Agustín Barrios

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[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

When he was a child, Barrios began to develop a love for music and literature, two areas that were very important to his family. Barrios-Mangoré eventually would speak two different languages (Spanish and Guarani), and read three more (English, French and German).

Barrios began showing interest in musical instruments, particularly the guitar, before he reached teenagehood. He went to Asuncion in 1901, at the young age of thirteen, to attend a university (Colegio Nacional de Asuncion) with a scholarship in music, thus becoming one of the youngest university students in Paraguayan history. Apart from becoming a musician at the college's music department, Barrios-Mangoré was also well appreciated by members of the college's mathematics, journalism and literature departments.

After leaving college, Barrios dedicated his life to writing poems and practising his music. He arranged more than 300 songs which he would write in poem, then play with his guitar. Barrios-Mangoré made several friends during his multiple trips across South America; he was known for giving his friends and fans signed copies of his poems. Because of that, a sizeable amount of different versions of his works have surfaced across that continent and in other areas of Latin America as well as in the United States, for which reason many of his current fans warn potential copy buyers to be careful when they are to buy a poem reportedly written by Barrios-Mangoré.

[edit] Career

Barrios was famed for his phenomenal performances, both live and on gramophone recordings — the first classical guitar music ever committed to disk. For some years, it was his habit to perform in concert in traditional Paraguayan dress (he was partly of Guarani origin).

His works were largely late- Romantic in character, despite his having lived well into the twentieth century. Many of them are also adaptations of or are influenced by South American and Central American folk music. Very many of them are of a virtuosic nature.

The Bach-inspired La Catedral (1921) is often considered to be his most impressive work, even winning the approval of Andrés Segovia, who otherwise seemed to have little regard for his compositions. The posthumous rise in Barrios' critical stock, both as composer and player, is seen by some to have come at the expense of Segovia, formerly an untouchable icon of the instrument.

[edit] Death and legacy

Barrios died and was buried in San Salvador, El Salvador on August 7, 1944.

Barrios-Mangoré is still revered in Paraguay, where he is still seen as one of the greatest musicians of all time by many. His works have been championed by John Williams, among others, as some of the greatest in the classical guitar repertoire. Williams has said of Barrios: "As a guitarist/composer, Barrios is the best of the lot, regardless of ear. His music is better formed, it's more poetic, it's more everything! And it's more of all those things in a timeless way. So I think he's a more significant composer than Sor or Giuliani, and more significant composer — for the guitar — than Villa-Lobos." The statement about Sor and Giuliani being of lesser value as a composer is highly questionable and It should simply be seen as a sign for Williams' enormous enthousiasm for Barrios as a composer.

Many other guitarists have recorded music by Barrios, including Laurindo Almeida, Manuel Barrueco, Antigoni Goni, Iakovos Kolanian, Wulfin Lieske, Angel Romero, David Russell and Enno Voorhorst.

[edit] Folk music

The folk music of Paraguay (including the polca paraguaya, vals and zamba) provided the young Barrios with his first introduction to music. In 1898, Barrios was formally introduced to the classical guitar repertoire by Gustovo Sosa Escalada. At that time, Barrios had already composed works for the guitar, and also performed pieces written by his former teacher Alias, such as La Chinita and La Perezosa. Under the influence of his new teacher, Barrios went on to perform and study the works of Tárrega, Vinas, Sor and Aguado. Sosa Escalada was so impressed with his new pupil that he convinced Barrios' parents to let him move to Asunción to continue his education. Having already surpassed the technical and performing abilities of most guitarists, Barrios began to seriously compose around 1905.

[edit] Composing

Barrios' compositions can be divided into three basic categories: folkloric, imitative and religious. Barrios paid tribute to the music and people of his native land by composing pieces modeled after folk songs from South America and Central America. Imitating the compositional style and techniques of the Baroque and Romantic periods was another side to his craftsmanship. La Catedral may be viewed as Barrios' imitation of Bach. It is believed that La Catedral was inspired by a religious experience for Barrios; therefore, the piece may also be categorized under religion. Religious beliefs and experiences also played an important role in Barrios' compositional process. Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios (An Alm for the Love of God) is another example of a religiously-inspired work. Breaking down the works of Barrios into these three categories helps the guitar enthusiast to understand Barrios' musical intent.

[edit] List of works

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] See also

List of Paraguayans

[edit] External links

• 'Agustín Barrios' International Guitar Competition
• Agustín Barrios Mangoré: The Folkloric, Imitative, and the Religious Influence Behind His Compositions
• Song Julia Florida by Duo Roldan (video and mp3)
• fan page on Barrios-Mangoré

Categories: Romantic composers | Composers for guitar | Paraguayan composers | Paraguayan classical guitarists | 1885 births | 1944 deaths