Based on the string quartets of Enrique Ataide y Portugal
Parts. 32+28 pp., $22.95, Presser Order number 494-02807 (EICM-43b)
Today,
François de Fossa needs little introduction. His name and his music are
well established in the serious repertoire of the guitar. One salient aspect of
de Fossa’s creative output was the relatively large number of arrangements that
he made for the two-guitar medium. Most of these arrangements are based on
overtures to operas that were popular in France during the early decades of the
nineteenth century. But perhaps the most daring endeavors in this direction,
were de Fossa’s arrangements of the nine string quartets by Joseph Haydn and the
present set of Six Concertante Duos based on the Six string quartets by
Enrique Ataide y Portugal. One can only surmise on de Fossa’s motivation in
arranging the music of a Spanish composer who was certainly not known in France.
Most probably, he had known Enrique Ataide personally, having met him and his
music during his own sojourn in Madrid during the years 1803-1810. These
arrangements could have been made during the same period de Fossa had made the
Haydn quartets arrangements.
The
structure of all six quartets, and of course the Concertante Duos on
which they are based, is of a first movement in a Sonata-Allegro form,
followed by a theme and variations movement, often in a Rondo format. Duo
VI, the last in the collection, has one additional movement — an Allegro
Fugato. The music of Ataide is fresh, ingenious and happy, even though it
has scant formal pretensions. François de Fossa’s arrangement of this music for
the two-guitar medium offers guitarists a direct access to eighteenth century
Spanish chamber music as practiced by enlightened aficionados, the same people
to whom Luigi Boccherini dedicated his string quartets (G. 171-76) — the
Signori dilettanti di Madrid.
François de Fossa was born in Perpignan on August 31st 1775 and died in Paris on June 3rd 1849. He was one of the most influential composers for the guitar, an influence which was reflected in his close personal relationships with many well known guitarists of the early 19th century, and in particular, with Dionisio Aguado. It is thanks to de Fossa that the guitar quintets of Luigi Boccherini, perhaps the basis of the repertoire for chamber music with guitar, were preserved and are available to us today.
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