A Humanistic Reading of Gaspar Sanz's Instrvccion
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A HUMANISTIC READING OF GASPAR SANZ’S INSTRVCCION DE MVSICA SOBRE LA GVITARRA ESPAnOLA A thesis submitted to the faculty of San Francisco State University In partial fulfillment of The requirements for 3Cr The Degree ML M u sic Master of Arts In v .\ Music By Lars Christian Rosager San Francisco, California, USA May 2016 Copyright by Lars Christian Rosager 2016 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read “A HUMANISTIC READING OF GASPAR SANZ’S INSTRVCCION DE MVSICA SOBRE LA GVITARRA ESPAnOLA” by Lars Christian Rosager, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts in Music at San Francisco State University. Lecturer of Music A HUMANISTIC READING OF GASPAR SANZ’S INSTRVCCION DE MVSICA SOBRE LA GVITARRA ESPAnOLA Lars Christian Rosager San Francisco, California, USA May 2016 ABSTRACT The purpose of this thesis is to locate traces of humanism in the 1674 method book of Aragonese guitarist Gaspar Sanz, Instruction de Mvsica sobre la Gvitarra Espanola (Musical instruction for the Spanish guitar). Building connections from Sanz back through the history of Spanish humanism, this text presents a unique interpretation of the early Spanish guitar, an instrument inseparable from the liberation and secularization of the Western European intellect. Beginning with background on the guitar and humanism separately, this thesis links the two subjects through an analysis of Instruction in nine chapters dedicated to the front matter of Sanz’s method book, its didactic guidelines, and its music. The impact of language and writing on the sociological image of the guitar comprises one of the most prominent recurring ideas. I certify that the abstract is a correct representation of the content of this thesis. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The last mistake I would like to make here is to create the impression that anyone who has helped me toward the realization of this thesis does not deserve to be recognized. Some people have been more active than others, and sometimes the smallest piece of advice, even simple coincidence, has been the spark for an indispensable aspect of this work. One expects to see certain names here, where I have an opportunity to give thanks to those who have supported my studies. Parents, professors, classmates, colleagues—all of these people and more have inspired and motivated me to press on and complete the difficult task of writing this text. But more than any one person or group I might name in appreciation for making this work possible, I would like to thank you, the reader. My humble hope is that you find intellectual value in this thesis and beyond. Please know that my study is not the end of the road for the topics treated herein. The world needs you to expand upon these ideas, challenge them, and continue to strive for truth. v PREFACE In addition to my work in music history, I am active as a composer, performer, and educator of music for voice and seven-string guitar. Being a firm believer in the idea that the best studies in music history grow out of first-hand musical knowledge relevant and interesting to the writer, I have decided to embark on this academic journey because I see in myself many traits in common with the lettered musicians of early modem Spain. While the music of Spanish Renaissance and Baroque composers stirs me profoundly, inquiry into what the lives of these composers were like and how Spanish culture in general developed within musical contexts has been equally motivating. Aside from the course requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Music, countless hours devoted to independent study, composition both musical and textual, rehearsing and performing, and presenting research are validated in the completion of this text. One especially gratifying experience was the opportunity to sing in a Gregorian- chant choir. Though chant forms the basis for the advent of all Western European sacred polyphony, the Spanish style of the early Renaissance relates to monophonic chant sources in a way all its own. Strict adherence to Gregorian chant gave way to greater freedom of expression and the inclusion of an increasing number of musical elements associated with popular style. As a guitarist inspired not only by learned, academic traditions, but also the orally transmitted styles one may call folk, I have made it my goal to relive a historic shift in emphasis from sacred to secular music. On December 7,1546, the first published piece of music for the guitar, a fantasia composed by Spaniard Alonso Mudarra (ca. 1510-1580), was taken to the press in Seville.1 With Mudarra’s work, instrumental music took a step toward bridging the divide between the sacred and the profane. Latin Mass excerpts by Franco-Flemish master Josquin des Prez and other sacred works by great polyphonists were arranged and printed, among various popular genres, in tablature for organ, harp, vihuela, and most importantly, the guitar. One must note that many consider the guitar to have been an instrument of the common classes. Even the vihuela was suspect for clerics overseeing the involvement of instrumentalists in the Catholic Church. An instrument for which many secular songs were composed, the vihuela was too closely identified with “dancing and other unholy activities.”2 This thesis is based on the aesthetics of guitar music during the 128 years between Tres libros de mvsica en cifras para vihvela (1546) of Mudarra and Instrvccion de Mvsica sobre la Gvitarra Espanola (1674) of Sanz, a historical period whose commonalities with the state of guitar culture today promise a new and informative experience for any reader, not just music specialists. My studies in music and language arts have led me to the present topic, one that I consider to be of prime importance in fully understanding one of the most powerful empires of early-modern Europe. I approach the relationship between early guitar traditions and humanism in Spain as a modem music historian who has experienced the impact of this musico-literary confluence first hand. 1. John Griffiths, “Mudarra, Alonso,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, http://0-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.opac .sfsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/19285. 2. Kenneth Kreitner, “Minstrels in Spanish Churches, 1400-1600,” Early Music 20, no. 4 (1992): 539, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3128021, for further reading see J. Moll, “Musica y representaciones en las constituciones sinodales de los Reinos de Castilla del siglo XVI,” Anuario musical 30 (1975): 209-43, especially 216-17 and 239- 42. vii Ogniun feque fua ftella. (Each of us has a star to follow.) —Petrarch, translation mine. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables.......................................................................................................................x List of Figures.....................................................................................................................xi List of Musical Examples................................................................... xii Introduction..........................................................................................................................1 Chapter One: Laberintos ingeniosos..................................................................................24 Chapter Two: Continuing an Examination of the Front Matter of Instrvccion................59 Frontispiece............................................................................................................76 Chapter Three: Dedication, Approvals, and Prologo........................................................88 Dedication..............................................................................................................88 Approvals...............................................................................................................95 Prologo................................................................................................................115 Chapter Four: Eight Rules on Setup and Rasgueado.......................................................128 Chapter Five: Eleven Rules on Punteado........................................................................173 Chapter Six: Figured-Bass Rules One through Six........................................................212 Chapter Seven: Figured-Bass Rules Seven through Twelve.......................................... 274 Chapter Eight: Compositions in Rasgueado Style.......................................................... 320 Chapter Nine: Compositions in Punteado and Mixed-Tablature Styles......................... 355 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................398 Bibliography....................................................................................................................405 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Sanz’s modt-alfabeto pairings............................................................................. 227 2. Rasgueado,punteado, and mixed tablature....................... 356 x LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1. Stele of Lutatia Lupata.............................................................................................10 2. Toledan Tables........................................................................................................26 3. Complete fronti spiece of Instrvccion......................................................................78 4. Frontispiece