Adrian Charles Walter
Student thesis: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) – CDU
Along with a growing interest in the guitar repertoire that was composed during the early decades of the nineteenth century is a growing interest in the performance practices of the period. The quantity of repertoire for guitar from the early nineteenth century is significant. Much of this repertoire is of considerable musical worth, and also of historical interest in relation to the emergence and development of the single six string guitar at the end of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The use of period instruments, or contemporary reproductions, is also of significant interest to the contemporary performer in reference to the potential of these instruments to contribute to the more effective realisation and interpretation of music from the early nineteenth century. The number of tutor methods from this period that provide detailed performance practice information relating specifically to the guitar is limited. To create an interpretively rich and meaningful context also requires the examination of key writings from the period by leading singers, instrumentalists and theoreticians. Taking a specific practical focus this thesis will refer to tutor methods and writings by significant teachers who were also themselves well known as performers. By using these primary resources, and with reference to relevant contemporary research, this thesis will build a performance based context from within which the contemporary performer will be able to consider some of the key issues related to the performance practices of the early nineteenth century and incorporate them in an informed and meaningful way into their own performances.
The Early Nineteenth Century Guitar:An Interpretive Context for the Contemporary Performer
