Napoléon Coste

Napoléon Coste (1805–1883) with one of his Lacôte "floating 7th string" harp guitars, an 18th-century arch-cittern, a small terz(?) guitar, and a custom extra-large guitar.

Claude Antoine Jean Georges Napoléon Coste (27 June 1805 – 17 February 1883) was a French guitarist and composer.

Biography

Napoléon Coste was born in Amondans (Doubs), near Besançon, France. He was first taught the guitar by his mother, an accomplished player. As a teenager he became a teacher of the instrument and appeared in many (just three) concerts in the Franche-Comté. In 1829, at the age of 24, he moved to Paris where he studied under Fernando Sor and quickly established himself as the leading French virtuoso guitarist. However, the demand for guitarists was in decline and, though his brilliance provided financial stability, he failed to find a publisher for his music. As such, he had to fund his publications himself. Napoleon Coste was influenced by the Early Classical-Romantic composers of the time including Hector Berlioz and Ludwig van Beethoven. Coste’s Opus no.47, La Source du Lyson is inspired by nature much like Berlioz’s programme music and Beethoven’s pastoral symphonies. [1]

Coste broke his arm in 1863 as a result of an accident, which brought his performing career to a premature end. He hired an assistant and continued to teach guitar and composition. After Sor's death, Coste edited and republished Sor's original method for guitar as Méthode complète pour la Guitare par Ferdinand Sor, rédigée et augmentée [refingered and expanded] de nombreux exemples et leçons par N. Coste.

Coste was a member of the masonic lodge Les Frères Unis Inséparables.[2]

He had a special fondness for playing on a seven string guitar. He is known as one of the first composers to transcribe guitar music of the 17th century into modern musical notation. He died at age 77, leaving a significant catalogue of original compositions. Napoleon Coste was famous for his unique seven string guitar with a “floating” 7th string typically tuned to D or C called the Lacote Heptachord. Tonally this invention created more depth when played as the floating string would vibrate sympathetically even as the other strings were plucked. [3]

List of works

Works published with opus numbers

Works without opus numbers

Sources

Instruments

Sheet music

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ http://www.maestros-of-the-guitar.com/napoleoncoste.html
  2. ↑ Les Frères Unis Inséparables, Coste, Guitare
  3. ↑ http://www.earlyromanticguitar.com/erg/multibass.htm
  4. ↑ "The Lacôte Décacorde and Heptacorde". Harpguitars.
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