Capricho Árabe by Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909) | Matthew Sheppard Guitar Recital (2024)

While Fernando Sor has solidified his legacy as the premier classical-era guitarist, the popularity of the piano in his time and in the subsequent decades relegated the guitar to the outskirts of musical development for many years. For a period of time there were not many guitar compositions written, until Francisco Tárrega entered the scene. A student of Julian Aracas, Tárrega visited Antonio Torres's guitar workshop, and purchased his first Torres guitar. Torres is known for standardizing the shape and size of the guitar, and due to new luthier techniques the guitar could stand on its own as a concertizing instrument. This particular piece is perhaps one of his most famous, Roughly translated to "Arabic Capriccio", this work exemplifies the Moorish and Arabic roots of Spanish music.