AgustÃn Barrios
Agustín Pío Barrios Mangore ( born May 5, 1885 in San Juan Bautista de las Misiones, Paraguay; † August 7, 1944 in San Salvador ) was a Paraguayan composer and one of the first guitar virtuosos in South America.
Curriculum vitae
The parents of the young Barrios, convinced of the capabilities of her son as a guitarist, sent him from his small hometown in southern Paraguay in the capital Asunción. Here he appeared as a guitarist, wrote to piano pieces by Bach and Beethoven for Guitar, developed a keen interest in mathematics, literature and philosophy, and later confessed: "You can not be a guitarist if one has not bathed in the sources of culture. " In Asunción Barrios was musically trained by Gustavo Sosa Escalada (1844-1944), a pupil of the Argentinean guitar composer Carlos García Tolsa, Juan Alais and Antonio Ferreyro and later at the Instituto Paraguayo under the Italian -born musician Nicolino Pellegrini. 1910 Barrios took a concert tour to Argentina, which was such a success that it almost all the countries of South and Central America traveled in the next two decades and has performed there. A failure in Buenos Aires in 1928 prevented a North American tour.
In the late 1920s, the Indian Culture practiced his home from an increasing fascination for him. In the early 1930s he joined his concert evenings, not least on the advice of his agent, no longer exclusively in traditional dress coat on, but in Indian garb, even with feather headdress. He took the name of a Guaraníhäuptlings, " Mangoré ", and appeared in the first half of the program as Indians " Nitsuga ( Agustín reverse) Mangoré, the Paganini of the guitar from the jungle " with his own works on. After the break he played in tails works and transcriptions for guitar of Bach and other European composers.
In 1935, he spent a year in support of the Paraguayan ambassador ( in Mexico) Tomás Solomon and his family in Europe, including Belgium, Germany and Spain, where there were in Germany ( in Berlin during the Nazi period ) no concerts, but successful performances in Conservatory in Brussels and Madrid. At the outbreak of the civil war in Spain, he traveled to South America. A few years after his return, he accepted a professorship in San Salvador, where he died in 1944 at the age of 59 years.
Works
Barrios composed his lifetime. His works are considered to be innovative, both in terms of their unique expressiveness as well as what their romantic Harmoniegebung. You have exhausted the musical power of the guitar for the first time. As a model in game and compositional technique is partially to consider Francisco Tárrega, although the influence is small when the same by the use of forms such as Preludes, etudes and tremolo studies, including the use of dance forms like minuet, waltz, mazurka as well as picking up on elements of folklore in the compositions apart. Barrios was probably the first classical guitarist who own plates has received (1913 ) and the first guitarist who played a complete Bach Suite sound with the guitar in a public concert. The audio recordings ( mostly with very poor sound quality, for historical reasons ) are available from the label Chanterelle.
There are about 105 of a total of 300 plants known, including major works of the romantic guitar literature such as La Catedral ( 3 sets, inspired by the Cathedral in Montevideo), Sueño en la Floresta ( "Dream in the Forest", tremolo study) and Una limosna por el amor de Dios ( " An alms from God's love," last tremolo study).
Guitar technique
Barrios used according to tradition, waxed steel strings, which produced a slightly softer sound than pure steel strings, which were only used by folk musicians. From European classical guitarists such as Miguel Llobet, Andres Segovia and Regino Sainz de la Maza, which occurred simultaneously with Barrios in South America, gut strings were used (because there was no nylon strings at that time) and they found the use of steel strings strange or rejected it from. Barrios was one of the first guitarists who recorded records.
Appreciation
John Williams, one of the discoverers of Barrios in the 1970s, estimated in 1993 Barrios a significant Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani and Heitor Villa -Lobos:
" ... As a guitarist / composer, Barrios is the best of the lot, Regardless of era. His music is better Formed, it's more poetic, it's more everything! And it's more of Those Things in a timeless way. So I think he 's a more significant composer than Sor or Giuliani, and a more significant composer - for the guitar -. Than Villa -Lobos "
" ... As a guitarist and composer, Barrios is the best of all, regardless of the time period. His music is better formed, it is poetic, it has more of everything! And she has a timeless Art is why I think he is a more important composer than Sor or Giuliani and a more important composer - for the guitar -. Than Villa -Lobos "
Others
The current 50,000 certificates of Series D Paraguay Guarani show Agustín Pío Barrios on the front. They were introduced in 2008 after the Series C notes were stolen with another motif on the way from the printers to Paraguay.