What the guitarist may play

No fixed programme

The organiser says each performance is shaped by the guitarist on stage and that the repertoire blends original guitar compositions, classical arrangements and iconic classical guitar pieces. That is a description of a style, not a setlist. Different guitarists play on different nights, so the pieces vary, and this guide cannot promise any of them for your date. What it can do is explain the families of music a classical-guitar programme tends to draw on, so that you recognise a name when the guitarist says it.

Spanish romantic: Francisco Tárrega

Francisco Tárrega, born in 1852 and died in 1909, was a Spanish composer and classical guitarist of the late Romantic period. He is known for Capricho Árabe, Recuerdos de la Alhambra and Gran Vals. Recuerdos de la Alhambra was written in 1899 and uses a tremolo, in which one melody note is plucked repeatedly so rapidly that it sounds sustained. One guest from Germany named Tárrega among the composers heard at the Saint Paul's concert, so his music is a plausible part of an evening, though never a promise.

Modern: Leo Brouwer

Leo Brouwer is a Cuban composer, conductor and classical guitarist, born in Havana in 1939. His guitar pieces include Canticum from 1968, La espiral eterna from 1971, Parábola from 1973 and Tarantos from 1974. A guest from Germany named Brouwer among the composers played at the Saint Paul's concert, alongside classic Spanish works and fado transcriptions, so a modern piece may sit between the older ones.

Fado, without the singer

Fado is a sung genre, inscribed by UNESCO in 2011 and traditionally accompanied by the Portuguese guitar. A transcription adapts a fado melody for the classical guitar, so the tune is played without a voice. A guest wrote that the programme they heard included perfectly fitting Portuguese fado transcriptions. For a listener who knows only the singing, hearing the melody as a guitar solo shows how much of the song is in the tune.

Read next: Guitar vs fado in Lisbon

The guitarist's own writing

The organiser's artists page describes guitarists who compose and arrange. One is said to craft instrumental pieces that blend Brazilian, flamenco, fado and tango influences with hints of classical and jazz. Another travels between classical and traditional genres, weaving together music from Portugal, Spain and South America. A guest from Portugal described a guitarist who played music from many genres, including his own compositions and arrangements. So part of the evening may be music you cannot find on a recording.

The Portuguese guitar's own composer

One famous name belongs to the other guitar: Carlos Paredes, born in Coimbra in 1925 and died in 2004, regarded as one of the greatest players of the Portuguese guitar. He composed film and theatre soundtracks, including Canção Verde Anos for the 1963 film Os Verdes Anos. His music is not classical-guitar repertoire, so do not expect it at Saint Paul's, but it shows how a Portuguese guitar composer sounds.