The guitar studies of Ferdinando Carulli (1770-1841) are often seen as a cut below those of his contemporaries Fernando Sor and Mauro Giuliani. But that’s a misunderstanding of their intent. Sor in particular tended to put musical quality above technical consistency. If a musical effect dramatically increased the difficulty of a study, so much the worst for the student. Carulli, however, was a realist who knew what students could and couldn’t do. So his studies usually maintain a more reasonable level of difficulty.
There’s a method behind Carulli’s studies. Many of them use standard guitar chords—in American slang, we might call them “cowboy chords”—and hew to traditional harmonic practice. He was teaching more than technique. He was also teaching how music is put together. Students who play his studies get a solid grounding in early 19th century harmony and counterpoint.
The basic nature of these pieces seem to invite improvisation and experimentation. I’ve succumbed to this temptation. In my recordings, you’ll often hear departures from the written music—sometimes I even recompose the ending of a piece. My guess is that Carulli would’ve been pleased had his students done the same.
I hope you enjoy my performances of this delightful composer.
Sincerely,
Tom Poore
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0) opening credits—00:00
1) Op. 241, No. 19—00:13
2) Op. 121, No. 1—02:49
3) Op. 121, No. 3—05:26
4) Op. 121, No. 4—07:11
5) Op. 121, No. 5—09:15
6) Op. 121, No. 10—10:18
7) Op. 121, No. 11—12:42
8) Op. 121, No. 13—15:30
9) Op. 121, No. 14—17:45
10) Op. 121, No. 15—20:33
11) Op. 121, No. 18—23:24
12) Op. 121, No. 19—26:07
