A Guide to Playing the Baroque Guitar

9. Pieces Suitable for Stringing A

33 9 PIECES SUITABLE FOR STR INGING A PAvANAS POR L A D—GASPAR SA Nz (1675) Gaspar Sanz (b. Aragon, mid 17th C–d. early 18th C) was a clergyman who received a bachelor of theology degree and licenciado en filosofia at the University of Salamanca. It was probably his priestly duties that took him first to Naples and then to Rome, where he studied composition and guitar with such notable musicians as Pietro Andrea Ziani and Lelio Colista, among others. Upon returning to Spain, Sanz published his influential two-volume treatise Instruccion de Musica sobre la Guitarra Española in 1674–75. (A later edition appeared in 1697.) The work was dedicated to his pupil, the Spanish prince Don Juan of Austria, brother of king Carlos II. Other guitarists appropriated portions of it for their own publications until well into the eighteenth century. Pavanas por la D is found in volume two (1675). Although it has no alfabeto chord symbols, the “por la D” (for the D) in its title refers to the alfabeto symbol for the key of A minor. The piece is based on a well-known Italian ground (harmonic pattern) called the Pavaniglia, which appears in countless versions from around 1546 to the middle of the eighteenth century. In 1578, the Spanish composer Cabezón used it as a dance piece, which he called the Pavana italiana. English writers usually called it the Spanish pavan, and the Spanish called it the pavanas. Sanz uses the harmonic pattern in its customary sixteen-bar form for a statement and two variations. Three ornament signs are found in the piece: a small t to indicate a main note trill (Spanish: trino); a curved line above a note ( ), as in bar 5, to indicate an ascending appoggiatura (Spanish: apoyamento); and a sharp or pound sign to denote a strong, fast vibrato (Spanish: temblor). The series of dots below notes or chords found in several bars are Sanz’s original left-hand fingerings. The pairs of parallel lines found in bars 16 and 32 simply indicate the end of one section and the beginning of the next. In his preface, Sanz describes various stringing arrangements used by different guitarists and specifically recommends the fully re-entrant one as the most suitable for refined music. As implied in bars 22, 35, 39, and 40, he may also call for an octave-strung third course. In those bars I have added a + sign under the staff as a means of bringing the open third course g’s in question to the player’s attention. where I have so marked, players who aren’t using an upper octave on the third course can play an upper octave g on the first or second course. ) A N A NTHOLOGY OF MUSIC FOR BAROQUE GUITAR 34 I suggest playing the piece at a tempo of about half note = 60, making certain to maintain a steady two beats per bar. In the seventeenth century rhythms and tempos were still derived from the traditional Tactus system, which was based on a down and up motion of the hand in two—regardless of the meter. This feeling of two in a bar makes a world of difference to the phrasing, so please resist the temptation to feel it in the modern sense of four quarter note beats. Sanz set the first two statements of the Pavanas entirely in lute style (Spanish: punteado ) with no strummed chords. Since pavans are stately dances, go for a somewhat grand, dignified mood, even though this particular pavan is set at a slightly brisker pace than other examples. Pay special attention to the spicy discords in bars 3 and 11. Although these are only two- or three-note chords, they still should be spread to emphasize the discords. In the second statement of the ground, note the slight variations in harmony beginning in bar 17 and the introduction of unexpected dominant sevenths in bars 18 and 19. The third statement of the ground at bar 33 is written entirely in cascading campanelas , which pour out in a nonstop stream of single-line notes. This section is usually omitted from the transcriptions of the piece for classical guitar. Played with the proper technique on a baroque guitar, Sanz’s campanelas can sound quite colorful and impressive , so a repeat of the section is highly recommended. A facsimile of Sanz’s Pavanas can be found in frank koonce, The Baroque Guitar in Spain and the...