CUOn 27 Studies for Guitar from the Third Part of the Method ORC n LE ak Corr ew Cee)ForeworD Among the great masters of the guitar who were born in the last decades of the 18 century and worked at the beginning of the 19% ~ flattered by the old aristocracy and the new bourgeoisie Dionisio Aguado is, without any doubt, the luckiest of them all. He was born in the surroundings of Madrid from a privileged and rich family of landowners. Since his boyhood he was educated with Arts and the knowledge suitable to his rank and, as soon as it was possible, he devoted all his passion to the art of the guitar, He spent all his life for the guitar, in Fuenlabrada ~ a small village owned by his family, which was his main source of sustenance ~ in Paris, where he lived for years and where he became friend of Fernando Sor (they became famous as “les deux amis”, “the two friends”) and in Madrid, where he spent all his time in the art of the guitar. His guitar art, since its beginning, was an altruistic one. Very few musicians were, like Aguado, devoted to the didactic mission being at the same time virtuosos. And if we compare the time and the energy spent by him as a successful concert player, with his activity as a composer and teacher, itis clear that his excellent virtuosity was subordinated to his vocation for teaching. Probably Aguado began to work on his great book on the guitar by the year 1810, because we cannot think that his first didactic work (“Coleccién de estudios para guitarra", Madrid 1820) was completed in a short time. It is evident from the introduction that he was trying to give an organic arrangement to an experience of many years of hard work, both in practice and in a vision in which every aspect of the instrumental technique is placed in an aesthetical reflection. Aguado proves himself, since the first writing of his didactic masterpiece, a musician completely strings, a philosopher of the guitar who also loves real practice. So in 1820 there is the start of a work in progress which will be the dominant thought of the Madrilenian concert player-composer for the rest of his days until 1849, the year of his death, when he gave his last touch to his immense didactical work, publishing the “Apendice al nuevo metodo para guitarra que en 1843 publico don Dionisio Aguado”. ‘These retouches gave peace to the tired Aguado, who soon died of a lung disease. In the period 1820-1849 Aguado lived mostly for his Method which, through many editions published in France and Spain, reached the final edition, published in Madrid after Aguado’s return to Spain after a long stay in Paris (1826-1839). The “Nuevo Método para guitarra” (1843) was the arrive of a never wasted life, always wisely spent in the double task of playing-thinking, which had in writing his natural land almost seraphic landing. And in the first chapters of the “Nuev jo” we find, in an almost hierarchical order, the important “elements” by Aguado: “What “The most important parts of the guitar” and, at the fourth pl machine by Aguado”, a device which should have freed the pe solved by him, of holding the guitar, and eliminating the contact be instrument in order to increase sonority. In this publication the third section of the method i not only his immense doctrine of instrumental technique, but the collection of 27 Studies where, the three Rondo in features of his style. ; ‘Aguado was a pro-Italian composer and for this reas producing a good singing on the instrument is revealed txercises, like in Estudio 1, there is a search for nice From this imprinc it comes outa harmonic texture which prefers (double notes, repeated bichords). Sometimes the melody is arpeggio studies there isa hidden sequence of triads ~ nearly a polypk Even the rich ornamentation in Estudios 17, 18, 20, 22, 27 is these Estudios the virtuosity of the left hand slurs acqu of the performer can be considered useful only in a and — maybe - of the violin of Paganini. son he wasVL ‘A clear feature and merit in all Estudios is their lightness: Aguado constantly develops his technique to achieve the result of a transparent tone which becomes his peculiar stylistic seal. For this reason, he is closer to Giulian’s art than to the art of his friend Sor, but his music shows a peculiarity which makes him unique. "Another very important aspect of Aguado didactic mission is the search fora careful rm aimed to write the different parts according to the rules of polyphonic scoring and so giving up the use of the Italian stenographic writing. But this is not the only care by Aguado: he gives out profusely his knowledge in effusive notes which are pedagogic and didactic, allowing us to appreciate the fine art of administration, which evidently was the backbone of his teaching, He does not try to gild the pill and explains: “In order to play these studies at the speed suggested by the Italian word at the beginning of each one of them, itis convenient to use the metronome by Maelzell, setting it at the required number, The learner will try to play the studies with no speed indication as fast and clear as possible”. And anyone who has followed the suggested metronome indications by Aguado knows well how hardly his/her synapsis have to work, even before his/her fingers! And every study is introduced by instructions whose acuteness shows, without any doubt, the artistic category to which Aguado belonged. The same category desired by him for his students. ANGELO GILARDINO (English translation by Antonio Passaro)Allegretto Ha 66 in i 10 Gite amy Wray EDs TeSer ees ao Lao tome "Vk $$ xy, vs —— at eee ed 7 a yi cH