Ferdinando Carulli
1770-1841-Classical Romantic
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Ferdinando Carulli
Ferdinando Maria Meinrado Francesco Pascale Rosario Carulli (February
9, 1770–February 17, 1841) was one of the most famous composers
for classical guitar and the author of the first complete classical
guitar method, which continues to be used today. He wrote a variety of
works for classical guitar, including concertos and chamber works. He
was an extremely prolific writer for guitar, writing over 400 works for
the instrument in the space of 12 years.
Carulli was born in Naples, Italy on February 9, 1770. His father,
Michele, was a distinguished literator, secretary to the delegate of
the Neapolitan Jurisdiction. Like many of his contemporaries, he was
taught musical theory by a priest, who was also an amateur musician.
Carulli's first instrument was the cello, but when he was twenty he
discovered the guitar and devoted his life to the study and advancement
of the guitar. As there were no professional guitar teachers in Naples
at the time, Carulli developed his own style of playing.
Carulli was a gifted performer. His concerts in Naples were so popular
that he soon began touring Europe. Around 1801 Carulli married a French
woman, Marie-Josephine Boyer, and had a son with her. A few years later
Carulli started to compose in Milan, where he contributed to local
publications. After a highly successful Paris tour, Carulli moved
there. At the time the city was known as the 'music-capital' of the
world, and he stayed there for the rest of his life.
In Paris Carulli became a very successful musician and teacher. He
fulfilled his intention of making the guitar popular and fashionable
among the upper classes and Paris musicians. It was also in Paris that
he published most of his works, eventually becoming a publisher himself
and printing the works of other prominent guitarists.
In the 1830s, many European guitarists followed Carulli to Paris,
apparently 'attracted by his personality'. With so many other
guitarists in Paris, Carulli worked harder at his teaching, and soon
had counted members of the Parisian nobility among his students.
Many of the pieces now regarded as Carulli's greatest were initially
turned down by the publishers as being too hard for the average player,
and it is likely that many masterpieces were lost this way. Undeterred,
Carulli started publishing his pieces himself. However, the great
majority of Carulli's surviving works are those that were considered
'safe' enough to be accepted by other publishers, mainly for the
teaching of certain techniques or for beginners. Although he had many
students and supporters, Carulli began to believe he didn't deserve his
impressive reputation because most of the great works he had composed
were never published.
Confined to mainly simple pieces, Carulli wrote his world-famous method
of classical guitar, "Harmony Applied to the Guitar", a collection of
pieces that are still used today in tuition. At the time of publishing,
the method was very popular and had many editions published.
Later in life, Carulli began to experiment with changes in guitar
construction. With Lacote, a French guitar maker, he made some
significant changes for improving the sound of the guitar.
Carulli died in Paris on February 17, 1841 at the age of 71 years.
Music/Style
Carulli was among the most prolific composers of his time. He wrote
more than four hundred works for the guitar, and countless others for
various instrumental combinations, always including the guitar. His
most influential work of all was his "Method, op. 27", published in
1810, and still used widely today in training students of the classical
guitar. Carulli also composed some pieces for guitar and piano with his
son Gustavo. He wrote works for chamber orchestra and other ensembles.
Classical guitarists have recorded many of his works. Arguably his most
famous work is a duet for guitar and flute, which was recorded by
Alexander Lagoya and Jean-Pierre Rampal, although his Duo in G Op.34
achieved a measure of indirect fame in Britain as the theme tune of
cult 1980s Sci-Fi/ TV game show The Adventure Game. The Duo in G has
been recorded several times, most famously by Julian Bream and John
Williams.
Contributions to Music
Aside from his immensely influential Method, published in the early
1800s and still used widely today as a means of teaching students of
the classical guitar and helping experts to perfect certain techniques,
he changed and improved many aspects of the early instrument to create
the modern classical guitar used today.
By the early nineteenth century the guitar had evolved from a lute-like
instrument with five pairs of strings to an instrument similar to the
guitar we know today, with a flat body, long neck and circular sound
hole in the middle. But there were some differences. Carulli's first
guitar may have had five rather than six strings, which may have been
in pairs (the pairs are known as "courses") similar to the lute and
vihuela. The pairing of strings produces a rich, resonant sound when
the guitar is strummed but is not so effective for the picking action
used in classical guitar, in marked contrast to the similarly strung
lute which is usually plucked and seldom strummed. Also, the body of
the instrument would have been smaller and less deep, producing a less
resonant sound more like that of a violin or ukulele. Finally, the
tuning pegs of the guitar were not mechanical but frictional, like
those of today's violas and those used on the lute. However mechanical
tuning pegs were introduced only about a hundred years ago, well after
Carulli's time.
In the later part of his life, Carulli, along with French instrument
makers and guitarists Antonio de Torres Jurado and Lacote, helped to
change the guitar into the larger, more resonant instrument we know
today. They accomplished this by making the bulges or bouts in the side
more pronounced, to produce a greater volume and surface area which
made the sound better. Later Jurado also helped to make the modern form
of the flamenco guitar which is lighter and smaller with a more
brilliant sound than the classical.