Sanz, Gaspar
Sanz, Gaspar
Sanz, Gaspar, Spanish priest, guitarist, and composer who flourished from the mid-17th century to the early 18th century. A native of Calanda, Aragón, he received the Bachelor of Theology degree at the Univ. of Salamanca. After studying music with Cristofor Caresana, Orazio Benevoli, P.A. Ziani, and Lelio Colista in Italy, he returned to Spain to pursue his career. He wrote the significant treatise Instructión de música sobre la guitarra española y método de sus primeros rudimentos hasta tañerla con destreza (Saragossa, 1674; 8th ed., 1697; facsimile eds., Madrid, 1951 and Saragossa, 1966), which he dedicated to his pupil, Don Juan of Austria; it contains examples of contemporary Spanish dance music and folk songs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire