Gaspar Sanz

Gaspar Sanz was a Spanish Baroque composer, guitarist and music theorist. Born in Calanda, he studied music, theology and philosophy at the University of Salamanca, where he later became Professor of Music. He continued his musical studies in Italy and served as organist to the Spanish Viceroy in Naples before returning to Spain, where he taught guitar to Don Juan of Austria, the illegitimate son of King Philip IV. Sanz is best known for his three-volume guitar method, Instrucción de Música sobre la Guitarra Española, published in the late seventeenth century. Its ninety compositions combine Spanish dances and folk melodies with forms and influences from across Europe. His work helped develop the Baroque guitar’s technique and repertoire. His music subsequently inspired Spanish composers including Manuel de Falla and Joaquín Rodrigo, whose guitar concerto Fantasía para un gentilhombredraws on themes from Sanz’s works.