Alonso Mudarra: More than a One-Hit Wonder
by Keith Calmes

While I was shopping in Philadelphia's Classical Guitar Store the other day, an employee and I began discussing the music of Alonso Mudarra, who lived from about 1510-1580. A student guitarist picked up on the conversation and asked, "Is Alonso Mudarra your teacher?" I only wish!

Most guitarists know Mudarra's deservedly famous "Fantasia que contrehaze la harpa en la manera de Ludovico." If not, do yourself a favor and learn about one of the truly great pieces of the guitar repertoire. The piece is superb in every respect: overall form, dissonant yet controlled harmony, and dramatic melodic runs.

Most also know Mudarra as one of the outstanding composers of vihuela music during the Spanish Renaissance. The vihuela, by the way, was the equivalent of the modern-day guitar during its era. The strings were in pairs (called courses), and the third course was tuned a half step lower than the modern guitar. The vihuela became extinct when the guitar became popular during the Baroque period. Mudarra worked as a musician for nobility in Spain, and accompanied his employers on a trip to Italy. It is certain that he was influenced by Italian music. Along with his brother, he became a canon at the breathtaking cathedral in Seville. His music was published while in the service of the powerful church.

Mudarra's three books of music for the vihuela, all in Italian tablature, were published in 1546. Among the vihuela music in his first book are didactic fantasias that rival the superb contrapuntal works of Francesco de Milano, and the only Pavana/Galliard pairing in the entire vihuela repertoire. His music is also among the first to denote tempo indications, utilizing symbols indicating slow, moderate, and fast tempi.

The real historical importance of Alonso Mudarra, however, lies at the end of his first book. That is where we find the earliest known music for the guitar or guitarra. The book includes four contrapuntal fantasias, followed by a chordal Pavana, and finally a Romanesca on the popular theme "Guardame las Vacas." The guitarra/guitar, of Mudarra's age was a diminutive instrument with four courses. The tuning matched that of the modern day guitar, except that the instrument was tuned to a much higher tessitura (remember, A was not standardized at 440 Hz yet!), the fourth course was probably tuned in octaves, and the first of Mudarra's pieces calls for the fourth course to be tuned down a whole step.

Discovering this music seems like the guitarist's equivalent of the "holy grail." It is then disconcerting to see that Mudarra indicated that the very first piece written for the guitar was "in the old tuning," alluding to previous traditions on the instrument. Stylistically, the piece has slower rhythms and longer melodic lines than his other music. It's curious that Mudarra was at least among the first to write for the guitar, yet was simultaneously rooting the music in tradition. Did Mudarra provide dichotomies like this in his music to appease the church, to get his creative juices flowing, or simply to be a musical rascal?

Alonso Mudarra provides another great dichotomy in the vihuela music from his second book. The book consists of three multi-movement "suites" or "sonatas"(neither term existed in Mudarra's time). Each multi-movement work consists of three or four movements: the first is always a tiento (prelude) followed by a succession of fantasias and/or glosas. Glosas are pieces that interchange original music with that of another composer in a seamless fashion. The dichotomy in this music lies in Mudarra's harmonic freedom. While he organizes each piece by tono (mode), his harmonies are frequently exploratory.

Ironically, only Mudarra's "Harp of Ludovico" has found its way into the standard guitar repertoire. With so many other monumental pieces from "The Golden Era of Plucked String Music" lying around, including Mudarra's other masterpieces, why do guitarists keep playing the same old pieces from the Renaissance?

I hope you agree that Alonso Mudarra's music is worthy of further exploration. Here is a short list of source material which may be of interest:

• www.geocities.com/donaldsauter/amtab.htm
• www.eliotfisk.com/pdfFiles/mudarra6pieces.pdf
• Alonso Mudarra-Tres libros de música para vihuela (Hopkinson Smith, Vihuelist/Guitarist)- Astree Audio
• The Early Guitar (James Tyler) - Oxford University Press
• The Eight Masterpieces of Alonso Mudarra* - Mel Bay Publications
• Guitar Music of the Sixteenth Century* - Mel Bay Publications
• Guitar Music from Tres libros de musica* - Mel Bay Publications

*Currently out of print, but possibly returning as a download.

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About the Author

Keith Calmes teaches guitar and rock history at Wall High School and Monmouth University; he presented a lecture/recital on Mudarra at the October 2007 GFA Convention. His eldest son Alain is named after Alonso Mudarra. (Just don't let Alain's mom know that!)