Gaspar Sanz (1640 –1710) is the most famous baroque-period guitarist. His works are tuneful and memorable, with fiery cross-rhythms and cascading scale passages. He published three books of guitar music.The baroque guitar could be viewed as a close relative of the ukulele. Indeed, the two instruments have much in common. the smaller four-course guitar actually had the same tuning as the ukulele, for example, although it was largely double-strung.Sanz enjoyed playing scales in the campanella style, with the notes of a scale set out on different strings, sonically overlapping slightly in the style of little bells. This is a technique the ukulele excels at, and is used to good effect in these arrangements.Sanz' music for baroque guitar transfers exceptionally well to the uke, as these arrangements demonstrate. It is hoped that this repertoire will bring a refreshing addition to the repertoire of the ukulele, just as the little instrument can bring a freshness to these old but lively pieces.

James Tyler offers a practical manual to aid guitar players and lutenists in transitioning from modern stringed instruments to the baroque guitar. He begins with the physical aspects of the instrument, addressing tuning and stringing arrangements and technique before considering the fundamentals of baroque guitar tablature. In the second part of the book Tyler provides an anthology of representative works from the repertoire. Each piece is introduced with an explanation of the idiosyncrasies of the particular manuscript or source and information regarding any performance practice issues related to the piece itself -- represented in both tablature and staff notation. Tyler's thorough yet practical approach facilitates access to this complex body of work.

Spanien im 17./18. Jh.: kultureller Hintergrund, Musikleben; Typologie der spanischen Barockgitarre: Instrument, Notation, Stimmung, Spieltechnik, Ornamentation; spanische Quellen für Barockgitarre; der "musikalische Zirkel" und das"musikalische Labyrint"; die "Passacalles y obras..." (1732); Rolle der Barockgitarre in der spanischen Gesellschaft; Transkription rechnet mit "bordones", gibt aber bei "campanella"-Passagen die höhere Oktave in runder Klammer an; gegenwärtig die umfassendste Studie des spanischen Quellenmaterials für Barockgitarre

A substantial amount of early music for the guitar remains unknown to modern performers and audiences. In recent years, however, musicologists, scholars and performers on period instruments have provided a wealth of accessible new source materials which players can now begin to interpret in convincing and effective ways. Nevertheless, many still feel intimidated by the prospect of sorting through and learning to use these resources for the first time. for the uninitiated, just knowing where to start can be difficult.This anthology contains representative selections from the publications and manuscripts of four important Spanish Baroque guitarists: Gaspar Sanz, Antonio de Santa Cruz, Francisco Guerau, and Santiago de Murcia. In addition to being fun and entertaining music for all to enjoy, this collection is intended to help bridge the gap between scholarly editions and performance editions by providing a hands-on introduction to tablature transcription and to issues concerning historically informed performance on the modern guitar.

Scholarly editions, which serve different purposes than performance editions, are not often designed with the modern guitarist in mind. for instance, Renaissance vihuela tablatures are usually transcribed with the open first string as G, not E. Most are presented in double-staff notation, a medium that is superior for realizing counterpoint but unconventional as guitar notation. Furthermore, these editions sometimes give idealized, but not realistic, solutions for voicing, note duration, and other matters that need to be considered within the limitations of our instrument. Guitarists who try to play from these editions essentially are faced with the task of transcribing the transcription!This 188-page anthology is designed as a companion volume to the Baroque Guitar in Spain and the New World (MB21122). It includes representative selections, edited for modern guitar, from the seven books for vihuela that were published in Spain between 1536 and 1576.As well as being fun and entertaining music for all to enjoy, these collections are intended to help bridge the gap between scholarly editions and performance editions by providing a hands-on introduction to tablature transcription and to issues concerning historically informed performance of early music on the guitar.A 188-page anthology, edited for modern guitar, from the seven books for vihuela that were published in Spain between 1536 and 1576A companion volume to the Baroque Guitar in Spain and the New World (MB21122)Intended to help bridge the gap between scholarly editions and performance editionsAn introduction to tablature transcription and to issues concerning historically informed performance of early music on the modern guitar.