Week 4: Spain in 19th ! 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the second week of the "Around the 19th Century Guitar World" challenge!
In the beginning of the 19th century the prevailing compositional style in Spain was similar to other places in Southern Europe. Over the course of the next hundred years through influential figures such as Aguado, Ferrer, and Tarrega, Spanish classical guitar will develop it’s own unique voice that will become the dominant style of classical guitar in the 20th century.
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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Aguado - Introduction to Fandango Op 16
I heard this virtuosic and very "Spanish" sounding piece from Aguado yesterday evening while walking the dog. The entire piece is far beyond my technical capacity, but the introduction alone seemed manageable. So ... here it is!
As a side note to anyone who knows Bugs Bunny (a classic American cartoon): Does the little bit around 1:05-1:10 sound familiar?
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Eric Phillips I understand your confusion. I misquoted the title of the Wagner opera, It is actually 'Kill de Wabbit'.
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Jack Stewart Yes! Shh, be vewy quiet. I will use my spear and magic helmet.
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Eric Phillips Nice work. But, I haven’t even seen a wabbit yet
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joosje You have to be vewy quiet.
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Study in C - Francisco Tárrega
This is my first Tarrega piece. I always wanted to learn some of his pieces, but his music looks difficult, so let me start with some small and simple pieces first.
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Wai That was great, Wai, and welcome to the wonderful world of Tarrega! Might I suggest his study in E minor as a next piece?
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Wai Very good, Wai. I also have never played any of Tarrega's compositions (hacking my way thru Capriccio Arabe and Recuerdos don't qualify as 'playing'). I think the Prelude #1 that Eric played would be a good sequel. I think he has many works that, though they seem to have some challenges, would certainly be comfortably in your range.
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Eric Phillips Jack Stewart Thanks, Eric & Jack. Let me try "Study in E minor" next, it looks easy.
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Wai that was really beautifully done, Wai. You have a feeling for Tarrega. Looking forward to hearing more of this.
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joosje Thank you, joosje!
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I thought I would bring to everyone’s attention this interesting video from Rob MacKillop about the six-course guitar, which apparently remained in use in Spain until at least the 1830s. As Rob points out, this is the form of the instrument both Sor and Aguado would have known in their youth.
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David Krupka I really enjoyed watching that, both for the music and the education. I had heard the same information from the Austin-Marie Collection videos. According to those videos, Spain lagged behind the rest of Europe in adopting single strings due to the conservative (draconian?) policies of the Spanish guilds.
Thanks so much for sharing that, David!
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Eric Phillips That’s interesting, Eric. And it’s curious that when Spain’s luthiers did finally start producing single strung guitars, they introduced a number of important innovations. Could it have been a case of bringing ‘fresh eyes’ to the old problem ‘optimal’ design?
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David Krupka That seems logical. All that pent up creativity burst out, I guess.
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Anyone know if there is a watch party scheduled for this 19th century challenge, so we can all watch together and enjoy some of the highlights again?
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Barney I'm not aware of one. This challenge definitely lacked some organization and communication.
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Eric Phillips Maybe it's due to Martin traveling on a project and not available to provide direction and follow-up. Thanks for your prompt reply...lol.
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Barney Like Eric I'm not aware of one. Nothing is scheduled in the calendar, it's normally planned at the beginning of the challenge like the weekly ones. It's also possible they're trying a new format where the community is working more by itself with a broader direction by a guest host like Hanna as opposed to a more organized and focused one with comments, suggestions and personalized content provided by the host, as we get used to.
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Blaise Laflamme That is certainly possible, Blaise. I prefer the previous format of having more frequent contact and responses with suggestions from the host (i.e. Martin) along with the community. However, a guest host is also very welcome ( especially if they have special expertise in the subject)but should be directed to interact more closely with the community as the challenge progresses. This is only my opinion, and not sure how the rest of you guys feel about it.
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Barney that's just speculation, we'll see in the next challenge. But for sure the immersion is greater with more interaction and direction from the host, but also takes a lot more of his time, and the watch party, at least the way Martin does it, adds a lot of fun to the activity, even if we all know that Eric Phillips always win the early start and most submission awards!
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Barney Blaise Laflamme I do enjoy the greater interaction with the host and a watch party. Perhaps the host interaction is being directed more toward the Two-Week Intensives now, which is fine. I can appreciate how difficult it must be for a challenge host to give meaningful feedback (beyond just things like "Well done!") to so many people.
As for any awards, I respectfully would like to withdraw my name from any and all consideration in perpetuity.
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Eric Phillips they'll find what's the best format in each kind of activities. It's always great to have more interaction but it's time consuming and as you said giving constructive feedback on all submissions is a challenge in itself!
You deserve all the awards you got and the upcoming ones... your name is there to stay!
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Blaise Laflamme Eric Phillips Agreed Blaise! and we especially enjoy and look forward to the part where Eric wins the awards. He deserves them!!
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Eric Phillips Blaise Laflamme Your observation is well founded and stated. However, we decline your request regarding the awards, haha.
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Blaise Laflamme Eric Phillips I don't have to like it, but you guys are right. It would have been nice to be told in advance about the change to modify our expectations. It is what it is, and still great.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
