“The famous Vidal”: New Light on the Life and Works of a Guitarist in Late Eighteenth-Century France

"Le célèbre Vidal" : Nouvel lumière sur la vie et les travails d'un guitariste à la fin du XVIIIe siècle

Damián Martín Gil (1, 2)

1 Poitiers UFR SHA - Université de Poitiers - UFR Sciences Humaines et Arts
2 CRIHAM [Poitiers] - Centre de recherches interdisciplinaires en histoire, histoire de l'art et musicologie [EA 4270]

During the second half of the eighteenth century the Spanish guitar reached a level of popularity in France not equalled elsewhere. Among the various composers who contributed to the vogue for the instrument in this country, sources of the period refer to a certainMr Vidal, a guitarist of Spanish origins whowas regarded as one of the most important masters of the guitar in Europe. Despite multiple references to his musical activities no extensive study has yet been made, which leaves this figure only partially studied. In order to address this lacuna, this article reconstructs the life of this guitarist, placing his music in the environment in which he lived in order to obtain a clearer picture of the situation of the guitar and the role of Vidal as a composer, guitarist, publisher and teacher.

Domains: Musicology and performing arts; Musicology and performing arts

Damián Martín Gil. “The famous Vidal”: New Light on the Life and Works of a Guitarist in Late Eighteenth-Century France. Eighteenth-Century Music, 2021, 18 (1), pp.123-149. ⟨10.1017/S1478570620000470⟩. ⟨hal-03516502⟩