Five Pieces for Cello and Guitar

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on October 12th 1816, Søffren Degen was a cellist and guitarist. The young Søffren Degen considered the guitar his primary study, but when he attended conservatory, guitar was not accepted as a serious instrument for students, so Degen trained as a cellist and a composer. Degen is the only Danish guitarist from the 19th century who we know for sure was involved with the main international guitar community. He had very close ties to Napoléon Coste and two letters from Coste to Degen have survived. Degen’s importance is mainly as an instrumentalist and an international figure in the guitar world. His compositions are well crafted and written in a highly romantic style, often programatic in style, and nearly always in a unusually (for guitar) large-scale form, which again is no doubt inspired by Coste and other romantic composers.