Agustin Barrios Mangore "El Libro De Oro", Vol. 1: The Barrios Method

In honor of the 75th anniversary of the death of Paraguayan born composer Agustín Barrios, the dream that he nurtured in his last years of putting together all of his many works has finally materialized. Les Productions d’Oz, along with a select team of researchers, guitarists and engravers, have produced in 8 volumes "El Libro de Oro" (The Book of Gold). Volumes 1 and 2 contain the original teaching materials used by Barrios, his numerous studies and arrangements for 2, 3 and 4 guitars prepared by him to play in concert with his students. In conjunction with d’Oz, Guitar Salon International and guitar maker Frederick Sheppard, the entire teaching method of Barrios will be provided in online video as a study companion to volumes 1 and 2.

The life of Barrios reads like an adventure novel, but rest assured all the the material presented in these texts has been verified with original historical documents. From a concert stage deep in the heart of the Amazon to his concert broadcast worldwide on German National Radio just days before the freedoms of expression were extinguished by the Nazi regime, Barrios was determined to spread his art. He came to be recognized during his lifetime as the first indigenous person of the Americas to have bettered the culture of the European Conquistadors. Much of his work thought lost has been rescued and appears in print for the first time. With the help of Les Productions d’Oz, his time has finally come.

- Frederick Sheppard

As a young man, Ramses Calderon was introduced to several of the students who studied with Agustin Barrios in El Salvador from 1940-1944. From the period of time between 1994-2000, he collected piece by piece the original teaching materials used by Barrios during his tenure at the National School of Music and Declamation Rafael Olmedo in San Salvader, El Salvador.

Most of the materials came from Jose Candido Morales and Cecilio Orellana. From a historical perspective, this included the original curriculum, teaching progression timetable, and examination schedule. Into this method Barrios incorporated the refingered method of Juan Parras del Moral (1889-1973), who was appointed to be chairman of the "Municipal School of Music in Barcelona in 1931.