1

Addison Perkins

Baroque Period in Music

Dr. Markham

05/18/2018

The Baroque Guitar and its Repertoire

When studying or discussing the repertoire of the Classical Guitar, it is hard to avoid

noticing that there are several large gaps in its timeline. While the guitar enjoyed serious popularity in

the late eighteenth century and again throughout the twentieth century, the late nineteenth century

saw somewhat of a drought for the instrument. The Baroque period is widely thought of as another

time of drought for the instrument. However, this is untrue. Baroque Guitar (also known as the five-

course guitar) music has been largely overlooked by performers in the past, and is now presumed all

but irrelevant. Most non-guitarists are not even aware the guitar existed in the Baroque period, let

alone had its own repertoire.

Music composed for the Lute has been arranged for the modern guitar and now forms

much of the concert cannon for this period. These are fantastic pieces that offer guitarists technical

and musical challenges which will only serve to make them better musicians. But only utilizing a

handful of composers is a bit short sighted and ultimately damages, not only the students of the

modern guitar, but the legitimacy and survivability of the instrument itself. These pieces should be

studied in tandem with the repertoire of the Baroque Guitar in order to expand the concert cannon.

In order to prove that point this essay will examine several elements of the Baroque Guitar in detail.
 2

First, there will be a discussion of the history of the instrument to gain a better appreciation

for the long life of the guitar and its many roles in society, from the “guitars in bars” scene to those

composers who were employed by the nobility of Europe. Understanding the history of the

instrument will also help establish the guitar as an instrument of high art, such as the lute or

harpsichord. Next, will be an examination of the instrument itself and its idiomatic nature. It is here

that the different stringing’s of courses and tablature will be discussed. This will illuminate the

options given to performers when arranging the music of the Baroque Guitar for the modern

instrument. Finally, this essay will take a closer look at three composers of different nationalities to

display the variety of music composed for the instrument, discussing their styles, positions held in

courts as well as a brief analysis of some of their pieces.

The first composer comes from the early Baroque Italian school; Francesco Corbetta.

Though Corbetta held positions throughout Europe, he is the foremost Italian guitar composer of

the time and provides an excellent example of that school. The second composer was a student of

Corbetta and provides our example of the French school; Robert de Viseé. De Viseé injected a

French take to what he learned from Corbetta and, in doing so, became one of the leaders of the

French school. The final composer which will be discussed is Santiago de Murica of Spain. Though

Murica had decidedly French influences, he incorporates Spanish elements which serve to create an

entirely new approach to the Baroque Guitar. Through this study of the Baroque Guitar and its

repertoire this essay will prove that this music is valid in itself and deserving to be studied and

shared alongside music composed for the lute - thereby, expanding the Baroque era repertoire of the

modern instrument, solidifying its place in the canon of concert works, and contributing to the

historical knowledge of guitarists the world over.

The guitar is a much older instrument than many realize. Though it has gone through several

transformations over the years, the identity of the instrument has remained intact. Some of the
 3

earliest published guitar music that survives today is from 1546 and was written for the predecessor

of the Baroque Guitar (five-course guitar), the Renaissance Guitar (four-course guitar),

although there are descriptions of instruments called guitars from the Iberian Peninsula in the

fifteenth-century (Tyler).

During the sixteenth century the four-course guitar was gaining popularity in the courts of

Spain, Italy, France and England. Guitar music was not only popular in the royal courts, it was also

popular with the common folk and armature musicians as well. This was because it was easy to

strum simple chords and sing along to the favorite tunes of the time, as with the guitars of today.

Guitar often became the background music of taverns, home life and the town square.

In modern times, the guitar is largely associated with Spain, but in fact the four-course guitar

was given the most attention in France where it was the preferred instrument of King Henry II, a

fact which is made even more interesting when one considers he became acquainted the instrument

during his four years as a hostage in Spain (Tyler). French composers wrote pieces ranging from

simple exercises and tunes for the home place to technical concert works designed to show the

performers skill. Similar repertoires were developed in Spain, Italy and England, though none quite

to the extent of France.

It was at this time that the vihuela was popular as well. A six-course guitar-like instrument,

the vihuela was more closely associated with the lute and was most often used in sacred music.

Though many talented performers were trained on the vihuela, by the dawn of the seventeenth-

century many of them had turned to the five-course Baroque Guitar (Koonce). When one considers

that the Baroque Guitar was still a relatively new instrument at this point, the fact that many

preferred it over the vihuela speaks about not only its popularity but the quality of the music being

written for it. Some of the earliest surviving music for the five-course guitar was published in 1554,

meaning it had some overlap with its four-course predecessor.

Guitar was a serious instrument and it was highly respected by the European nobility, King

Louis XIV and his count composer Jean-Baptist Lully were both avid fans and students of the

instrument (Noad). The guitar was able to fulfil a variety of musical roles due to the variety of the

instrument itself. While five-courses had become common practice in the seventeenth-century, the

stringing of said courses varied from region to region, and in some cases from composer to

composer.

Possibly the largest challenge faced while arranging the music of the baroque guitar for the

modern instrument does not come from the music itself, but rather from the nature of the Baroque

Guitar. The Baroque Guitar’s music was not written using the notation of today but rather a

tablature systems which used a combination of numbers, letters and rhythmic values. The tablature

systems were invented to allow guitarists to quickly and easily read music, not unlike figure bass for

harpsichord. Tablature systems, like the stringing of courses, were not standardized and there are

several systems with which arrangers of today must be familiar. The first is the Italian Tablature

system, which was used in Italy and Spain (Tyler).

The Italian Tablature system uses a stave of five lines, one to represent each course. The

fifth course, which would be closest to the performer when holding instrument and looking down, is

at the top of the staff. The next course is represented by the line second to the top of the stave and

so on, making the highest pitched course the lowest line on the staff. The Italian system uses

numbers placed on specific lines to represent which fret should be depressed on which course,

much like the tablature used today. So, if there is the number zero on the top line, the performer

would know to play the fifth course unfretted, or open.

The rhythm is notated by different note values which appear at the top of the staff. Unlike

the notation of today, in which each notes rhythmic value is individually notated, Italian tablature

would give a rhythmic value and the performer understood that each note was given that value until
 5

another value was given. For instance, if a quarter note was given at the beginning of a piece, then

the performer would know each note after that lasted for a quarter note until another rhythmic

value, say an eighth note, was given. The following example shows basic Italian Tablature and its

corresponding standard notation:

Example 1: page, 9, A Guide to Playing the Baroque Guitar, James Tyler.

The second system of tablature was used for quickly reading chords and was frequently used

in conjunction with the Italian system. Alfabeto, for this was the systems name, is a serious of chord

shapes that have been assigned to different letters of the alphabet. It is vital to understand that the

names given to the chords in the Alfabeto system do not correspond to their functional harmony

(Tyler). This means that the A shape does not mean play an A major chord, in fact the A shape in

Alfabeto is actually a G major chord. Though this might seem confusing to modern performers at

first, after some practice it becomes very easy to manage and rather helpful for sight-reading. This

system became extremely popular and was used for basso, accompanying vocalists, as well as

chamber and solo pieces. Because of how the guitar was tuned most of these chord shapes could be

moved up or down the fretboard and retain their harmonic quality, and this is true with the guitars

of today. If a chord shape was moved from its original fretting the move would be notated with the

desired fret number appearing above or beside the Alfabeto letter. The example below shows several

of the Alfabeto chords, both in their original fretting and an alternative fretting with their
 6

corresponding standard notation.

Example 2: page 21, A Guide to Playing the Baroque Guitar, James Tyler.

The final system of tablature is known as French Tablature and was mostly used in France,

England and Germany (Tyler). French Tablature is nearly the exact opposite of the Italian system,

though in the late baroque the French system did incorporate Alfabeto. It also used a staff made of

five lines, one for each course. In the French system the fifth course was represented by the lowest

line. The French system used letter to represent the desired fret in the place of numbers (with A

representing an open string, B the first fret, C the second fret, ect), the letters were also placed just

above the line representing the desired course instead of directly on the line. While the rhythm

dictation was largely similar to that of the Italian, the French didn’t use the note symbols we are so

familiar with today. Instead this system used a dash with various flags to represent rhythmic values.

No flags indicated a whole note, one flag indicated a half note, two flags a quarter, three flags an

eighth, and four flags a sixteenth. The example given below shows basic French Tablature and its

corresponding standard notation.

Example 3: page 12, A Guide to Playing the Baroque Guitar, James Tyler.

Those who wish to arrange the music of the Baroque Guitar must understand these tablature

systems, though these systems are only useful if the arranger knows which stringing and tuning the

composer was using. Otherwise the numbers and letters are meaningless, because if an arranger did

not know what pitches the open strings were tuned to then the fret numbers could mean any

combination of notes. One may take comfort in the fact that most of the guitar music we have from

this period was published as collections. At the beginning of these collections the composers would

often (but not always) describe the intended stringing and tuning of the guitar as well as their

personal take on notation such as trills, mordents and the like. These descriptions became a kind of

Rosetta stone with which todays scholars can translate the tablature into standard notation.

Although the tablature is translated to standard notation, it must still be considered an arrangement

because of the issue of the Baroque Guitars re-entrant tuning (Koonce).

Re-entrant tuning is a system of tuning in which the course of the guitar are tuned in

intervals of rising and falling patterns, rather than the pitches becoming successively high, as with

the modern guitar (Koonce). Because of the re-entrant tuning the Baroque Guitar has a unique

sound that is not often found outside of the guitar family. Not only were the courses tuned in rising

and falling patters, but it was also common practice for the fourth and fifth courses to be tuned in

octaves while the other courses were tuned to unions. While both strings of the first, second and

third courses were made from one material and were the same thickness, the octave tunings of the

fourth and fifth courses required a thicker string were usually made of steel. The example below

depicts a commonly used re-entrant tuning in which the fourth and fifth courses have been tuned in
 8

octaves while the first, second and third courses are tuned in the standard unisons.

Example 4: page 5, A Guide to Playing the Baroque Guitar, James Tyler.

The re-entrant tuning and octave displacement of the Baroque Guitar work together to

create what is known as the inversionless chord (Koonce). Though technically the chord will be in

one inversion or another, the ear is tricked into mishearing the voicing and not being able to

distinguish a proper bass. Not only does this serve to make the sound of the instrument extremely

unique and interesting, it also affords arrangers an opportunity they might not have when arranging

the music of other instruments.

Inversionless chords (weather they are played as a block, arpeggiated, or sounded through

contrapuntal movement) often allow the arranger their choice of octave in the bass. This

opportunity is afford by the octave stringing of the fourth and fifth courses (see example 4). Some

arrangers will choose to drop the bass note down the octave when possible as well as keeping all the

notes of the original composition. The reason for this is because it makes use of the modern

instruments bass strings, creating the illusion of a bigger and louder sound by creating more distance

between the voices. Arrangers will sometimes be able to choose which inversion the chord appears

in. Though this happens much less frequently because the arranger must still work under the laws of

counterpoint, voice leading and the physical limitations of the modern instrument. As the Baroque

Guitar only had five courses this type of arrangement is more accessible than that of many lute

pieces. Other arrangers try to keep the music as close to the original as possible, in order to provide
 9

a more historically accurate arrangement. Though, if a historically accurate performance is what one

desires, they might be better served to play the piece on a recreation of a Baroque Guitar and share

this music as it would have originally been heard. Both methods of arranging are valid and deserve

to be shared with the general public. While understanding the various tablature systems, tunings and

stringing’s may seem demanding at first, these challenges are soon easily overcome, allowing any

guitarist to study and arrange the music of the Baroque Guitar if they so wish. Now that the

instrument itself has been discussed it is time to turn to the music which was written for it, and the

composers who created its beautiful art.

Francesco Corbetta (c. 1612-1681) was one of the most revered guitarists of the time and is

possibly the best example of the Italian School for the Baroque Guitar. Corbetta began his career by

teaching at the University of Bologna, where he also published the first, of several, collections of

guitar pieces in 1639 entitled Scherzi Armonici (Diaz). Corbetta, by all accounts, was an amazing

performer as well as an accomplished composer. He performed all throughout Europe, adding to his

fame and collecting inspiration from the different music’s he heard. While in Spain Corbetta met

Spanish guitarist and composer Gaspar Sanz (Diaz). His work quickly gained notoriety, making him

a hot commodity in the royal courts throughout Europe. Corbetta took advantage of his fame

attaining positions at the courts of; Carlo II the Duke of Mantua, Archduke of Brussels Leopold

Wilhelm, King Louis XIV (The Sun King) of France, where he appeared alongside the King in a

ballet led by Jean-Baptiste Lully (Tyler).

Finally Corbetta moved to England and the court of King Charles II (Diaz). Charles II was

both a fan and student of the guitar, so naturally he enjoyed Corbetta’s work very much. It was to

King Charles II that one of Corbetta’s greatest compositions is dedicated,” La Guitare Royale” dated

1670. This masterpiece is a dance suite in G minor containing a Prelude, Allemande, Sarabande and

Gigue. Today a dance suite for the guitar seems fairly common place, but at the time of its
 10

composition, “La Guitare Royale” was one of the first guitar pieces to ever make use of this form

(Diaz). Because of its historical significance it is a perfect piece to examine for the purposes of this

essay. During the Baroque era tonality was a rather new concept and counterpoint was still, largely,

the law of the land. In measures five and six of the Allemande Corbetta moves beautifully through a

sequence by arpeggiating the tonic, mediant, and first inversion submediant chords. Due to the

moderate tempo in which an Allemande is usually be played, this is a rather short lived moment.

But, it still makes an impact on the audience, thus making it a perfect example of the quality of

Corbetta’s compositions. The following is an arrangement of measures four through six of the

Allemande.

Example 5: “La Guitare Royal”, Allemande, mm.4-6. Corbetta, ed. Diaz.

This arrangement by Alirio Diaz makes use of the bass strings of the modern instrument, as

previously discussed. Because of the idiomatic similarities between the modern and baroque guitars

Diaz is able to keep all of the original notes and use the wider range of the modern instrument while

not depending too much from the performer. This arrangement provides a perfect example of what

studying this repertoire has to offer the modern guitarist. Not only is it a beautiful piece of music

but it offers students the chance to expand the canon of baroque concert works while

simultaneously learning more about the instrument they’ve devoted some much of their time too.

Corrbetta is not the only composer whose works offer these opportunities. Robert de Visée

is a fantastic example of the French style. As with everything in France during his life, Louis XIV

was the center of music, and while Corbetta was working in the court of Versailles, he began

teaching Robert de Visée, who would go on to become his most famous student. De Visée took up
 11

Corbetta’s position in the court after Corbetta left Versailles. The music that de Visée wrote is

considered some of the most polished and well-crafted of the period (Tyler). During the 1940’s,

when the music of this era began gaining popularity, de Visée’s music as among those to be

frequently played despite the relatively few of his works had been published (Scheit). As more

facsimile editions of his works have been printed, his works have only grown in popularity (Tyler).

De Visée’s Suite in D Minor is a great example of his work and is one of his best known

compositions. This dance suite contains a; Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue,

Gavotte, Bourrée, Menuet, Passacaille, and finally a second Menuet, the formal struture is a

reflection of the significance of dance in French culture. As mentioned in the discussion of

Corbetta, King Louis XIV was a fan and student of the guitar. So it stands to reason that de Visée

would have put a large amount of effort into a suite to which the King himself might dance, or at

the very least might hear. In measures seven through nine of the Gavotte, de Visée introduces a

descending bassline which becomes the basis of the rest of the movement. It is tempting to hear this

line as a lament bass but the ear quickly realizes it is not because it does not move from the tonic

down to the dominate. As the bass is descending, the soprano voice forms a beautiful melody. De

Visée uses both voices to create a carefully controlled contrapuntal line of thirds and sixths,

displaying the high level of composition of which he is capable.

Example 6: Suite in D minor, Gavotte, mm. 7-9, de Visée, ed. Scheit.

It is this combination of grace in form and control of counterpoint which makes Robert de Visée’s

music so magnificent. These are some of the elements of the French style that Santiago de Murcia

melded which is own Spanish influence to create his unique sound.

Born in Madrid around 1682, Santiago de Murica was the son of musicians of the royal court

of Spain (Koonce). Murica himself was educated by the headmaster of the royal choir school and the

royal chapel as well as by Antonio Literes, the French composer and bass-viol player (Koonce). His

study with Antonio Literes accounts for elements of French style that would later be incorporated

into his compositions. Murica soon became well known and traveled to Naples in 1702 where be

gained the position of “Guitar Master to the Queen”. The Queen in question was María Lusia

Gabriela de Savory, the wife of King Philip V, who in turn was the grandson of Louis XIV of

France (Koonce). Murica held this position until the Queens death in 1714. It is not known where

Murica went next after his dismissal from the Spanish court, though it is thought he traveled France

or Belgium and to the New World (Yates). All of Murica’s collections of music have been found in

Mexico, though it is unclear if he brought them himself or if they were carried to the New World by

another party (Yates). Still, little is known of his personal life. Murica’s musically works speak for

themselves.

The Suite in D Minor is one of his best known work and was made famous when famed

twentieth-century guitarist Julian Bream made it a part of his standard concert repertoire. The two

part prelude comes in a slow and fast section and was one of Murica’s favorite pieces (Koonce). In

measures twelve through fourteen, which takes place in the slow section, there is a chain of

suspensions in the upper voices. Murica displays a perfect example of fourth species counterpoint as

well as beautiful musical taste. This chain never fails to capture the ear and makes use of the guitars

unique ability for closely voiced chords.

Example 7: Suite in D Minor, Preludio, mm.12-14, de Murica, ed. Koonce.

This beautiful moment is a prime example of why Murica’s music continues to captivate performers

and audiences today.

The Baroque Guitar’s repertoire is, without a doubt, underplayed in today’s concert

repertoire. While the lute music of Bach and Dowland are fantastic works, and should be studied by

modern guitarist, they should not be only pieces that make up the canon for the baroque era. By

studying the history, idiomatic similarities and musical works of the Baroque Guitar, it quickly

becomes clear that the current lute monopoly is short changing students of the modern guitar. The

works of composers such as Francesco Corbetta, Robert de Visée and Santiago de Murica are well-

crafted and beautiful pieces, earning them the right to be studied and performed just as often as their

lute counterparts.
 14

Bibliography

Corbetta, Francesco. La Guitare Royale. Suite In Sol Minore. Edited by Alirio Diaz. Padova, Italy.

G Zanibon, 1976.

De Visée, Robert. Suite In D Minor. Edited by Karl Scheit. Wien. Universal Edition, 1944.

Noad, Frank. The Baroque Guitar. New York. Ariel Music Publications, 1974.

Tyler, James. The Early Guitar, A History And Handbook. London. Oxford University Press, 1980.

Tyler, James. A Guide To Playing The Baroque Guitar. Bloomington Idiana. Indiana University Press,

2011.

Koonce, Frank. The Baroque Guitar In Spain And The New World. Pacific Missouri. Mel Bay

Publications, Inc., 2006.

Yates, Stanley. The Baroque Guitar: Late Spanish Style As Represented By Santiago De Murica In The Saldivar

Manuscript (1732). Denton Texas. University of North Texas Press, 1993.