The Influence of the Spanish Civil War in Gerhard’s Guitar Music

Abstract

The Spanish Civil War was a dramatic moment in Gerhard’s life as it forced him into exile. Away from his homeland, he maintained a pacifist stance and firmly opposed Franco’s regime. The personal connection of the composer with this tragic event was perhaps the reason why the BBC commissioned Gerhard two pieces of incidental music for two adaptations of important books set during the Spanish Civil War. In both compositions, The Revenge for Love (1957) and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1965), Gerhard decided to include the guitar, an instrument widely associated with the Spanish and Catalan culture. The chapter considers how his political views and experience regarding the Spanish Civil War influenced his approach to The Revenge for Love and For Whom the Bell Tolls, which was also the basis for his most important works for guitar: Fantasia for solo guitar and the chamber work Libra. Furthermore, the chapter examines the complex genesis of Fantasia for solo guitar showing how starting from the musical material of The Revenge for Love the composer wrote two versions of the composition: a first rejected by the guitarist Julian Bream, and a second that was then published and premiered by John Williams.