"The guitar is an expressive harpsichord," declared the composer Claude Debussy after a concert by the Catalan guitarist Miguel Llobet. The classical guitar has benefited more than most other instruments from arrangements of many musical genres. Renaissance and Baroque music in particular are well suited to the sound and range of the guitar, and piano music can be ideally played on the guitar, often directly from the original score. Debussy's comment may be unfair to harpsichordists, but it can be said that the expressive possibilities of the guitar outweigh those of the harpsichord. Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) was born in Ferrara, one of the most musically inspiring cities in Italy at the end of the 16th century. He was organist at St. Peter's in Rome and is also said to have been an outstanding harpsichordist. His influence extended not only across Italy, but also beyond the Alps.

Girolamo Frescobaldi: Passacaglia; Aria con variazioni detta "La Frescobalda"
+Gaetano Greco: Aria di Ballo
+Domenico Alberti: Giga aus Sonate op. 1 Nr. 4; Allegro aus Sonata da camera F-Dur
+Domenico Zipoli: Suite Nr. 2 (op. 1 Nr. 18)
+Bernardo Pasquini: Partita sopra l'Aria della Follia da Espagna
+Benedetto Marcello: Allegro G-Dur; Allegro con brio aus Sonate C-Dur; Allegro aus Sonate Nr. 4
+Domenico Cimarosa: Sonaten Nr. 47, 53, 58, 61
+Domenico Scarlatti: Sonaten K. 1, 27, 78, 159
+Pietro Domenico Paradies (Paradisi): Allegro aus Sonate Nr. 6