Guitar – a Sound Episode in the Output of Les Six Group

Abstract

The article aims at presenting the guitar output of the composers who were members of Les Six group. It may trigger further, detailed research into the guitar works of composers for whom this instrument became a mere sound episode in their oeuvre. Four of the six French composers included in this group: Georges Auric, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, and Germaine Tailleferre dedicated a part of their oeuvre to the guitar literature renascent in the first half of the 20th century. Their interest in the instrument was the result of the activity of the great masters of the time, Andrés Segovia and Ida Presti. It also resulted from their specific approach to creation - among other things, a desire to oppose the previous aesthetics or to write simple and humorous music, in which the guitar proved to be an excellent medium. The article contains an analysis of selected compositions and the genesis of their creation. The analysis also focuses on the role of the guitar in French music throughout the ages and the programmatic ideas of the group known as Les Six.