Charles Doisy (c. 1748–1807) was an influential French guitar virtuoso, composer, music publisher, and teacher who worked in Paris during the crucial transition from the 18th to the 19th century. His biography traces the historical evolution of the guitar from the five-course baroque model to the modern six-string classical guitar.
Little is known about Charles Doisy’s early life. His documented career began in Paris in 1797 when he established his own music shop and publishing business. He rapidly became a central figure in the Parisian musical ecosystem, acting simultaneously as a performer, running a teaching practice, and selling scores and instruments. In his later years, his publications officially styled him as Professeur de Guitare. He passed away in Paris around late 1806 or early 1807.
Doisy was an extraordinarily prolific composer whose catalog comprises more than 200 works.
- The Instrumental Transition: During the first phase of his career, Doisy composed primarily for the then-vogue five-stringed (or five-course) guitar. As the sixth string (low E) became the standard around 1800, he adapted to this evolution. Many of his scores explicitly state that the pieces could be performed on either five- or six-string instruments.
- Chamber Music and Vocal Works: A significant portion of his output integrates the guitar into diverse chamber ensembles. He wrote duos, trios, and quartets combining the guitar with violin, viola, flute, oboe, or bassoon. From 1797 onward, he also published multiple collections of romances and songs with guitar accompaniment (such as the two-volume series “Récréations des Muses”).
- Solo Works and Variations: For solo guitar, Doisy composed sonatas, sonatinas, waltzes, and extensive theme-and-variation sets. One of his most notable solo pieces is “Les folies d’Espagne avec 50 variations pour la guitare”.
- Early Guitar Concertos: Historically, his most outstanding achievements are his works for guitar and strings written between 1801 and 1804. His “Grand Concerto for Guitar and Strings” (c. 1802) reflects the progressive Parisian violin concerto style of the 1790s and stands as one of the earliest known true concertos for the guitar.
The Method Book: “Principes généraux”
In 1801, Doisy published his most important pedagogical and theoretical work: “Principes généraux de la guitare à chipped et à six cordes, et de la lyre”. It was dedicated to Madame Bonaparte (the future Empress Joséphine) and was later translated into German by Breitkopf & Härtel. The etudes featured in this method are highly informative regarding classical performance practice, showcasing dense arpeggio passages and dramatic changes in tempo and character.
