Ethnoclassicism in Guitar Chamber Music: A portfolio of four CD recordings and exegesis

Abstract

This performance-based study examines stylistic cross-pollination in the classical guitar repertoire. The submission comprises 240 minutes of recorded performances – the majority of which are world premiere recordings – and a supporting exegesis. The music performed and analysed reflects a change from the more introspective and Eurocentric Segovian soloist approach towards a more collaborative, stylistically diverse and inclusive identity. A destinctive feature of that shift is the guitar’s strong South American heritage and a preparedness by composers and performers alike to look beyond the European traditions in order to embrace what is here termed ethnoclassicism – a phenomenon whereby guitar-idiomatic elements, art and vernacular musics come together as the result of certain historical, social and economic catalysts. Underpinned by interviews with representative composers this study finds that the eclecticism of the contemporary classical guitar repertoire encapsulates the idea of ethnoclassicism. Its diversity and preoccupation with the vernacular are particularly evident in much of the instrument’s South American chamber music repertoire as exemplified in Astor Piazzolla’s seminal Histoire du Tango (1986) for flute and guitar.