Guitar, thy magic tone
hath moved the tear and waked the sigh
Emily Bronte 1818-1848

The classical guitar is an instrument of many moods. Its main attraction is contained in its beautiful poetic sound capable of much warmth and expression, yet always a little dark and melancholic.

As a member of the plucked string family the sound and construction inherent in the modern classical guitar goes back many centuries to the plucked instruments of the Greek, Roman and Arab cultures. It is an instrument able to produce wonderful shades of dynamic expression and subtle timbre which are reminiscent of its many predecessors.

Being a polyphonic instrument the classical guitar is also an ideal instrument on which to create transcriptions of the many great classical works that are written for other instruments. It is also equally at home playing arrangements of folk and all types of popular music.

I have been playing the guitar since I was nine years old, during this time I have been fortunate to have given many concerts throughout Europe and have completed a number of commercial recordings. I owe much to my teachers – Antonio Albanes and Hector Quine with whom I studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama London during the 1970s.

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Maurice Cope November 2009

Maurice Cope playing Air in D Major, recorded in November 2009.