The baroque guitar

J. S. Bach’s music has been a part of my life since childhood, and I make a point of playing his works every day. His music, along with that of Scarlatti and Rameau, feels essential to any Baroque program. Of course, performing this repertoire on the modern classical guitar means making many musical and stylistic compromises—but for me, the greater compromise would be not to play it at all. Because each piece must be adapted for the guitar, I have had to engage with this music on a very deep level, perhaps more so than a pianist or violinist, and that journey has profoundly shaped my understanding of the Baroque.

The instrument I play today did not exist in the Baroque era. Instead, its close relatives—the five-course vihuela and the lute—were central to musical life, fulfilling the vital role of the continuo in ensembles while also appearing as solo instruments. Some of this repertoire, such as the works of Santiago de Murcia, are a part of this concert, standing alongside music originally written for keyboard, without which no Baroque evening would feel complete.