As I mentioned in
the preceding blog, live classical guitar music was a very rare
phenomenon in New Delhi when I was living there during the last 30 years
of the 20th century (except for a short break of four years). But the
versatile Canadian guitarist Liona Boyd's visit to the city in 1987
created both an opportunity and an obligation for me to study the
history and geography of the Spanish-guitar culture, so that I could
review the event in a significant manner.
My
main sources of information on Western music traditions were usually
the heavy volumes on the reference shelves of the excellent libraries in
the British Council, the US information Service, and Max Müller Bhavan -- particularly the Encyclopedia Britannica and the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Sometimes -- though very rarely -- I also borrowed books on
specific themes, composers or performing artists, or glanced at the
culture pages of important British and American newspapers and
magazines.
As
usual, I got so deeply involved in my research on this occasion that I
had gained far more knowledge than was necessary for merely conveying my
impressions of the concert I was reviewing as an articulate layman.
But within a few months after that event, the legendary guitar maestro
Andrés Segovia passed away -- and I was able to write an essay
about him which was so substantial that it established my image as a
very knowledgeable critic in New Delhi's exclusive Western music
circles -- and yes, one who never showed it off usually!
In
fact, looking at this tightly-written text after 30 years, I am myself
surprised that it had such high specific gravity. But as you can see,
what it actually contained wasn't any great knowledge of
classical guitar music (and Segovia's in particular), but some
crystal-clear insights into the stories of the maestro and his
instrument -- which was (and still is) true of all my endeavors as an
articulate layman.
__________
Glossary
Max Müller Bhavan -- German literary and cultural center.
________
THE HINDU,
New Delhi
19 June, 1987
The saga of Segovia
The
passing away of Andrés Segovia of Spain a few weeks ago -- at the
advanced age of 94 -- marks the end of the long and fabulous career of a
remarkable man who had secured a new lease of life for the classical
guitar.
Growth and decline
During the Baroque era (17th and 18th centuries), the lute became over-stringed and unwieldy, though it continued to dominate the scene. On the other hand, the guitar shed its cumbersome double-strings in favor of five single gut strings ; moreover, with its bowl-like back altered into a flat one, it became much easier to handle. As a result, the guitar began to be played by music-minded amateurs all over Europe, especially in France.
In the second half of the 18th century, the lute became quite obsolete, but the guitar became still more popular in Europe, particularly in England, France and Germany. Its ascendancy in Spain continued, of course. The standard number of strings was increased to six, and metallic frets on the fingerboard were introduced. Easily portable and fairly inexpensive, the guitar was now an instrument played not only by wealthy amateurs but by ordinary people too.
During the romantic period in Western music (19th century), the guitar became a heavier and more solidly built instrument, and it continued to be popular for some time. Composers like Schubert and Berlioz were known to play the guitar. The dazzling technical genius Paganini too fancied the guitar when he was not wielding the violin, and he even composed some chamber music for it. Specific music for the guitar was composed by the Italian guitarist Mauro Giulani and the great Spanish guitar virtuoso, Fernando Sor.
But
somehow, the guitar never became a successful concert instrument even
at this stage. On the contrary, in the second half of the 19th century,
it was almost totally eclipsed by the predominance of the piano in
Western art music. Two great musicians were mainly responsible for
preventing this classical instrument from fading out altogether, and
these were the Spaniards Francisco Tárrega and Andrés Segovia.
Revival and refinement
Tárrega
(1852-1909) was a talented guitarist and music teacher, and he
transcribed for the guitar more than a hundred works by Beethoven,
Chopin, and the folk-oriented Spanish composers Albéniz and Granados.
He also composed many original pieces for the solo guitar.
(Music-lovers in Delhi will recall hearing his tremulous composition Recuerdos de la Alhambra
in a pleasing recital by the visiting Canadian guitarist Liona Boyd a
few months ago). Apart from this, Tárrega took the initiative to free
the right hand from its traditionally fixed position, and developed a
more flexible modern guitar-playing technique.
Andrés
Segovia (1893-1987) consolidated the progress, and found the most
sophisticated use for the right hand -- not only relaxing its movement
and increasing its mobility further, but also manipulating the strings
in subtle ways with finger-tips and nails, thereby achieving a wide
spectrum of tonality and nuances. Though not himself an original
composer, Segovia transcribed many works composed for the ancient lute
and the Spanish 'vihuela', and also pieces by such great composers as
Mozart, Handel, Chopin and Schumann.
Influence on composers
In
fact, it would seem to have been Segovia's infinite regret that the
greatest composers of Western classical music had failed to create
specific works for the guitar -- music for which had, by and large, been
produced only by those who were themselves guitarists. He is said to
have declared that outstanding guitarists did not emerge because great
composers did not write for the guitar, and the composers did not write
for the guitar because there were no great performers.
Segovia was an active concert artist till very recently, and had toured extensively all over the world. Unfortunately, we in India have had no opportunity of hearing his music in a live performance, but have to rest content with our limited access to his recorded music.
Source of inspiration
Segovia
is noted for the great encouragement and guidance given by him to a
younger generation of guitarists represented by musicians like John
Williams of England and Alirio Diaz of Venezuela. He was also a source
of tremendous inspiration to a third generation of guitar virtuosi.
Thus, he not only helped to widen the classical guitar's repertoire, but
also influenced the growth of modern performing styles.
Spanning
practically the entire 2oth century, the maestro's extraordinary career
has been like a long bridge which has ensured the effective
assimilation of a noble musical tradition into the Western art music of
the present day, and surely of the future too. Such is the saga of
Segovia.
__________
PostScript, 2016
Midnight summons to Maestro
When I said in 1987 that we in India had to be content with our limited access to Segovia's recorded music, I was actually making an understatement. For although we did have limited access to long-playing records and audio-cassettes of Western classical music, classical guitar never figured on the shelves of the music shops. The only way to hear any recordings of Segovia or any other legendary guitarists was to get them from somewhere abroad, which was never easy unless you had some close friend or relative living there.
You
just couldn't ask even close friends or relatives in India going abroad
on short visits to bring you any music records, because with the
extremely small foreign exchange allowance available to them those
days, you'd have been asking them to make a great sacrifice. Speaking
for myself, I had friends in the foreign Embassies and cultural
centers who would have got me whatever I wanted, but I never felt
inclined to take or cause such trouble.
How amazingly different are things today -- just 30 years later, even in India -- when we can simply press a key or touch a screen, and instantly take stock of any kind of music or dance anywhere in the world! Like, for instance, even summoning Maestro Segovia to perform for us at midnight just by clicking on the following link : -
Or even having a very close view of his sophisticated right-hand technique in the following video!
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