History of the classical guitar

The history of the classical guitar and its repertoire spans over four centuries, including its ancestor the baroque guitar. Throughout the centuries, the classical guitar has evolved principally from three sources: the lute, the vihuela, and the Renaissance five-string guitar. The popularity of the classical guitar has been sustained over the years by many great players, arrangers, and composers. A very short list might include Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), Fernando Sor (1778-1839), Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829), Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909), Andrés Segovia (1893-1987), and John Williams (1941).

Origins - Renaissance

Origins

Instruments similar to what we know as the guitar have been around for at least 5000 years. The guitar appears to be derived from earlier instruments known in ancient central Asia as the tar. The word تار "tar" itself means "string" in Persian. This is claimed to be the root of the name of the guitar, as well as less widespread instruments such as the Indian sitar. Instruments very similar to the guitar appear in ancient carvings and statues recovered from the old Iranian capitol of Susa. The modern word, guitar, was adopted into English from Spanish "guitarra", derived from the Latin word cithara [Wilmer Cave Wright, P. (1907). A Short History of Greek Literature From Homer to Julian. American Book Company. pp. 93-95] from earlier Greek "kithara".

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, guitars with three, four, and five strings co-existed. The "Guitarra Latina" had curved sides and is thought to have come to Spain from elsewhere in Europe. The "Guitarra Morisca", brought to Spain by the Moors, had an oval soundbox and many sound holes on its soundboard.

By the fifteenth century, four double-string guitars, similar to lutes, became popular, and by the sixteenth century, a fifth double-string had been added. During this time, composers wrote mostly in tablature notation. Italy was the center of guitar world during the 17th century, and the Spanish school of guitar making only began to flourish late in the 18th century after the addition of the sixth string. During the 19th century, improved communication and transportation enabled performers to travel widely and the guitar became a widely known instrument.

Guitar music became especially popular in Spain and during the 19th century Antonio de Torres developed the Spanish guitar in its modern form, with a broadened body, increased waist curve, thinned belly, improved internal bracing, single string courses replacing double courses, and a machined peghead replacing wooden tuning pegs.

Renaissance - Classical music era

Renaissance guitars and vihuela

The gittern was a four-string instrument resembling a small lute or guitar used during the Renaissance. It is related to but is not a citole, another medieval instrument. The gittern was carved from a single piece of wood with a curved ("sickle-shaped") pegbox. An example has survived from around 1450. There was also a renaissance five-string guitar.

The vihuela is believed to be the main guitar of Italy. It had a smaller base and a shorter neck than is used today. The Spanish "vihuela" appears to be an intermediate form between the ancestral guitar and the modern guitar, with lute-style tuning and a small, but guitar-like body. It is not clear whether this represents a transitional form or simply a design that combined features from the two families of instruments. In favor of the latter view, the reshaping of the vihuela into a guitar-like form can be seen as a strategy of differentiating the European lute visually from the Moorish oud. (See the article on the lute for further history.)

Baroque guitar

Important guitar-makers included Nicholas Alexandre Voboam II, René Voboam, and Domenico Sellas. Main composers for the baroque guitar included Francesco Corbetta 1615–1681 (Spain), Gaspar Sanz (1640–1710 Spain), and Robert de Visée (c.1650–1725) (France).

Classical music era - contemporary guitar

"Romantic guitar" or "Guitar during the Classical music era"

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Instrument

The earliest extant six string guitar was built in 1779 by Gaetano Vinaccia (1759 - after 1831) ["The Classical Mandolin" by Paul Sparks (1995)] [ [http://www.earlyromanticguitar.com Early Romantic Guitar] ] in Naples, Italy. The Vinaccia family of luthiers is known for developing the mandolin. This guitar has been examined and does not show tell-tale signs of modifications from a double-course guitar. [ [http://www3.uakron.edu/gfaa/stalking.html Stalking the Oldest Six String Guitar] ] Authenticity of guitars before the 1790s is often in question. This also corresponds to when Moretti's 6-string method appeared, in 1792.

Technique

The guitar can be played in many ways. The strings can be plucked, strummed or even tapped.

Repertoire

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Notable composers:
*Luigi Boccherini 1743–1805

Romantic guitar

"(Introduction needed)"

Instrument

The Romantic Guitar has a much larger body giving it a soft deeper sound.

Technique

Repertoire

The first 'Golden Age' of the classical guitar repertoire. Composer-guitarists.

Notable composers:
*Mauro Giuliani 1781–1829
*Johann Kaspar Mertz 1806–1856
*Giulio Regondi 1822–1872
*Fernando Sor 1778–1839

Modern classical guitar

[
Agustín Barrios]

Instrument

Antonio de Torres Jurado, Ignacio Fleta, Hermann Hauser Sr., Robert Bouchet

Technique

Francisco Tárrega, Emilio Pujol, Andrés Segovia

Repertoire

In the 20th century, many non-guitarist composers wrote for the instrument, which previously only players of the instrument had done.
Francisco Tárrega, Roberto Gerhard (1896-1970), Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)

Contemporary classical guitar

Instrument

Modern concert guitars occasionally follow the Smallman design which replaces the fan braces with a much lighter balsa brace attached to the back of the sound board with carbon fiber. The balsa brace has a honeycomb pattern and allows the (now much thinner) sound board to support more vibrational modes. This leads to greater volume and longer sustain.

Greg Smallman, Matthias Dammann

Technique

Repertoire

Short list of significant compositions for the contemporary classical guitar. For a longer list see the article Selected contemporary repertoire for guitar.

*Luciano Berio Sequenza XI
*Elliott Carter Changes
*Aldo Clementi 12 Variazioni, Fantasia su frammenti di M.G.
*Franco Donatoni Algo, Åse (Algo II)
*Brian Ferneyhough Kurze Schatten II
*Alberto Ginastera Sonata
*Hans Werner Henze Royal Winter Music I and II
*Ernst Krenek Suite
*Bruno Maderna Y Después
*Tristan Murail Tellur
*Maurice Ohana Si le jour parait....., Tiento
*Giacinto Scelsi Ko-Tha
*Michael Tippett The Blue Guitar

Bibliography

*Wade, Graham, "Traditions of the Classical bris", London : Calder, 1980.
*Antoni Pizà: "Francesc Guerau i el seu temps" (Palma de Mallorca: Govern de les Illes Balears, Conselleria d'Educació i Cultura, Direcció General de Cultura, Institut d'Estudis Baleàrics, 2000)

External links

* [http://www.classicalguitarmidi.com/history/guitar_history.html Classical Guitar Illustrated History] by François Faucher on Classicalguitarmidi.com.
* [http://www.granary-guitars.com/ Classical Guitar Museum (UK)] www.guitars.com

References