Pons , the "Lupot" of the guitar….pdf (original) (raw)
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romantic guitar, 2010
Historically, the guitar is an instrument that owes as much to Italy and to France, and its makers have never ceased to 'invent' new improvements to its lutherie. The first 6 string guitars appeared simultaneously in Paris and in Naples at the end of the 18th century. Under the reign of François the 1st , Italian artists were welcome in France, particularly musicians, who were numerous and resided in Paris. They were real "stars", adored by the public and incensed by the critics. The guitar had always been a "fashion" instrument and in the beginning of the 19th century it conquered all audiences thanks to its new format of 6 strings, launching it in modernity. Italy, in the beginning of the 19th century, was the muse of numerous French poets and artists. Napoleon the 1st, the French Emperor, a wise strategist, encouraged French artisans to practice their craftsmanship in the courts that he had instated in the most important Italian cities. Napoleon hoped he could thus export the French "savoir faire" to influence Italian artisans. At the same time, he brought to France the Italian works of art that seduced him to install them in his residences or in the Louvre Museum. Turin was a French province, and Naples a fashionable destination after the French Joachim Murat was "crowned" King of Naples in 1808, succeeding the Emperor's brother, and most of all since he encouraged with great enthusiasm excavations on the site of Pompeii, the town that disappeared under the eruption of volcano Vesuvius in the year 79 D.C. Stendhal, a lover of Italy, friend of Rossini, wrote that there were two capitals in Europe : Paris and Naples! In 1834, Berlioz composed "Harold en Italie" for the Italian virtuoso Nicolò Paganini to be played on a viola made by Stradivari that he had just acquired for himself. Generally, Italy, not yet reunified, played a preponderant role in the cultural life of Europe. In the beginning of the 19th century, in France, guitars made by Lacote were preferred amongst guitarists. Lacote became famous and obtained public recognition between 1820 and 1860. We know he apprenticed with Joseph Pons, the great luthier of the 19th century, the audacious designer of the 'romantic guitar' in France. We would like to briefly make a summary of what Pons and Lacote brought to the Parisian lutherie of the beginning of the 19th century :-first of all, an intensive research on bracings, concretized by the position of the second bracing in the centre of the soundboard, and the first Y and X bracings,-an interior counter bridge, in maple, with Pons,-small vertical bracings under the acute notes,-beginning of the neck joint,-the very particular fingerboard-heel joint that allows for a more important tension of the strings,-backs of guitars made with a beautiful often knotty veneer, veneered on spruce, a light and nervous sounding wood,-the frequent use of blocking systems for the pegs and the first mechanics,-above all, the "palette" or "8 shaped" guitar heads, directly inspired by Neapolitan guitars. René Lacote, Parisian luthier, also fell to the Italian charm and adapted his lutherie to what he observed on the instruments of the famous musicians frequenting his Paris workshop. During the first period of his activity, he would put "fantasy" bridges similar to those of Pons, with their funny moustaches inlaid with mother of pearl sometimes engraved under the bridge, replacing the inner counter bridge. He designed others, in particular the model that can be seen on the method that Sor had just written which obtained a big success. Later, around 1835, Lacote definitively adopted his own model, inherited from Pons, in "bicycle handlebars". As he progressed with his career, the bridges as well as purflings and "pistagnes" gained in sobriety. Near the end of his career, he would insert only a few linear purflings, sometimes in very plain wood, together with a very extended bridge.
Technology and Cultural History of Altered Lute Instruments
Preservation of Wooden Musical Instruments - Ethics, Practice and Assessment, 2017
Old lute instruments were always highly appreciated items. Due to many alterations almost no instrument is preserved in the original shape. During a short time scientific mission (STSM) nine lutes in the Musée de la musique in Paris were examined in order to analyse the history of repair of every instrument. The results will be part of the PhD thesis concerning the technology and cultural history of altered lute instruments.
The Guitar in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
In the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) world there are high standards for recovering and reconstructing the truth in history. Recorded history determines how we re-create the Middle Ages, and it is with much determination that we search for as many facts as possible for each of our varied interests. This article seeks to clarify the historical authenticity of one of the most popular musical instruments, the guitar. In preparation for this search, guidelines had to be set as to what the Society deems "authentic." Is it more aesthetically pleasing to see an instrument as identical as it would have been in the Middle Ages, even if the materials used to create it may not allow for the best tone, or would it be permissible to use finer or modem materials to keep a longer-tuned, better tonality instrument when performing? It is the opinion of this author that modem materials do not ruin or change the sound or purpose of an instrument, and that a guitar should be treated as an equal representation of a medieval instrument if used in a performing arts competition, say, up against a plastic recorder, a modem-day lute or a ceramic drum. It is commonly believed that the lute is far older than the guitar. Although the focus of this article is on the latter instrument, occasional comparisons to the lute are included to assist the reader in a better under-standing of the evolution of medieval stringed instruments. Despite the lute's stronger claim to precedence, however, there is evidence to suggest that the guitar, or the ancestor of the guitar, is far older than is commonly realized.
In this project I wish to establish a seventeenth century popular concept focusing on the lute in France between 1650 and 1700. By promoting a more culturally based understanding of French lute music, I try to unveil some of its functions as social phenomena. The argument takes a starting point in Robert Middleton’s popular as presented in his book Studying popular music (1990), together with selected writings by Foucault; and from that I map different cultural groupings within the French society as to unveil how lute music was articulated. Following, I investigate how the construction of musician and music fits into and fulfill the conception of seventeenth century popular music that I propose. This study presents an internally contradictory concept of lute music that participates in dialogues between internal and external, self and other, individual and society. Key words: Popular music; seventeenth century; lute; French society; cultural studies; performance studies.
INSTRUMENT OF CHANGE The International Rise of the Guitar (c. 1870-1945)
2016
Andrés Segovia and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: 1939 We live in turbulent times, and must contend with challenges that, while unique to our circumstances, are often reflective of the past. This paper will illuminate and humanize part of the story behind the complicated relationship of Andrés Segovia and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and in so doing, connect it to our own. The names Segovia and Castelnuovo-Tedesco are among the most recognized in the guitar's rich history. They, like Mozart and Stadler, Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms and Joachim, and indeed Segovia and Manuel Ponce, will rightly be linked as one of history's great composer / interpreter tandems. It is important for us as scholars and interpreters to attempt to understand the nuance and complicating circumstances of their relationship in order to give our own work deeper meaning. Now, nearly fifty years since the passing of Castelnuovo-Tedesco and more than twenty-five years since Segovia's death, the perspective of time offers us an opportunity to examine aspects of their professional lives without the glaring and stultifying light of celebrity, and to impartially raise our collective understanding of these artists. This work will examine events and evidence of early 1939, when in the face of fomenting ideologies of hatred espoused by fascists and Nazis, Segovia demonstrated extraordinary acts of moral and political courage by offering public support of his Jewish friend and collaborator. It will tell the story of how the world's greatest guitarist, risking his sterling reputation and personal safety, embarked on a truly remarkable concert tour and residency. PAUL BALLAM-CROSS (University of Queensland) Tárrega's Transcriptions Reassessed: A Snapshot of Nineteenth-Century Performance Francisco Tárrega is a name well-known to classical guitarists through the original material that he produced. In addition to creating a large amount of didactic material through exercises and preludes, Tárrega worked extensively to create new guitar repertoire by transcribing music originally for other instruments. This was intended primarily to expand his own performance repertoire, and to provide audiences with concert favourites. While a small number of his transcriptions have become a part of the guitar repertoire, his transcriptions and arrangements are an important snapshot of late nineteenth-century concert life. Tárrega's pioneering arrangements showcase his eclectic taste, and that he was comfortable performing music in a wide variety of genres and idioms. The arrangements range from the core concert repertoire (the music of Mozart and Beethoven) to virtuoso ABSTRACTS Instrument of Change
The microtonal guitar: Türkiye’s Segovia moment
Rast Musicology Journal, 2023
The use of microtones in guitar music is not an innovative phenomenon as it is thought. It has been used for different tuning systems and by composers working on non-12edo music throughout history. Although this concept is not as widespread as conventional guitar music, many experimental studies have been conducted to tune microtones more accurately. This article aims to present practical tools for the reader on methods to produce microtones on the guitar, especially Tolgahan Çoğulu's adjustable microtonal guitar project, and the developments in microtonal guitar music in Türkiye since the project began in 2008 to 2021. The findings on this topic are shared from a guitar music specialist's perspective. It aims to be helpful, especially for guitarists who are unfamiliar with microtonal music approaches in guitar music. The study consists of two parts. In the first part, the microtonal strategies in guitar music were compiled. Practical ways to achieve microtones on conventional guitars, non-12edo fixed fret layouts, fretlets concept, and movable fret guitars are examined individually, and their advantages and disadvantages are listed in terms of their usability. In the second part, the attainments of the Adjustable Microtonal Guitar Project were examined. By using the principles determined by Andres Segovia in the formation of modern guitar music in the 1920s as a model, the composers who composed for this instrument, the performers who used the instrument, the success in the presentation of the project in social media, the awards it won in international competitions, microtonal guitar competitions and festivals, academic and pedagogical studies were researched. The findings show that the adjustable microtonal guitar gives precise results in tuning compared to the other strategies mentioned. Even though it causes difficulties in changing the frets between different pieces in terms of time, it is the most suitable result for using microtones on the guitar, as it makes it possible to perform all kinds of work. In the project's short history, the Adjustable Microtonal Guitar project crossed national borders and created its ecosystem with the innovative efforts of the inventor.