AGUADO IS ON FASHION!

麒麟小兵

哪位有时间翻译一下，一位国外吉他爱好者的来信

    An inquest performed by the magazine Mundo Guitarristico (Guitar World) in 1977, among more than a hundred performers of classic guitar, gathered accidentally in an improvement course, resulted in the detection of two clearly different tendencies with reference to the guitar interpretation: the timbring ones and the phrasing ones.

    Much has been discussed over this classification, specially with reference to names. The inquest determined that the timbring ones, openly admirers of Andres Segovia, stated their difference -among a set of more than dozen characteristics- by the timbre goal, which required the intensive use of timbre in the guitar, as fundamental performing recourse. Other traits was the rejection of non-guitar transcriptions, the performer's subordination to the aesthetic goals, rejection of instrumental variations which impair the guitar essence, using guitar as a soloist instrument, rejection of avant-garde music as not being adequate for guitar, total systematization of the technical resources for timbre accomplishments, etc.

    On the other end the phrasing ones insisted in the stylistic goal, for this purpose they insisted as the main performance requirement, the structural analysis of phrasing and completed the list of recommendations with the transcription adequacy to stylistic needs, they stressed the mission of the guitar interpreter within the society ensemble, accepted ancient instruments and other instrumental variations as adequate to stylistic goals, they sustained the guitar integration as chamber instrument, they accepted the vanguard as a style of the music history and pushed for the total systematization of instrumental resources to adequate them to stylistic aims.

    A good exercise of auto-analysis that our faithful readers can perform is to determine within the tendency that they favor, having into account the above mentioned characteristics.

    The principal objection opposed to this classification was of nomenclature. It was sustained that the word "phrasing" was imperfect and did not reflect clearly the position of these guitar players and alternate names were proposed such as stylists, scholars, academics, cultured, etc. The eminent denomination which in these bulletins we use , even with variations, has the origin in this classification.

    But whichever the name applied to these two aesthetic positions, all along 30 years it is clear that timbring and the phrasism are two tendencies of the guitar interpretation in Argentina.

    With the reservations of the preceding determined nomenclature and that we eventually share, we are using the imperfect but popular phrasist denomination to identify those guitar players which share the characteristics determined before.

    Periodically the opposition arises. Either the timbring players praise until excess some guitar player that fulfils the requirement established or the phrasing players inclined reverently to those performers who supposedly respect with the historic severity the stylistic characteristcs of authors interpreted. In these cases, whatever contributes to the recreation of original situation, seems to drive to aesthetic delirium.

    In this issue we would like to comment to our readers a direct consequence of this endless a direct consequence of this endless opposition between timbring and phrasist players, which have resulted in an unexpected fact - but most satisfactory of the guitar life in Buenos Aires: the re-discovering of the maximum universal guitar figure: Mr. Dionisio Aguado and his famous guitar Method.

    Surprisingly Aguado is in full fashion.

AGUADO TIMBRIST?

    To understand fully to what it has happened it is important to design panoramically the situation of the guitar player -extended to all instrumental players- in Argentina, which no matter the crisis situation of the country, could be applied to many developed countries.


  1.. Decadence of the institution "public concert"

  The public concert, where a soloist presents himself to the public who pays an entry to listen to him, it is in true decadence or if one tries to frame it, to reduce it to its minimum limits. This does not mean that music is not listened. Other technological methods, recording C.D., DVD, TV have surpassed the professional barrier and are presently a common patrimony. To go to a public concert is not essential to listen to music and only a minimum of society does so.


  2.. New professional guidance for the soloist musician.

  The soloist guitar player, whose principal activity is centered in his presentation "live" is replaced by a recorded musical reproduction and consequently addresses his work toward other related activities, as surviving method. One of the them is the integration with musical groups (ancient music, popular ways like tango, jazz, folk, contemporary cultivated music, etc.) addressed to some specialized activity which allows them to perform a practice and at the same time to deepen their knowledge in the field.


  3.. Competition obliges to excelling and specialization.

    The deepening of knowledge, the use of extra-musical resources and research in collateral fields or related to the musical activity are ways used regularly by musicians as a need of the new stage of music at the beginning of XXI century.

    It is within this situation frame that different guitar groups proliferated in Buenos Aires, which deepened research towards musical interpretation and the timbre tendency increased its perspective towards Dionisio Aguado works and his Method for guitar.

    One of the strongest arguments is its reaction against the T醨rega School, stressing the fact that the dazzlement it produced at the beginning of 1900, darkened the vision of the past, specially the classic school, for which it was completely uninterested. This position has among its important theoreticians Professor Emilio Colombo, co-author of an important methodology for the guitar study based on the Manuel Lopez Ramos school and that in the N?105 issue of Guitar World it was published an essay over "..in my work as guitar player and teacher, I never arrived to enough arguments that would me consider Master T醨rega's contribution as a school". Obviously, Prof. Colombo is a severe critic of the phrasing position.

    The timbre ones have discovered in Aguado's method a support never dreamed over the use of timbre. Aguado states in his method "each chord offers variety in the sound quality, according to the way the right hand fingers play it and this variety is greater when touched with the nails. Playing the same chord with the thumb and after with any of the other fingers, an important difference in the quality of sounds is noticeable" (Aguado in italics).

    This Aguado statement that makes the timbre ones crazy is ratified all along the method and justifies amply to incorporate Aguado to their favor.

    Which was the cause that this aspect was not noticed before? Supposedly it is the T醨rega school to blame, specially the version of Aguado method of A. Sin髉oli (Ricordi Ed.) which faced the revision from T醨rega's propositions, leaving aside the timbre elements of the classic school.

    To the war front, there are the luthiers with their modern guitars, which allow the timbre performance, and give the necessary sound volume for the achievement of enchanting pieces.

    But the battle only begins.

AGUADO IS A PHRASING ONE!

    Entirely affirmative, the phrasing ones support their position firmly. Looking into the folds of the historic investigation, the background supporting their interpretation, is related to the method's edition around 1825, with the incorporation to the guitar the new elements of German instrumental music which counterparted the opera way reigning during the XVIII century. And they find their foundation in the incorporation to the guitar interpretation, of the dynamic resources in clear counterposition to the supremacy of the harpsichord that could not perform them due to physical placement of the instrument and also as an effort towards putting the guitar at the same level of the growing influence of the "pianoforte" which started to enjoy public preferences.

麒麟小兵

go on :



    The respect for style makes them revise the Aguado method from this new point of view and to recreate the music of that period with the utmost severity. Likewise the group formed by Juan Muzio, Gabriel Schebor and Igor Herzog, stressing the stylistic fidelity, performed a concert under the heading "The art of playing - The chord played throughout history" in a small concert hall of Buenos Aires, interpreting renaissance and baroque works in renaissance guitars of four orders, lute of 10 orders, big lute (tiorba), and baroque guitar of 5 orders. The concert's utmost moment came with the excellent guitar player Walter Ujaldon who with a XIX century guitar, reproduction of a Grobert model, Paris 1820, played brilliantly la Rossiniana op. 119 of Mauro Giuliani. This performance surpassed phrasing expectations as all the instruments were made according to epoch patterns by Juan Muzio who is an interpreter and also luthier.

    The phrasing tendency is distinguished by a deep historic research and has excellent representatives among teachers and players. In the first Guitar Festival cycle organized by the High Music Conservatoire "Manuel de Falla" of Buenos Aires, guitar player Prof. Monica Heirtz and Prof. Jos?Verdi, teacher of chamber music of this prestigious institute, participated in a joint meeting where they analyzed the technical, aesthetic and instrumental resources of works and authors of the 1800 and "rendered the possibility to review the known repertoire of the corresponding authors" according to presentation program under heading "answer to a change: a challenge to the contemporary guitar player". Within the chosen repertoire it appeared the famous duo of Souvenir de Russie de Sor, fragments of Carulli and Giuliani and of course Dionisio Aguado. From this last author it was pointed out specially the interpretation details, particularly referred to movement of the works played "a solo".

    But what was powerfully called upon was the attention of the hearing group of listeners, there were the instruments played in two guitar classic period reproduction of issues 1827 performed by Prof. Jose Verdi luthier and lute playing.

THE ENDLESS DILEMMA

    The question of timbrists-phrasists is turned non-solvable stated from, exclusively ideological positions, but periodically re-raises incorporating new elements of judgment which turn the balance in favor of one or other sector.

    Dionisio Aguado, almost forgotten in the guitar players repertoire, due to these positions, is amidst the battle camp and his guitar method is analysed and revised since the most new perspectives.

    Some elements should be taken into account in considering the question.

    As it is true that an interpretation of the stylistic base pretends to reproduce with historic fidelity Aguado's work, it cannot be unknown that F. Tarrega school and much more the contemporary schools of A. Carlevaro, Manuel Lopez Ramos or the new physiological school of Dr. R.Gomez, has performed high technical supports higher which turn the Aguado school - at least by means of technical order - obsolete.

    If due to fidelity it is pretended to reproduce the technical resources of the Aguado Techniques it represents a step backward in the historic evolution.

    This is why the Aguado method it used presently, in pedagogy field, with selective character and later on to be fixed by the technical principles of the teacher to the pupils. In program studies, as well as conservatories as with guitar teachers, they choose partially some studies considered necessary for the stylistic knowledge of the author, even when applied in their executions, from the technical point of view, other schools.

    This has provoked that the original Aguado method not to be used integrally and preferring the A.Sinopoli version. Even in this case it is continued using partially as from the point of view of this reviser, as well as its digitation as the grading of its original studies and other studies incorporated, it answers the principles of the Tarrega school.

    Some deficiencies of the Tarrega school are evident nowadays, if we take into account the differences of guitars in times of Aguado and Tarrega. One example could clarify the subject: the extensions of the left hand, non-existing in Aguado were a must to play its works in contemporary instruments, were recently incorporated around 1950 in the "Reasoned School of the guitar based on the Tarrega principles", of Emilio Pujol, the most eminent theorician of the school. One very serious problem which the luther ones have to face nowadays and and for the moment no solution is glimpsed, is the definition of the type of instrument which contemplates the needs, techniques, aesthetics and social of contemporary guitar players. Since the last decade of the XX century, informatic started to dispute to the luting the supremacy, another dramatic battle recently started.

    One important aspect which cannot be surpassed is the evolution of the timbre problem. Aguado undoubtedly set the bases in question with his inspired observations over the subject and his method reflects clearly this aspect which was darkened by the dazzlement produced by the appliance of the "instrumental technique" of the Tarrega school, unknown concept for Aguado.

    But the investigations over the use of timbre performed in the field of contemporary musicology have advanced significantly and influence the guitar interpretation nowadays, even when they are no regular subject of teaching, but prestigious teachers as Abel Carlevaro have given their attention.

IT FEELS... AGUADO IS PRESENT!

    The guitar players of the Argentine Guitar Player Circle do not elude the subject and we aspire to its clearing. And as always we think that a good step over the subject is to analyze -without passion and objectively- the question.

    For this purpose and having into account the importance that acquires the discussion timbre-phrasing ones, the FUNDAMENTAL LIBRARY OF THE GUITAR PLAYER will begin during 2003 the publication of issued which cover the following subjects.-


  1.. TIMBRE STUDIES It will be issued in two books and include the basic principles of the timbre guitar playing.


  2.. HIGHER TIMBRE.- It will be issued two books and include the last contributions on the subject, with preliminary studies and bibliographic data.


  3.. DIONISIO AGUADO HIGH METHOD.- 15 books will be edited, revised integrally, with preliminary studies and bibliographic data.


    For space reasons we cannot go deeper on the bibliographic teaching material but we engage ourselves to do so in further editions.

    Notwithstanding and having into consideration the importance of this issue, we render to our readers, the Aguado work plan as a simple anticipation.


GREAT METHOD OF DIONISIO AGUADO METHOD - WORK PLANNING


N?1 - Introduction to Lessons D. Aguado N?1 to 6

N?2 - The timbre in Aguado Lessons N?7 to 18

N?3 - The adornments in Aguado Lessons N?19 to 26

N?4 - Practice in Aguado Lessons N?27 to 32

N?5 - Movement in Aguado Lessons N?33 to 37. Exercises N?1 to 3

N?6 - Aguado and methods for guitar Exercised 4 to 10

N?7 - Aesthetics of Aguado Exercises N?11 to 16

N?8 - Teaching of Aguado Exercises N?17 to 19 Study N?1

N?9 - Interested biography of Aguado Studies N?2 to 5

N?10 The right hand in Aguado Studies N?6 to 9

N?11 A fascinating reading Studies N?10 to 12

N?12 The left hand in Aguado Studies N?13 to 15

N?13 Over guitar schools Studies N?16 to 20

N?14 Dynamics in Aguado Studies N?21 to 25

N?15 A look into the future Studies N?26 to 27


    The interested parties in receiving this material can subscribe to the magazine GUITAR WORLD and will receive the editions of the GUITAR PLAYER FUNDAMENTAL LIBRARY and the works of the GUITAR ARCHIVES with the best contemporary guitar composers, and also the informatic material as the GUITAR PLAYER GUIDE, which includes a Guide of scores and new methods, Recording Guides and Internet Guide and also the REVELLINES GUIDE with guitar player backgrounds and catalogue of the authors interpreted, listed in order.

Cordially,

Eduardo M鷖cari

CIRCULO GUITARR蚐TICO ARGENTINO