Nov 21 2007
Barrios page added
If you’ve seen the film “The Mission” and perhaps became curious about the Indian tribe depicted in the film, the Guarani, who made such beautiful music…
Photo by Lakerae of flickr.
I made a page on this site about Agustin Barrios Mangore, one of the most famous descendents of the Guarani race. I have always been fascinated by the guitar works of this man, whose colourful exotic rhythms are often interspersed with romantic melodies, evoking emotions of merriment, and yearning lament.
It’s sometimes a sad thing that a number of guitar commentators seem to denigrate those who wrote for guitar, such as Sor, Guliani, Barrios, Coste, citing them as inferior composers to likes of Beethoven, Bach and Rachmaninov. This because they wrote for guitar and not much else (or nothing else) Yet, I never hear Harpsichord players denigrate Scarlatti, in the light of Bach, for example. The works of both men are there to be enjoyed.
Why then, is there this self destruct element among guitarists? Snobbery perhaps? Or is it as I suspect, WOULD be guitarists, the critics, who pick on names like Barrios, claiming that, simply because he only wrote for guitar, he is “inferior” to likes of Villa Lobos, who was prolific in orchestral terms. Perhaps it is because the solo guitar reportoire is cut off from other instruments that makes some people cynically rebuke those who wrote soley for guitar, the snide inference often being that these composers had in Segovia’s words, “not the proper training in music”.
If Segovia felt like that I sometimes wonder why he did not do more to attempt to commission the likes of Rachmaninov, Ravel, to write for guitar, instead of courting only his compatriots such as Morreno Torroba, Turina, and friends like Tedesco, Tasman for example. These symphonic composers wrote many fine additions to our reportoire, but in terms of “great composers” most will place them far below Ravel and Rachmaninov. In this way, Segovia was perhaps as “guilty” as those he accuses others of being, that is overlooking the musical greats, in favour of persuing guitaristic elements.
I think all those who made contributions deserve to be heard, and on an equal footing. I’ve heard Julian Bream play Sor right before playing Bach, and Sor was not disgraced in any way. My pages on this site is intended to celebrate the works of those who wrote for guitar, who’s dedication to the instrument created an enrichment to the reportoire, and inspired new composers to take up the pen for the instrument.
