The guitar in its fullness

James Tyler and Paul Sparks have produced an authoritative book on the fretted instruments. Tyler's contribution replaces and supersedes his own The early guitar (Oxford, 1980), while the section by Sparks on the guitar of the Classical era completes the text. Between them, the authors lead us on an adventurous Grand Tour of European guitar literature, with some gratis stops in the Americas. We begin in Renaissance Spain, then visit France and Italy, where the repertory developed further with song and dance accompaniments, and with solo literature based on continuous variations on the Spanish formats (e.g. the passacaglia and chaconne). The authors also explore the guitar's relationship to monody. Then we head further north, as members of the royalty take up the instrument and employ virtuoso players who eventually introduce the galant style. Finally the instrument reaches the limits of its geographical diffusion: north to Scandinavia, west to the New World, and east to the Austrian Empire and Bohemia. As the Baroque style begins to wane, so does the double-strung instrument. The Classical guitar, with six single strings, replaced it, and gave rise to another diffusion emanating from southern Europe. It is a complex story and the authors elucidate it in a concise, focused and informed book.

Tyler begins the introduction by excluding the vihuela on the grounds that it was a separate instrument in the 16th century. He also argues that its etymology separates it from the guitarra, guitare, gittern, guitarra española, chitarra etc. This is despite the fact that, for Juan Bermudo, the two instruments seemed similar enough to be described thus in his Declaración de instrumentos musicales (Osuna, 1555): 'No es otra cosa la guitarra sino una vihuela quitada la sexta y la prima' (f.28v: 'The guitarra is nothing more than a vihuela without its sixth and first courses').

The authors do not trace the musical origins of the guitar's repertory and do not consider its influence on other instrumental genres-a topic already explored extensively in the publications of Richard Hudson (who is not cited here). Instead, Tyler and Sparks offer an exhaustive assessment of the original sources and of performing instructions. As such the book will be of interest to music historians as well as to players.

Within each chapter the authors list the extant scribal and printed guitar books. They identify the provenance of every source, often using information in the preface or dedication to reveal the original owner or patron. There is careful scrutiny of tunings (which varied considerably, with paired stringing in optional octaves or unisons), notation of chords (in alfabeto) and single notes (in tablature or treble clef), techniques of execution (whether plucked, slurred or strummed), ornamentation and other performance practices. In addition, the authors assess the significance of each guitar book and its relationship to other music in the genre. There are frequent references to facsimile editions but the authors tend not to cite the secondary literature; consequently the book's bibliography remains small for so vast a subject. (A complete bibliography of the early guitar in its context, with all relevant secondary sources, would fill another volume.)

Both sections of The guitar and its music contain a good deal of detective work. Tyler has established many new concordances and also identified the contents of the long-lost guitar book from Francesco Corbetta's sojourn in Spain. Sparks has gathered hundreds of sources for the six-string guitar-including collections of dances, solo pieces and chamber music; songs with guitar accompaniment; methods; and pieces in facsimile-that will tantalize future researchers. In all, this volume offers us the first overview of the full extent of the guitar's original sources to 1800.

This book reveals more about the guitar's history than any other publication to date, yet it lacks explicit conclusions. However, its implied conclusions are that the guitar was an extremely important instrument in the late Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. It gradually superseded and replaced the lute, which previously had been the most popular instrument in northern Europe. The guitar gained part of its prestige because royalty from many countries, including Louis XIII, Louis XIV and Louis XV (who studied with Jélyotte) and their daughters, adopted it as their own. Further popularity came as women of other classes followed suit and excelled as performers of the guitar, just as they had on the lute. The early guitar thus became ubiquitous as the democratic instrument of all classes. Its significance became evident when its idiosyncratic styles invaded the repertory of other instruments. Guitar-associated dances and styles-such as the passacaglia, chaconne, folia, sarabande, fandango and even the galant style-gradually became the common fare of all instrumentalists. The new guitar, moreover, with its six single strings and overspun basses, was perfectly suited as an instrument of accompaniment, particularly with the fashionable Alberti bass. Although the instrument would be associated with virtuosos such as Sor and Aguado, after 1750 it would ultimately prosper most in salons, as innumerable method books and collections of short pieces appeared for the market of amateurs across Europe and the Americas. To be fair, such sweeping generalizations would more properly belong to a multi-volume history of the guitar. Tyler and Sparks, by contrast, have here delivered a volume of great importance: a reliable guide to authentic performance on the early guitar, along with a comprehensive review of its original sources.