Ruggero Chiesa’s Legacy

Written by Peyman Shirali

Translated by Mahta Mottaghi

Since many years ago, I had the intention of writing an article on the Italian maestro Ruggero Chiesa and his musical life; but his ingenuity and the immense legacy, which is impressive for not only me, but also almost everyone who knows him properly, made it hard for me to find out what am I even going to start my words with.

Chiesa, a remarkable and brilliant classical guitar player, teacher and editor, was born in Camogli, Italy. He started a couple of private lessons with Mario Canepa. Thenceforth, he continued his guitar education with Carlo Palladino in Genoa, Italy.

At 1956 and 1960, he participated in Academia Musicale Chigiana with having Alirio Diaz and Emilio Pujol back then, to teach him how to play Vihuela.

Subsequently, Chiesa were replaced as Alirio Diaz in tablature transcription courses until the year 1992, a year before his death.

After his carrier as a concert player came to an end as the result of hand problems, he began a new life devoting himself to training students. Moreover, he engaged with learning and contemplating about literature, lute and of course classical guitar. Eventually all his efforts led to revitalizing Italian guitar pieces were composed back in the 19th century.

Since 1963, he was a teacher at Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music in Milan. Some of his best students are now known as the most outstanding international guitarist like Frederic Zigante and Emanuele Segre.

After 1965, Chiesa started a great collaboration with Edizioni Suvini Zerboni (an Italian music publishing house (ESZ) founded in Milan) by some revisions of ancient classical pieces, performing accurate philological analysis, and expanding this instrument’s repertoire. Furthermore, editing many songs from different composers and also writing some educational books are some of his other musical activities that should be mentioned.

Chiesa wrote three books on the basic methods of playing guitar. These books served as references for remarkable and famous Italian guitar teachers and players to start their work with. One can say that he established the standard Italian school.

Nowadays, many musicians believe in his edits so they generally use his edits in master-classes and concerts all over the world.

“Any guitarist,”Chiesa once said, “that uses my editing knowledge, is literally my student.”

In this article, I also tend to discuss about some edits from the greatest teachers of guitar history like Andres Segovia, Alirio Diaz, Emilio Pujol, John Duarte, etc. All these celebrated musicians are certainly notable for improvements of guitar skills that were brought about in these decades, but what made Ruggero Chiesa different and special is that he has left an impact on other players’ knowledge.

Here are some points seen in his edits:

-Correct transcription of the notation

– Fingering both right and left hand in the sheet music

– Putting some ossias for bars

– His unique “timbre” for each bar

– Creating better and more accurate harmonic melody for the notes

– Using an artistic and a masterful way for the bass notes and rests.

Another overt trait that his edits have, is that they demonstrate a good articulation.

This Italian guitarist truly had a great knowledge of guitar structure and his editions has recovered guitar and its classical composers.

I, personally, have studied about more that 350 pieces edited by him and, indeed, I owe most of my knowledge and POV in music to him.

Chiesa spent several years of his life studying and figuring out etudes and repertoires and he even published his erudition in a weekly magazine. Those articles became so popular that almost all of his fans and the guitar teachers read his words, which later made a great impact on guitarists’ musical life.

One of his favorite students, Frederic Zigante, took advantage of most of Chiesa’s edits and reprinted it. Sadly, Zigante’s fingering and anything that refers to editing a music sheet, have a lower merit and quality.

Finally, I want to say that this article can be useful and helpful for this field’s researchers and students to get to know Chiesa and his efforts better.

I also recommend people to follow his best transcripts and edits for Sor, Giuliani, Tarrega, Aguado and Paganini’s songs.

“Everything he had tried to edit, believe it or not, became a masterpiece.”

 

 

Post a Comment

Required fields are marked *
*
*
Your email is never shared.

Transition to Enlightenment: Six Lectures on Mozart’s String Quartets (4)

Mozart’s compositions bear the imprint of Enlightenment ideals in various ways. His music exhibits a balance between reason and emotion, mirroring the Enlightenment’s call for a harmonious integration of these elements in human life. The clarity of Mozart’s formal structures in his symphonies and operas reflects Enlightenment principles of order and rational organization.

Fereydoun Shahbazian, An Iranian Musical Icon Passed Away

Fereydoun Shahbazian, the renowned Iranian composer, passed away at the age of 82 due to respiratory illness in Tehran. His last significant activity was leading the National Orchestra before the appointment of Homayoun Rahimian

From Past Days…

Ali Rahbari’s collaboration with Naxos as a Composer

Concertino for Violin and Orchestra entitled Nohe Khan was composed by Ali (Alexander) Rahbari while he was studying music in Vienna in 1972. This piece was composed having in mind the Ashoura events and inspired by the music which is used during the Ashoura ceremonies. The piece was first performed and recorded by Bijan Khadem…
Read More »

A note on “Illusion or Ingenuity” article

The author of the “Illusion or Ingenuity” article, who is apprehensive of the future of the Music in Iran, enumerates some symptoms of the music weakening in the country for example decreasing in the quality of the music as well as lack of the innovation in creating them, a gradual decline in the music public taste and the drop in the application of layered sound and polyphony in music. He explains that one reason for this gradual weakening might be our unawareness of the fact that we are not so intelligent nation. He believes that we, Iranians, have a comprehensive “Illusion of the high national intelligence “that make us ignorant of the unfavorable realities of our music and consequently no searching for the remedy is taking place. His point of view brings to the mind a patient who thinks he is healthy, therefore delays the treatment and finally is killed by the disease. The author also refers to the national difficulties which gradually will lower the national intelligence score such as the increased rate of the immigration and brain drain, low quality of the nutrition, incompetence of the education system and etc and predicts that the condition of the music of Iran might deteriorate in the future because of the mentioned illusion of its great status.

The Structure of Kurdistan Daf (VI)

Researcher: Mohammad Tarighat Translator: Fatemeh Alimohammadi Hooks and attached rings: The junction of the ring to the arch is about 3 centimeters from the skin.  The ring with its side rings should be as far as the diameter of a ring (about one and a half to one and eight centimeters) to make a proper…
Read More »

Ashoura Opera

Ashura Opera was composed by Behzad Abdi, the Iranian composer, in 2008 based on librettos compiled by Behrouz Gharib. The main source for the libretto is poems by Mohtasham Kashani, a sixteenth century Iranian poet.

Polyphony in Iranian Music (III)

In heterophonic variant, two performers perform a single melody simultaneously and change it. Performing and changing a single melody simultaneously by two performers leads to the coincidence of different voices.

Women Musicians in Large Iranian Orchestras

It is more than a century now that the sociologists consider the presence of women in different social domains as a benchmark for a society’s progress. They analyze the presence of women in society by the means of available statistics. Unfortunately, as with regard to the Iranian society, statistics related to women’s engagement, has not been available to the researchers, if they existed at all.

Henry Cowell: “Persian Set”

Persian Set: Four Movements for chamber orchestra: Moderato; Allegretto; Lento; Rondo

Henry Cowell, one of the most innovative American composers of the 20th century, was born in 1897. Cowell and his wife visited Iran in 1956 and stayed there the whole winter, upon the invitation by the Iranian Royal Family, when he composed his album “Persian Set” in four movements for chamber orchestra. His composition is expressive of the characteristic quality of the Persian or the Iranian music.

Interview with Farhad Poupel (I)

Born in Isfahan, Iran, and based in the UK, Farhad Poupel’s music has been performed and will be performed in numerous prestigious concert halls and festivals throughout the world including Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan; La Roque-d’Anthéron Piano Festival, La Roque-d’Anthéron, France; Biarritz Festival, Biarritz, France; Stoller Hall, Manchester, UK; Janacek academy of music and performing art, Brno, Czech Republic; Karlskrona International Piano Festival, Karlskrona, Sweden; by distinguished artists such as Kotaro Fukuma, Peter Jablonski, Daniel Grimwood, Margaret Fingerhut, Catherine Carby, Kristýna Znamenáčková,Jeffrey Biegel, Jean-Francois Bouvery and orchestras such as Windsor Symphony Orchestra or broadcasted on the NPR Radio 4, Netherland. The following is an interview with him on the ocaasion of the premier of the Legend of Bijan and Manijeh.

Developments in Iranian Music Since Qajar Era (I)

At the end of the Qajar era and as Iran entered the power transition period, known as the constitutional era, the Iranian music went through a lot of changes. These changes gained momentum as the students and followers of Ali Naqi Vaziri’s entered the musical scene. These changes greatly influenced designs of instruments, playing methods, singing, composing, etc.

A Look at Ali Tajvidi’s Manifold Musical Activities (I)

Ali Tajvidi (1920 – 2004), one of the most prominent Iranian musicians, passed away sixteen years ago. He was one of the most distinguished Iranian artists. To specify one of the fields in which he was unique, one can refer to Tasnif composition. A brief review of his manifold musical activities is presented below.