The lyre-guitar was a fascinating, upmarket instrument that originated in Paris. Its inventor, luthier Pierre-Charles Mareschal, dated its creation to around 1780. It was very popular in the elite salons of Napoleonic era-Europe, between the late 18th and early 19th century. Its refined, elegant shape recalling the ancient Greek lyre, made it a much-vaunted status symbol among women, who believed it enhanced their grace and beauty. As well as being played by noblewomen, it was also used by musicians to accompany singers, including the French tenor Joseph Dominique Fabry-Garat and the Austrian baritone Johann Michael Vogl, a close friend of Franz Schubert.

The lyre-guitar used on this recording comes from Domenico Lafasciano’s private collection. It was built in Paris in 1806 by Henry Lejeune, part of an important dynasty of luthiers dating back to the 18th century. Lafasciano’s lyre-guitar is an original and very rare instrument: it has only 12 frets, and they are made of gut like on the lute or baroque guitar, making it suitable for playing works from the early 19th-century guitar repertoire. It is a brilliant example of the transition between the 18th and 19th centuries, a period when guitarists were still playing instruments with five double or single courses of strings, as well as six-string models. It appears that the lyre-guitar, which had six single strings from the outset, gave a definitive push to the addition of the sixth string to the guitar.

This album contains some lovely musical gems written in the early 19th century by guitar-playing composers who remain largely unknown today. The first French publications, including the pieces featured on this recording, all contained the words ‘pour Lyre ou Guitare’ or ‘pour Guitare ou Lyre’, indicating very clearly that the works could be performed on either a lyre-guitar (‘Lyre’) or a five- or six-string guitar (‘Guitare’).