The works included in this CD belong to a relatively unknown (and relatively under-appreciated) repertoire of the nineteenth century, i.e., the corpus of fantasies, variations, reminiscences, and paraphrases of melodies (original or otherwise) written by virtuoso guitarists of the time. This tradition is not exclusive to the guitar repertoire; on the contrary, it can also be found in the realm of other instruments such as the piano, the harp, and the violin, among others.

CGLGDSXIX    CD  2002

It must be pointed out that in the nineteenth century the writing of works based upon famous tunes by other composers was a time-honoured and widely accepted compositional device. Let us just mention Beethoven’s Variations upon Nel cor più non mi sento, Liszt’s Fantasie über zwei Motive aus W.A. Mozarts Die Hochzeit des Figaro G 697, both for piano and Chopin’s famous Variations sur La ci darem la mano opus 2 for piano and orchestra. Moreover, it should be borne in mind that before the era of recording people’s access to live performances of music was comparatively limited, and that it was through playing or listening to transcriptions, arrangements, and paraphrases like the ones included here that people was able to recall, remember and relive their beloved musical compositions.

The nineteenth century has left us many legacies, among them the romantic idea of the genius, the overestimation of originality and musical individuality, and the preference of content over form. Nevertheless, those are just a few elements that Western culture chose to inherit from the myriad ingredients that made up the complex musical world of the nineteenth century, and it would be unjust for us to measure all the music of that period taking only those criteria into account. Even though it is true that the nineteenth century witnessed the emergence of great composers who wrote works of Olympic proportions, and through which they aspired to convey timeless and lofty ideals shared by all humankind, it is also true that it was also the period that saw the commodification of music. Indeed, it was during the nineteenth century that the middle class first had real access to music, as witnessed by the development of public concerts, the burgeoning of domestic music making, and the growth of the music publishing industry.

The nineteenth century also saw a tremendous and unparalleled advance in the performing techniques of musical instruments. Thence emerged a new type of musician, the touring virtuosos, instrumentalists who toured the world dazzling the audiences with their brilliant fingerwork. These musicians usually played works of their own composition, which were especially designed for virtuoso display. It is in this context, and against these criteria that the works included here should be measured, valued and understood.

The music of the Hungarian-born composer Johann Kasper Mertz (1806-1858) has not been properly studied yet. Little is known about his life and works. The few and sometimes derogatory remarks that can be found in the literature are based on a small part of his output, which surely deserves further research. His Der Barbier von Sevilla, opus 8, no. 23, is a series of reminiscences of the most celebrated arias of Rossini’s opera (1816).

Luigi Castellaci was a guitar player and composer. He was born in Pisa in 1797, although he spent most of his life in Paris, where he settled in about 1820. His output consists of nearly two hundred works, most of them still unpublished. Among them we can find solo pieces for the guitar, guitar duets, songs with guitar accompaniment, and chamber music with guitar. His Variazioni Op. 35, sul tema Nel cor più non mi sento, were published in Paris in 1830. This most famous theme, from Giovanni Paisiello’s opera La Molinara (L’amor contrastato), premiered in 1788, was used by several composers during the nineteenth century as a basis for variations, among them Beethoven (opus 180), Paganini, Giuliani (opus 4 y opus 65), Legnani (opus 16), and Sor (opus16).

As is well known, Nicolò Paganini (1782-1840) was considered one of the greatest violinists of his time; he also played the guitar and wrote a considerable amount of works for this instrument. His famous Variations on Carnival of Venice were composed in about 1829, and are probably based upon a popular Neapolitan tune of the time. The guitar transcription included in this recording was made by Francisco Tárrega towards the end of the nineteenth century.

Born in Barcelona in 1778, the Catalonian guitarist and composer Fernando Sor hardly needs introduction, especially within the world of guitar amateurs. His works for the guitar reveal his solid training in composition, counterpoint and harmony, which he acquired as a pupil at the Escolanía del Monasterio de Montserrat. He was regarded by his contemporaries as the first guitarist-composer to use actual part-writing. Particularly felicitous among his compositions are his themes with variations, such as his opus 9, Variations on a theme of Mozart, his opus 16, upon Paisiello’s Nel Cor più non mi sento and the less-known opus 7, on an original theme, included in this recording.

The Sérénade pour la guitare La Chasse Des Sylphes, opus 30, by French guitarist and composer Napoleon Coste (1806 -1883) is another example of the nineteenth-century virtuoso tradition, and one that clearly reveals the mastery of the instrument achieved by its composer. This work was written for an international music contest organised by the Russian guitarist Nikolai Makaroff in 1856. Coste submitted four compositions, among them the Sérénade, which was awarded the second prize (the first was given to Mertz’s Concertino). Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Coste’s music lost favour among guitar players, a situation that only recently has started to reverse. His oeuvre still awaits serious study.

Regarded as a prototype of guitar Romanticism, Giulio Regondi was born in Italy (probably Genoa) in about 1822; in 1830 his family settled in Paris. A child prodigy, he started giving concerts when he was eight years old. Throughout his life he played in the major cities of Europe, among them London, Vienna, Munich, Frankfurt, Darmstaadt, Prague and Leipzig. He died in London in 1872. His Reverie, Notturno per chitarra opus 19, reveals —as most of his oeuvre does— the needs and interests of guitar virtuosos of his time.

Perhaps due to musical and musicological fashions, which sometimes influence the taste formation of audiences and players, and undoubtedly because of the tremendous technical demands they impose on the performer, a significant amount of the works included in this recording had been absent from the main guitar repertoire for nearly a century. It is Carlos Groisman’s merit to have brought them back to guitar aficionados and scholars, and we cannot but congratulate him for it.

Melanie Plesch-Buenos Aires University.