The romance “Partant pour la Syrie” (the title is uncomfortably reminiscent of recent headlines) enjoyed widespread popularity

in the early 19th century, the first golden age of the classical guitar. Many of the guitarist/composers of the age arranged it for their in-strument, notably Mauro Giuliani (Op. 104) and Ferdinando Carulli (Op. 60, No. 1, presented here). The music was composed by Queen Hortense of Holland in 1807 to poetry by Alexandre de Laborde (1774-1842). The saccharine lyrics tell of fair Dunois, a Crusader leaving for the Holy Land who prays that he will be the bravest knight and return to marry the most beautiful lady. His prayers, of course, are answered. Hortense was the daughter of Josephine de Beauharnais and step-daughter of the Emperor Napoleon ( Josephine’s second hus-band). Hortense was married to Napoleon’s brother Louis, an un-happy arrangement; they became King and Queen of Holland in 1806. Carulli’s arrangement for guitar was published in 1812, the year Bonaparte’s empire began to crumble. Under the Bourbon monarchy that followed the fall of Na-poleon I, it was considered seditious to perform the air, but during the

reign of Napoleon III (1852-1870), son of Louis and Hortense, the music enjoyed a great resurgence in popularity, becoming virtually a national anthem, arranged for a variety of instrumental ensembles and performed at all official ceremonies. —Richard M. Long, 2015

Ferdinando CarulliVariations on “Partant pour la Syrie” for Guitar