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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Here are Tárrega's Adelita and Ferrer's Ejercicio 9. I've played the Tárrega many times, and it's one of the few pieces that I can play from memory anytime. Although I played a lot of Ferrer in a previous challenge, I actually had never played this piece. The B section is so fun to play!
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Steve Pederson joosje Blaise Laflamme Thank you!
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Eric Phillips Nice Adelita with great tone and wonderful phrasing. Not sure if it's my speakers, but please check the very first phrase of the piece- the slur does not sound clear to me. Otherwise, nicely played and one of my favorite Tarrega. Thanks for posting it!
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Eric Phillips Nicely played Ferrer. I really enjoyed it!! Bravo!
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Barney Thanks, Barney. There’s nothing wrong with your speakers. It’s just poorly executed slurs.
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Eric Phillips Hope it helps. You are at such a high level of playing, that I wanted to point out something that could improve your playing even further. I also appreciate when someone does that for me. I always enjoy your performances!
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Eric Phillips Those were really nice, Eric. Adelita was beautifully played, as was the Ferrer. The Ferrer was new to me, though I have a superficial awareness of his music.
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Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack. I like many of Ferrer's pieces more than this one, but I can see why it would be popular among guitarists and listeners. It's fun to play and sounds really "Spanish" (whatever that might actually mean). For my tastes, it's a bit cliché.
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Eric Phillips great job here Eric! You have such beautiful sense of phrasing in these!
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Hannah Murphy Thank you, Hannah!
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A chose Aguado for starters. Those studies are very rewarding. Great arpeggio exercises, but also musically challenging. Here nrs 5 and 6.
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joosje I really enjoyed those. I've always liked how Aguado was very musical with his etudes. They're still technical studies, but I think he adds a lot of development in a short time and often goes beyond the standard classical-era cadences. I think you bring that out very well.
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joosje thank you for sharing those studies, you played them with a great sense of musicality and expression. #6 starts with a similar harmony pattern as Ferrer's Exercise #9 but quickly moves to a more interesting development.
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joosje Lovely, Joosje! You play arpeggios so well!
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joosje Nicely played, as always Joosje. May I ask where you found these studies? (I’ve not been able to locate them in my own ‘collection’ of Aguado, taken mostly from IMSLP and Boije - mind you, he wrote so many studies that I might simply have missed them.) Thanks!
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David Krupka thanks David! I found these ať the end of his ‘Nuevo Metodo’
https://boijefiles.musikverket.se/Boije_0018.pdf
I think on pages 95-96 or so. -
Steve Price Blaise Laflamme Eric Phillips thank you! They’re such great studies, I can’t understand how it’s possible I never even knew about these.
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joosje Thanks, Joosje!
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joosje That's was beautiful, joosje! I especially like Estudio 6, the bass melody was so serene and beautiful.
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joosje Those were nice, Joosje, and well played. You are rivaling Eric in your ability to sight read and quickly learn pieces.
#6 sounds similar to Sor's op. 6.11. I wonder if they were aware of each other's pieces?
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joosje great job with these! Your thumb movement is great and very efficient. I wonder if you could bring down the volume of the other fingers so the thumb sound sticks out more
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Jack Stewart I was also struck by the similarity, Jack. I would guess it’s Aguado ‘quoting’ Sor …
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joosje Lovely work! I'm really impressed by your command of those studies. You make them look easy, but I know they're not!
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joosje I'm not familiar with Aguado's works, but you execute these arpeggios effortlessly with nice even volume and right hand stability. Many students could benefit from just watching your technique and phrasing, which is so beautifully performed. They look like good warmups. Thanks for posting these!
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Hannah Murphy thank you for listening and commenting. I’ll work on that balancing act.
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Wai thank Wai. Yes this study was a new one for me, but very useful for righthand warming up and development.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
