Hugo Maia Nogueira
https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/
Maia Nogueira, Hugo, “Grand Solo Op.14 & Rondo Op2. N3: The Sonority of the Classical Era” (2017). UNLV Theses, Dissertations,
Professional Papers, and Capstones. 3007. https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/3007
During the early nineteenth-century, the writing for classical-guitar elevated the instrument to the solo concert stage. The appearance of the six-string guitar changed guitar writing.1 With this new instrument, guitarists had an array of new possibilities to explore in terms of sound and technique. Fernando Sor (1778-1839) and Dionisio Aguado (1784-1849) were the main artists promoting and advocating the six-string guitar as a serious concert instrument in Spain.2 This document will focus on two guitar masterworks: Fernando Sor’s Grand Solo Op.14 and Dionisio Aguado’s Rondo Op2. N3. It will explain why Grand Solo Op.14 and Rondo Op2. N3 can synthesize the style and guitar writing of the Classical Movement in Spain. Grand Solo Op.14 was written in sonata form and Rondo Op2. N3 in rondo form; both forms were typical musical structures used in the Classical period. This study presents two musical examples which can depict and represent the guitar sonority which defined the Classical era.
The outline of this qualitative research will be divided in four parts: the relevance and weight of these pieces in the guitar repertoire; the biographies of Sor and Aguado; a brief definition of Classicism to ensure the Grand Solo Op.14 and Rondo Op2. N3 contain musical features in the Classical style; and finally a conclusion addressing these masterworks as two essential references for the study of the Spanish Classicism. The primary objective for investigating the value of these two ambitious works, is to benefit historians and musicologists who do not have prior knowledge of guitar history and literature. This research concerning two guitar masterworks in nineteenth century Spain, will be an indispensable resource for historians, musicologists, and other musicians to better understand the historical process of the guitar, its technique, repertoire, and exponents.
Grand Solo Op.14 & Rondo Op2. N3: The Sonority of the Classical Era
