Spanish Guitar and Music

Spanish Guitar and Music

Probably unlikely today you will meet a person who has never heard the music of Spain. The soft sound of the guitar, charming melodies, clear rhythms ... Today, Spain can not be imagined without a guitar, it is considered to be its national instrument with a long history. About how its "fate" was taking place several centuries ago, we will tell some interesting facts.

The very first information about the guitar, or rather, about an instrument that is very similar to it, dates back to the 2nd century. This is a picture discovered by archaeologists in one of the bas-reliefs in Spain. How this instrument was then called is unknown, however, as well as what happened to it over the course of the next millennium. One thing is certain: by the 13th century, the guitar became part of the life of the Spaniards. She is considered a folk instrument used for every opportunity: she is played solo, accompanied by singing and accompanied by dances. Get accustomed to the pictures of this era, which depict roving artists - minstrels, in their hands will certainly be a guitar. Esteemed her and royal personages. In particular, she was the favorite instrument of King Alfonso the Wise. The name of this monarch in musical history is known, first of all, by the famous "Cantigas de Santa Maria" (Kantigi in honor of St. Mary). This 401 chants, carefully collected by the king for the glorification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the cover of the manuscript, the king wanted to see musicians with guitars, although these instruments were far from the most popular at the time.

Amazingly, the universal recognition of the guitar began to receive everything not in Spain, but in other countries. The history of the “guitar” expansion of the Old and New Worlds began in the reign of Queen Isabella, or Isabella of Castile, in the XV century. This wise ruler during her reign did a lot: she created a strong Spanish state, established a single religion in her - Christianity, founded the second inquisition (it was not for nothing that the Queen and today historians call the Woman Inquisitor). But her most outstanding act was the support of the expedition of Christopher Columbus. On ships of the second expedition, completed in 1493, about 1.5 thousand people went to explore the world.

Among them were famous viuelist guitarists. And now, in front of foreign countries, not only Spanish music, but also its instruments appeared in all its glory. The spread of the guitar in the world is akin to an epidemic: an outlandish instrument with a soft sound began to rapidly gain fans. Already by the beginning of the 16th century, the guitar came to the fore, eclipsing the viol, harp and lute.

But in Spain itself in the XVI century vihuela reigned. The composer's legacy of that era abounds in a variety of compositions for this instrument. However, among the creators of musical art were true lovers of the guitar. For example, Alonso Moudarra and Miguel de Fuenliana, the two largest representatives of the Spanish school of viralists, not only wrote their works for her, but were among the first to actively popularize it in the higher strata of Spanish society. It, by the way, resisted at first, but the masters knew what they were doing. And for good reason, by the end of the 17th century, the guitar completely supplanted vihuela.