Biblioteca de la Guitarra y Cuerda Pulsada

'Sadness' by Mme. SIDNEY PRATTEN (Neé CATHARINA JOSEPHA PELZER 1821 - 1895) performed here by Alex Timmerman.
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For this video an English Period guitar build in the 'Spanish-Panormo' style by J. Guiot in 1846 was used. Guiot, of French origine, had been an apprentice for 20 years working for Louis Panormo's celebrated atelier in London. After Louis Panormo sold the atelier and had emigrated to New Zealand in 1859, Guiot worked independently, selling his guitars through various musical instrument dealers. One of them being Louis panormo's nephew Edward Panormo, the seller of the Guiot guitar seen in this video; a handsome guitar quite similar to the one at the photo held by Mme. Sidney Pratten in the video .

'SADNESS' - numbered with the No. 91 - is the 1st of three 'Songs without Words' composed by Mme. CATHARINA JOSEPHA SIDNEY PRATTEN for the guitar. All three 'IMPROMTUS' as they were also named were dedicated 'To Her Friend & Pupil DR. JOHN LINDSAY LECKIE'. 'Sadness' is a nice little gem of guitar music that shows the typical manner of guitar playing with its glissandi, accents and great differences between F's and P's, displaying the 'moods', 'drama', and 'feelings' of the 'Victorian' music style in the 2nd half of the19th Century.

To come close to the ideas of guitar playing during the 2nd half of the 19th Century the technique and instructions adviced by Mme. Sidney Pratten in her 'Guitar Tutor' (London 1881) were taken in account. As well as the indications found in the drawings made by the illustrator Fred. Cotman in 1883 for Mme. Sidney Pratten tutor 'Learning the Guitar Simplified'.

To immitate the sound of the gut-strings, with which the guitar was originally strung, 'Nyl-gut Ambra 900' strings by the AQUILA String makers compagny in Italy are used.