Pierre Jean Porro
Encyclopedia
Pierre-Jean Porro was an influential French guitarist, composer and music publisher. His influence helped popularize the guitar as a salon
instrument. Also a guitar teacher, he published a guitar method and was an editor and publisher of several musical journals. His life coincided with the evolution of the guitar from the five-course baroque guitar
to its modern six string classical
form. He published works for both types of guitar and also composed works for the lyre-guitar
which was popular in France in the late 18th century.
, France
in 1750 with the French surname Porre later italianising his name according to the fashion of the time. He received his early musical training in his hometown before moving to Paris
in 1783. There he taught guitar and worked as a music publisher. By 1786, responding to the increased demand for printed music, Porro expanded his publishing house and diversified into musical instrument sales. He was also an editor and publisher of various journals such as the weekly Le Journal de Guitare (1787–1803) in which he published his own compositions as well as French editions of the works of Italian composers such as Francesco Durante
, Jommelli, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
in addition to those of the composers of his time such as Mozart and Haydn.
In all, he published 37 works for the 5- and 6-string guitars and the lyre-guitar (popular in the French salons in the late 18th century). Porro wrote a guitar method Methode de guitare à six cordes (op. 31) which included material for the lyre-guitar. Porro lived and worked in Paris at a time (late 18th and early 19th century) when the guitar reached a peak of popularity and the city attracted many other notable guitarists such as Filippo Gragnani
, Fernando Sor
, Mauro Giuliani
, Dionisio Aguado
and Ferdinando Carulli
. Eventually the popularity of the guitar waned when fashions changed and the pianoforte became the darling of Parisian salons.
Porro died on the 31st May 1831 in Montmorency, Val-d'Oise
near Paris.
Salon music
Salon music was a popular music genre in Europe during the 19th century. It was usually written for solo piano in the romantic style, and often performed by the composer at events known as "Salons". Salon compositions are usually fairly short and often focus on virtuoso pianistic display or...
instrument. Also a guitar teacher, he published a guitar method and was an editor and publisher of several musical journals. His life coincided with the evolution of the guitar from the five-course baroque guitar
Baroque guitar
The Baroque guitar is a guitar from the baroque era , an ancestor of the modern classical guitar. The term is also used for modern instruments made in the same style....
to its modern six string classical
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
form. He published works for both types of guitar and also composed works for the lyre-guitar
Lyre-guitar
A musical instrument of the chordophone family, the lyre-guitar was a type of guitar shaped like a lyre. Invented in 1780 by Pierre Charles Mareschal, a prominent French luthier, it had six single courses and was tuned like the modern classical guitar, with a fretboard located between two curved...
which was popular in France in the late 18th century.
Biography
Porro was born in BéziersBéziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1750 with the French surname Porre later italianising his name according to the fashion of the time. He received his early musical training in his hometown before moving to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1783. There he taught guitar and worked as a music publisher. By 1786, responding to the increased demand for printed music, Porro expanded his publishing house and diversified into musical instrument sales. He was also an editor and publisher of various journals such as the weekly Le Journal de Guitare (1787–1803) in which he published his own compositions as well as French editions of the works of Italian composers such as Francesco Durante
Francesco Durante
Francesco Durante was an Italian composer.He was born at Frattamaggiore, in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, and at an early age he entered the Conservatorio dei poveri di Gesù Cristo, in Naples, where he received lessons from Gaetano Greco. Later he became a pupil of Alessandro Scarlatti at the...
, Jommelli, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was an Italian composer, violinist and organist.-Biography:Born at Iesi, Pergolesi studied music there under a local musician, Francesco Santini, before going to Naples in 1725, where he studied under Gaetano Greco and Francesco Feo among others...
in addition to those of the composers of his time such as Mozart and Haydn.
In all, he published 37 works for the 5- and 6-string guitars and the lyre-guitar (popular in the French salons in the late 18th century). Porro wrote a guitar method Methode de guitare à six cordes (op. 31) which included material for the lyre-guitar. Porro lived and worked in Paris at a time (late 18th and early 19th century) when the guitar reached a peak of popularity and the city attracted many other notable guitarists such as Filippo Gragnani
Filippo Gragnani
Filippo Gragnani was an Italian guitarist and composer.Gragnani was born in Livorno, the son of Antonio Gragnani...
, Fernando Sor
Fernando Sor
Josep Ferran Sorts i Muntades was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer. While he is best known for his guitar compositions, he also composed music for a wide range of genres, including opera, orchestra, string quartet, piano, voice and ballet...
, Mauro Giuliani
Mauro Giuliani
Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani was an Italian guitarist, cellist and composer, and is considered by many to be one of the leading guitar virtuosi of the early 19th century.- Biography :...
, Dionisio Aguado
Dionisio Aguado
Dionisio Aguado was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer.-Biography:Born in Madrid, he studied with Miguel García. In 1826, Aguado visited Paris, where he met and became friends with and for a while lived with Fernando Sor...
and Ferdinando Carulli
Ferdinando Carulli
Ferdinando Maria Meinrado Francesco Pascale Rosario Carulli was an Italian composer for classical guitar and the author of the first complete classical guitar method, which continues to be used today. He wrote a variety of works for classical guitar, including concertos and chamber works...
. Eventually the popularity of the guitar waned when fashions changed and the pianoforte became the darling of Parisian salons.
Porro died on the 31st May 1831 in Montmorency, Val-d'Oise
Montmorency, Val-d'Oise
Montmorency is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Montmorency was the fief of the Montmorency family, one of the oldest and most distinguished families of the French nobility...
near Paris.