Agustín Pío Barrios Mangoré was born in southern Paraguay on 5th May, 1885, and died on 7th August, 1944, in San Salvador, El Salvador. Many consider Barrios to be the greatest guitarist composer of all time. In view of this fact, it is curious that his music lay undiscovered and unappreciated for over three decades after his death. In the mid-1970s comprehensive editions of his music appeared, making it possible for guitarists of Antigoni Goni's generation to include in their study the music of Barrios, augmenting and complementing more traditional repertoire by Sor, Giuliani, Carcassi, Tarrega and Villa Lobos. The revival began in 1977 when John Williams released an entire recording of music by Barrios which focused a long overdue recognition on this forgotten Latin American guitarist. Today Barrios' music is frequently performed by major concert artists and is appreciated by audiences world wide.

Young Barrios never studied in a formal music conservatory, and completed only two years of high school. He made his living from performing, and had no other professional skills in any other pursuit except playing the guitar and composing music. Performing according to a life-style which required him to travel constantly, Barrios never really settled down in one particular country. He lived extended periods of time in Brazil (1915-1919), Uruguay (1912-1915, 1919-1927) and El Salvador (1939-1944). In none of these places did he establish a conservatory nor did he pursue the systematic publication of his music. He escaped from Latin America only once, in 1934, when he visited Europe, staying just fifteen months, but his lifelong goal of reaching the United States never came to fruition.


The romantic waltz, Vals Op. 8, No. 4, also called Vals Brillante, was composed in Paraguay in 1923. Only three of Barrios' works carry opus numbers: Waltze, Nos. 3 and 4 of Opus 8 (which supposedly included a total of six waltzes) and Preludio, Opus 5, No. 1. The tuneful Vals, Opus 8, No. 4, is one of Barrios' most frequently played pieces and features an extended passage using the technique of campanella (playing stopped strings against a repeated pedal note on an open string).

Barrios was influenced by nineteenth century romanticism (he greatly admired Chopin and Beethoven). A humoresque is defined as a nineteenth century composition of a fanciful, or simply good-humoured nature. Here the music lives up to this description. Barrios created his Humoresque in Uruguay in 1921 and it is one of only ten works that he ever published.

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