Emilio Pujol’s discourse on Francisco Tárrega and playing technique from his method Escuela Razonada de la Guitarra

Abstract

This essay reflects on the significance and impact of Emilio Pujol’s discourse on Francisco Tárrega and his guitar playing technique. By applying some of the guidelines from critical discourse analysis (JÄGER, 2003), we examine the ideological content of this discourse, as well as its implications for the world of guitar of the time. We propose, on one hand, that the canonization of the figure Tárrega and his label as restorer of the guitar as an art form provided a symbol to an entire generation of guitarists that validated them in artistic and social realms. In the same way, the discourse on technique from his method Escuela Razonada de la Guitarra reveals an effort to distinguish himself from popular guitar playing, as well as to connect his proposal to ideas related to truth, the natural or the pure.