further and claimed Huerta to be the greatest living guitarist. Yet Huerta is completely unknown to classical guitar audiences today. This probably resulted from a decline in his later years that brought him to die in poverty in Paris, forgotten there as well as in his native Spain.
Nonetheless, Huerta's achievements were considerable. Paris music critic Arthur Pougin (1834-1921) claimed that he wrote the "Himno de Riego," formerly the Spanish national anthem. Huerta was the first classical guitarist to concertize in the United States (1825) and he toured Spain, Portugal, England and France, and even traveled to the Middle East with Louisa de Rothschild. Contemporary critics were astounded by his technique and simultaneously applauded and criticized his trying to make the guitar a symphonic instrument. A century before Segovia, Huerta did much to overcome the stereotype of the guitar as an inferior instrument, only useful for strumming accompaniments to parlor songs. Berlioz, in his Grand Traité d'Instrumentation, advised "If one wants to get an idea of what virtuosos are able to achieve..., the compositions of such famous guitar players as Zanni de Ferranti, Huerta, Sor, etc. should be studied."
Judging from existing opus numbers, Huerta composed at least 64 works. Most of these, unfortunately, have been lost."
Note: GFA Soundboard carried a recent article about Huerta - including evidence of Huerta's birth date of 1800, not 1804. More details coming soon.
Ivan Klinger ( ? - 1897 )
- Klinger was a Russian general in the Czar's army, and a talented composer-arranger. Most of Klinger's pieces are written for an 8-string guitar, with 7th=D, 8th=A, and otherwise conventional 6-string tuning. All of his works from opus 1-12 are for normal 6-string guitar, with 8-string notes appearing in opus 13 when presumably the composer began using an 8-string guitar. All of the works are playable on a 6-string instrument by raising the octaves of these notes, often written as 8va. There are arrangements of Western European pieces like Schubert, as well as distinctly Russian-sounding works, somewhat in the style of Tchaikovsky or "Pictures at an Exhibition". These are late romantic, most similar to Regondi and Coste. Klinger's pieces are mostly intermediate to advanced, but not awkward. The fingerings are clever; they are innovative and different from the typical "Carulli patterns" found in so many pieces, and they demonstrate a thorough use and knowledge of the fingerboard. A write-up of Klinger can be found in the preface to the Regondi Ten Etudes published by Editions Orphee. It was Klinger who hand-copied the Regondi etudes, which became the sole known surviving copy of these pieces. Klinger also produced hand manuscripts of pieces by Mertz, and the famous Mertz Elegy was possibly arranged in its present form by Klinger, and indeed it shows the characteristic Drop D and Drop A notes but no other extended notes. In addition to arrangements, Klinger was a superb composer in his own right. Klinger was associated with Makaroff and the guitar society in St. Petersburg, a hub of guitar where Sor and Pettoletti among others stayed for years. Free music in printed and hand-written manuscript is available from REX, and a significant number of works in Boije.
Joseph Kuffner ( 1776 - 1856 )
Kuffner was a prolific composer and arranger for guitar, and large amounts of chamber music. Kuffner's music is targeted toward amateur players. Having read through stacks of his material, my assessment is that the music is of mediocre, but not bad, quality.
Luigi Legnani, 1790 - 1877
Biographical Information:
Legnani was a virtuoso composer, arranger, violinist, guitarist, and opera singer, mostly known for his duets with Paganini. The music is of very high quality, and is beginning to be performed with greater frequency in concert programs.
A portion of his output is probably lost, or buried. I am not aware that any opus numbers between 100 - 200 ever existed, and I do not know the reason for this gap. Most of Legnani's music is out of print or very hard to find. Unfortunately, only the 36 Caprices are widely available; although musically superb, these pieces were technical etudes - too challenging for most players. Most of Legnani's other music is superb, and should be given a closer look. Some publishers, such as UT Orpheus and Araniti Editions have published a few pieces. I am always trying to get my hands on as much as possible.
There are no known portraits of Legnani known to have survived. If anyone has one, please email me.
See also The Italian Guitar in the 19th-Century: Sixty biographies - Sixty biographies of Italian guitarist composers of Nineteenth century in alphabetic order (edited by Marco Bazzotti).
Biographical notes by George C. Krick.
Difficulty Level and Scope:
Legnani wrote mostly for solo guitar, with some output for other instruments such as flute and guitar. As was common practice, Legnani composed mostly arrangements or fantasies of operas or folk songs, in addition to a few original themes, and many theme & variation pieces. Operatic music, particularly Italian opera such as Rossini, comprises much of his output.
Legnani did not write easy music for beginners. The Etudes are challenging pieces, very advanced, and designed to one-up the Paganini violin etudes, which are commonly performed in concert programs by virtuoso concert artists today. Given the difficulty level of many of Legnani's concert pieces, he must have been an amazing performer of remarkable ability. Written accounts of Legnani from Vienna indicate that even in a city accustomed to such virtuosos as Giuliani, Legnani dazzled his audiences. Today, selected pieces by Legnani are often chosen by performing concert artists to showcase their ability and dazzle audiences. That said, not all his music is impossible to play, though much of it requires the technique of Eliot Fisk and is certainly beyond my ability or that of most amateurs. Several pieces are accessible, with effort and practice, to advanced amateur players. Other pieces are beyond the ability of most intermediate players. A nice set of 3 pieces with intermediate technique requirements is the "Tre Balli Nazionali" or "3 National Dances" available from REX. Even though many pieces may be difficult, they are high quality compositions and well worth the effort to study. They are not difficult just for the sake of being difficult, but rather, because the composer held high standards for the guitar and demanded the execution and skill of a classically trained violinist or pianist.
Available Repertoire:
23 works by Legnani are available for free PDF download from REX as well as more in Boije.. This includes solo, flute & guitar, and a few rarities including a few for 8-string guitar.
Several works by Legnani can be purchased at Fondazione Araniti Editions with PDF files sent by email.
The Spanish Guitar Centre in Nottingham UK has a lot of Legnani pieces, modern editions all sold individually.
Spanish Guitar Centre Legnani. Seems to be the same material published by UT Orheus (it was cheaper for me to buy direct from Orpheus).
UT Orpheus and (UT Orpheus English Page) has many Legnani editions, some of which are re-sold by Spanish Guitar Centre in Nottingham UK.
The GFA Archives has many of Legnani's surviving published works, including an arrangement of the William Tell Overture that everyone recognizes. Most of Legnani's output has not survived.
FFSI Collection of Classical Guitar Solos Contains a lengthy Caprice which is not part of the famous 36 Caprices.
Mazurka in A - published in a prior issue of Soundboard Magazine, and also released as part of the "Mazurka Collection" by Matthew Ardizzone, sold through Mel Bay Music Publishers.
The most famous set of pieces is the 36 Caprices, in all major and minor keys. This was probably a response to "one up" the Paganini 24 Caprices for violin. They are designed to be challenging etudes for the guitar, as a study of technique. Chanterelle through Mel Bay Music Publishers has a facsimile set, as does Ricordi. These are Legnani's most famous pieces.
There is a Grand Study available through Mel Bay Music Publishers, more or less a pot-pourri.
UT Orpheus - Italy Opus 1,3,4, and "Variazioni facili sopra un tema della Cenerentola". Another Italian site with a few pieces is GuitarOnline.IT. I'm not sure how to order from these sites though. If you know, please email me.
"Legnani/Rossini/Op. 2 Ouverture de l'Italien a alger" is available in the Guitar music in the Library of Congress.
Marco Bazzotti published a list of the printed works of Luigi Legnani. I have taken his list, cross referenced it against my own collection and Brian Jeffery's collection, plus a thorough search of Internet sources, to compile the following list which is more complete. If anyone has additions, corrections, or clarifications, please email me.
Professor Giuseppe Gazzelloni in Italy is a Legnani scholar who provided many details also. The professor also edited the Chanterelle Paganini complete guitar works.
* = Information from Prof. Giuseppe Gazzelloni, Italy
Dubious / possibly duplicate titles *:
0 RIDUZIONE D'OPERA
0 VARIAZIONI (guitar)
0 VARIAZIONI (guitar)
0 VARIAZIONI (guitar)
0 VARIAZIONI FACILI (guitar)
0 VARIAZIONI FACILI (guitar)
0 Duette für Flöte und Gitarre [G: "In my opinion, this title can be removed: only the “Cavatina d’Ernani”, the “Cavatina d’Elvira”, and the works 23 and 87 are found for flute and guitar so far".*]
0 Gran studio per la chitarra (same as op 60*)
0 Theme avec variations pour guitare, 6 pages Missing part of p. 4. [G: "In my opinion, this title can be removed: maybe one of the other works which appear in the list, for example, opus nos. 4, or 29 or 237".*]
0 Oh! quante lagrime (probably same as op 18/24).
43 Duo Concertante (flute & guitar) [G: "In my opinion, this title can be removed. I have no information about a “Duetto concertante” (flute & guitar) op. 43; perhaps it is op. 23"*]
Luigi Legnani Surviving Known Works:
Opus Title
0 Cavatina d’Elvira per chitarra sola *
0 Gran Sonata per chitarra *
0 Introduzione dell’Atto 2° nell’Opera Ernani per chitarra sola *
0 Sinfonia nella Gazza Ladra... per chitarra sola *
0 Cavatina d’Elvira ridotta per flauto e chitarra *
0 Fantasy on "Ernani" for flute & guitar [Cavatina d’Ernani...ridotta per flauto e chitarra*]
0 Tre balli nazionali [La Mazzurca, La Gitana, e La Cachucha*]
0 Variazioni dalla "Armida" [Variazioni su tema del Duetto...*]
0 Introduzione e Rondò
0 Variazioni facili sopra un tema della Cenerentola
0 Grand Caprice in D [This work is different from op. 6 and op. 34. The exact title (without opus number) is the following: “Gran Capriccio per chitarra sola”. It is the same work (WoOp) of “Grande Sonata quasi Fantasia” per chitarra) *]
0 36 Walzer / Thirty-six Short Valses [36 Valses di difficoltà progressiva*]
1 Terremoto con variazioni
2 Legnani/Rossini/Op. 2 Ouverture de l'Italien a Alger [Gran Sinfonia...*]
3 Gran ricercario o studio
4 Tema con variazioni sul terzetto "Pria che l'impegno" op. 4
5 Duetto Nell Opera L'Italiana in Algeri di Rossini [Duetto Ai Capricci della sorte...*]
6 Gran Capriccio
7 Cavatina "Languir per una bella"
8 Coro e rondo "Pensa alla patria" nell'opera "L'Italiana in Algeri" de Rossini
10 Scherzo con Variazioni [Scherzo / ossia / quattro Variazioni*]
11 Rondeau
12 Gran Variazioni sopra un Motivo Tirolese
16 Gran variazioni sul duetto, "Nel cor piu non mi sento," nell'opera "La Molinara"
18 & 24 2 themes de l'opera "La dame du lac": 1. Cavatine; 2. Marche favorite de Rossini
[Please note that the 2 themes are the op. nos. 18 & 24: Deux themes....1. Cavatine (Oh quante Lagrime), 2. Marche favorite. Also published separately with opus nos. 18 and 24 respectively*]
18 Cavatine (Oh quante Lagrime) de l'opera "La dame du lac" [also published together with op. 24*]
19 Fantasia
20 36 Caprices
21 Introduzione e variazioni per la chitarra sopra la cavatina favorita, "Sorte secondami," nell'opera "Zelmira," di Rossini
22 Variazioni sopra la Marcia nell'Opera Freyschutz di Weber
23 Duo Concertante Op. 23 (flute & guitar)
24 Variazioni sopra un tema della Donna del lago di Rossini [also published together with op. 18*]
25 Variazioni sopra un Tema di Schuster
26 Melange favori sur Zelmira et Corradino de Rossini et autres motifs originaux composes.
27 Grand Variations on an original theme [Introduzione / Gran Variazioni e Coda / sopra un tema originale...*]
28 Variazioni Concertanti Op. 28 (guitar & pianoforte)
[Please note that the exact title of this work - composed by Leidesdorf and Legnani - is the following: Variations Concertantes / sur / un Thême de Rossini / pour / Piano et Guitare / avec Accompagnement / de deux Violons, Alto et Basse / Par / Leidesdorf et Legnani / Œuv. 28 (de Legnani)*]
29 Theme avec variations brillantes et non difficiles
30 Variations Agreables sur la Romance favorite du Cendrillon "Non Piu Mesta Accanto al Foco"
31 Potpourri brillant
32 Potpourri en caprice
34 Gran Capriccio
40 Introduction, Theme, and Variations Dedicated to Pacini...
60 Gran Caprice Studio [“Gran Caprice ou Etude...” Please note that Prof. Gazzelloni edited a modern Urtext Edition (published by Chanterelle Verlag) of this work*]
61 Grande fantasia per chitarra sola
62 Introduzione e Rondò
63 36 Waltzes
64 Introduzione, tema, variazioni e finale: composit l'anno 1832 [The exact title is the following: Introduzione, /Tema, Variazioni / e Finale / per la / Chitarra Sola / composti da / Luigi Legnani / Opera 64*]
87 Gran Duetto Op. 87 (flute & guitar)
- I would speculate that Legnani did not publish any opus numbers in the 100's - perhaps he took a break, or for whatever reason decided to re-start with 201.
201 Fantasy on "Norma" (6 or 8 string)
202 Fantasy on William Tell (6 or 8 string)
203 Melodies National Hongroises (6 or 8 string)
204 Rondoletto scherzoso
222 Recueil des Mélodies modernes [Recueil des Melodies...*]
224 Introduction theme et variations
237 Introduction et theme
238 Gran pot-pourri: sopra alcuni motivi d'opere favorite
250 Method for the guitar & 6 Caprices from the Method [Metodo e 6 Capricetti per chitarra che servono di compimento dell’op. 250*]
Editor's Suggested Picks:
- Op. 32 - Potpourri en caprice - A very nice piece, sounds impressive but is quite playable. In my personal repertoire.
- Op. 24 - Variazioni .. Donna del Lago di Rossini - Playable and agreeable.
- Op. 10 - Scherzo - Flashy and fun to play, not as hard as it sounds, Paganini-like in style.
- Op. 20 - 36 Caprices. This tends to be all that most people know of Legnani. That said, these caprices are musically rich and present a study in virtuosity - they are perhaps the best advanced etudes written for the guitar, especially for interpretation. Each piece is short, 1 page.
- Op. 18 and also as no opus, Variations on Rossini Donna del Lago "Oh! quante lagrime" - A well-known Rossini theme, musically interesting, though the jumps result in cutting off the phrase at points - would make a nice duo.
- Op. 12 - Variations Tirolese - the Austrian folk song has 12 variations - a bit long, but a great etude, and playable.
- Op. 5 - Duetto Nell Opera L'Italiana in Algeri di Rossini - A very musical, good arrangement - challenging.
- Op. 21 - Variazioni nell'opera "Zelmira" di Rossini - A good set of variations.
- (no opus) - Tre balli nazionali - Three Dances, Mazurka, La Gitana, La Chachucha. For the intermediate guitarist, these short pieces should be in everyone's repertoire. The last two are dazzling Spanish dances.
- Op. 202 - Fantasy on William Tell by Rossini - The William Tell Overture is a piece everybody recognizes. This is a challenging work which deserves concert performances. For 6 or 8 string guitar.
- Op. 203 - Melodies National Hongroises - A concert fantasy on Hungarian themes, similar to Mertz' Hungarian Fantasy in style, but much longer and more varied. This deserves concert performances and recordings. For 6 or 8 string guitar.
- Op. 30 - Variations .. Cendrillon - Brilliant and dazzling but very playable - musically interesting, only 4 pages. Written for 6-string guitar, but sounds good on an 8-string with repeated D's and A's lowered an octave.
- Op. 29 - "Variations brillantes et non difficiles" - As it says, it sounds brilliant and dazzling, but "not difficult" - well, by his standards anyway, which means a good amateur player can tackle it - eventually.
- Op. 19 - Fantasia - Recorded and sometimes concertized - a dazzling, musically rich Fantasy. Virtuosic.
Frederik Carl Lemming (1782-1846)
Royal Chamber Musician of King Christian VI of Denmark. One piece survives, in Hebe on-line, which requires an advanced technique.
Biography of Lemming, by Jens Bang-Rasmussen.
Antoine de LHoyer (1768 - 1852)
 | Interest in LHoyer has risen lately, with an in-depth article and biographical information from Erik Stenstadvold and Mr. Ophee.
In LHoyer's day, various publications which list the top guitarists consistently rated LHoyer among the top 10, a well-deserved reputation, based on the quality of his published music. The chamber music in particular is outstanding, with duets and trios which are among the very best for the instrument. LHoyer's solo material is fairly difficult, but it exhibits a sparkle and "kick" which is characteristic of late 18th-century music, but with a distinctive flair and unique style. Early LHoyer pieces were written for the 5-string (or 5-course) instrument, with no notes lower than "A". Other pieces, the majority, are 6-string works. The revival of LHoyer's music is long overdue. |
The edition depicted is offered by Editions Orphee.
Minkoff offers an edition of facsimile works of Lhoyer. REX has 1 work for violin and guitar. There is a set of Nocturne guitar duets in Boije. Louis-Marie Duvillard (France) also adds that the "Grande sonate pour la guitare op. 12" and "Six exercices pour la guitare op. 27" from Antoine de Lhoyer are published by "Les éditions Buissonnières" in France (www.editions-buissonnieres.fr). Philippe Spinosi recorded the concerto from Lhoyer op. 16 in CD.
Nicholas Makaroff ( 1810 - 1890 ) - Russian noble and virtuoso guitarist. Makaroff left behind his fascinating Memoirs of Makaroff which are essential reading for anyone studying 19th century guitar. His music was extraordinarily demanding, nearly unplayable. Makaroff preferred the 8-string and later 10-string instrument. He is most famous for having a composer's contest, at which Mertz was awarded first prize post-humously, and Coste second prize. Several pieces are available for free PDF download from REX and Boije.
Wenzeslaus Matiegka (1773-1830)
"Most of the sonatas of Matiegka have a substance and compositional technique surpassing other guitar sonatas of that century, with the exception of the Paganini Grand Sonata. As these sonatas and much of the chamber music will attest to, Matiegka was a master of the large form. I do believe that recognition of his work will rank him in the future as far more important to the 19th century guitar literature than Sor or Giuliani. I think he and Mertz are the 2 great guitar composers of that century." - David Leisner, commenting on Matiegka and future plans to record the composer.
Agustín Maruri CD of Matiegka |
Matiegka was born in Bohemia, moving to Moravia, and in 1791 enrolled in the University of Prague as a law student. Matiegka's musical background and training was mostly violin, clave, voice, violoncello, and piano, in addition to the guitar. For this reason, much of his music is chamber music with guitar, in addition to solo guitar, which he learned later. In 1800, Matiegka became a professional musician, moving to Vienna, but was obliged to work in law. By 1817, Matiegka was established as a musician and guitar composer. After 1817, Matiegka worked in church appointments and sacred music. He died in 1830 and the age of 57 from a lung condition. Agustín Maruri provided the above biographical details and has recorded many of Matiegka's works on CD. |
Matiegka's solo guitar works were published mostly between 1805-1812, and the Grande Sonate 1 (see below) appearing in 1808. Matiegka wrote a great deal of chamber music, much of it now recorded by Agustín Maruri. Matiegka wrote full-scale works for guitar with various combinations of violin, viola, horns, clarinet, flute, cello, etc..
In addition to several Matiegka CD's by Matiegka's cd Agustín Maruri, other artists who have recorded Matiegka include a fine recording by Massimo Agostinelli, unfortunately out of print (Grande Sonate n°1, Fantaisie op 4, Sonate progressive op 17, Sonate op 23), and also the sonate op 16 by Reinbert Evers, a German guitarist.
Opus 22 was dedicated to Mauro Giuliani, which indicates a connection between these composers, both living in Vienna during this time. Mário Carreira has written an article comparing Matiegka's Sonata op. 23 for guitar solo with Haydn's piano sonata Hoboken XVI:32 on the Hebe Website: Article link. Carreira goes on to suggest a link between Haydn and Matiegka: "As can be seen by comparing the two sonatas, the pianoforte Urtext edition (Henle Verlag) does not have any performance indications, but the published edition of Matiegka's Sonata Op.23 has many clear dynamic markings and performance instructions. This detail could possibly be regarded as evidence of what the author himself may have seen and heard in Vienna in his time. Matiegka lived in Vienna from 1800 to 1830, so it is quite possible that he knew, perhaps in person, the composer Joseph Haydn, who died in the same city in 1809."
Carreira goes on to point out that Schubert arranged Matiegka's works: "The (Schubert) quartet D. 96 had for a long time been considered as Schubert's original, until the discovery of the 1807 edition of Matiegka's Notturno in Zell am See, Austria in 1932 by the guitarist Teodor Rischel."
Editor's note: I find the extended works of Matiegka to be fine master compositions that deserve recognition. The music is in a late 18th century style, following the models of Haydn and others, and very much of a 'classical period' genre. The modulations and development are particularly rich, and at times the music sounds to me almost Baroque in its melodic sequencing. Matiegka wrote many works for chamber orchestra including guitar, for example flute, viola, and guitar, as well as arrangements of Beethoven with guitar and other instruments. The solo guitar compositions seem orchestral in nature. They are as good as the works of Sor. The 'Grand Sonata #1' and 'Sonate, opus 23' stand out as my favorites. This Grand Sonata in particular stands out as one of the best guitar pieces ever written during the classical period.
Opus 23 can be found in the Hebe site for a small download fee. I was delighted to discover that both superb Grand Sonates, and the entire opus 20 of 24 pieces, and the opus 4 Fantasy are all available for free PDF download from REX and Boije.
Johann Kaspar Mertz, 1806 - 1856
Biographical Information:
From The Memoirs of Makaroff:
"...Mertz, whose manuscripts, not in my possession, represent the precious pearls of guitar repertoire! ...
Mertz was a tall man, about 50, neither fat nor thin, very modest and with no hint of
