Tag Archives: luthery

Adiós a un maestro

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Hoy es un día triste para la luthería. José Ángel Chacón Tenllado falleció esta madrugada con 85 años plenamente aprovechados y dejando atrás una obra compuesto por multitúd de instrumentos de cuerda, artesanos formados en la luthería y una “Escuela Malagueña de Luthería” que es tanto una tradición como una realidad donde los alumnos aprenden ahora con el heredero José Ángel Chacón Escobar. Aunque yo hice mi primer instrumento aquí en Granada con cuatro consejos de Antonio Marín y Jonathan Hinves, mi primera enseñanza fue en Málaga con José Ángel. Aprendí muchísimo sobre la madera, las herramientas, historia y la cultura músical. También terminé allí la guitarra que aún conservo y toco. Hoy tendríamos que honrar la visión de José Ángel, una visión de una escuela de luthería con fondos públicos y un reconocimiento de este oficio tan importante. Hizo grandes pasos hacía una escuela oficial pero hay trabajo por hacer todavía.

Today is a sad day for those of us who live by the chisel and the plane. José Ángel Chacón Tenllado passed away early this morning at the age of 85 having lived a full life and leaving behind a legacy that any luthier would be proud of. He founded the “Escuela Malagueña de Luthería”, taught many a builder, and built hundreds of stringed instruments. His son José Ángel Chacón Escobar carries on the tradition and continues to teach students at the family workshop. Although I built my first instrument here in Granada with a few consultations with Antonio Marín and Jonathan Hinves, the first person to take an interest in teaching me was José Ángel in Málaga. I learned so much about wood, tools, history and musical culture. I also built my first guitar and I still have it and play it.

In the video above you can see that he was named Maestro Artesano by the regional government (the first luthier to have that honor), he earned the medalla de plata al mérito de las bellas artes from the Ministry of Culture. He also wrote two books on the subject of lutherie. He was a man with a vision and that vision was of an official school of lutherie and public support for it. He achieved great things both in Málaga and in Gelves, Sevilla but Spanish governments still refuse to value lutherie in the way it is valued all over the world.

First in a series

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I was perusing my collection of guitar books and realised that while some of you might have a similar collection there are certainly those among you who will be interested in hearing some of the anecdotes found in those books. I’m starting with a book by Julia Crowe which I loved. It is full of stories from guitarists from all “walks” of music. The title is “My First Guitar” and is based on interviews with a plethora of guitarists, guitar-makers and technicians. The book makes for a great read even if your heros are not guitar heros; mine are. Here is something from Juan Martin’s story on page 107:

When I was seventeen, I went to Madrid and mixed up with the great players in the capital. I used to listen to a record of the great flamenco guitarist Niño Ricardo, and would do this by slowing down the old 33 rpm LP to the speed of 16, making the music one octave lower. This way, I could more or less work out what I was hearing. So when I traveled to Madrid, I went to the Conde Hermanos shop with the hope of finding a better guitar than the Conde I had or at least to see if they could make it better for me. I played this Ricardo material and there was this old man in the shop, listening. He said to to me, gruffly, “¿Tu quien eres?” (“Who are you?”). I said “Juan Martin.” “¿De donde ha aprendido esto?” (“Where did you learn this?”). I told him I learned it from Niño Ricardo.          “Yo soy el Ricardo!” he growled.

Of course he goes on to tell how he learned from and drank wine with Niño Ricardo and went on to meet other guitar greats. The book is inspiring and funny and well worth tracking down. The ebook version is readily available and you can contact Julia for a copy on her blog at this link.

 

New CD – Andrea Corongiu

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This story starts in 2014 when I travelled to Madrid to study and document a guitar by Santos Hernández which is conserved at the “Biblioteca Musical de Madrid”. The first result was an article and blueprints published in Roseta magazine in Spanish. The guitar in question was owned by Andrés Segovia and as is so often the case with Santos it is a fantastic instrument. Soon after examining it I began to consider making a copy. In the intervening years I have made a goodly number and they have all been very successful. However, this is the first time I have heard one on a proper recording.

Andrea Corongiu is a young italian guitarist who is already doing great things. Numerous first prizes at competitions and many great concerts. He is a very expressive player and a has excellent technique which allows him to do anything he wants on the guitar. Last year Andrea came to Granada and bought a Santos copy made by myself and has played it since as well as recording this CD with it. I just received a copy of the CD and I find it wonderfully played and the pieces very well chosen. I highly reccommend it, objectively of course. Buy here!

You can also find it digitally on Amazon, Itunes and other similar sites.