This guitar, which is no longer for sale, belonged to an aficionado who really knew his guitars and had two Santos and a number of other great guitars. This family was host to Alirio Díaz, Regino Sainz de la Maza and other great guitarists when they were in Granada. These are the evenings of music that sparked the interest of a young Antonio Marín Montero. It is not surprising that this guitar was chosen among many as it is a great one.
Manuel de la Chica is often touted as the best maker that Granada has ever produced and while I don’t necessarily agree with that I do place him very high on the list. It should be stated, however, that some part of his later production was made up of guitars made by Antonio Marín and Manuel Bellido which de la Chica sold under his own label (according to Marín and Bellido). He may also have done that with Germán Pérez Barranco and Francisco Manuel Díaz as they were disciples of his. De la Chica was to a large degree self-taught but claims to have examined the guitars of Santos Hernández and based his early work on those instruments. Richard Bruné’s observations that de la Chica’s guitars were often given false labels so that they could be sold as Santos guitars lends support to this. I have seen a number of guitars by both makers and the similarities are striking. Those makers here in Granada who remember de la Chica hold him up as standard of organization, craftsmanship and inventiveness; the hallmarks of the artisan. For a bit more on the man who made this guitar see this newspaper article from 1947.This guitar was expertly restored by Manuel Bellido some years ago to deal with two cracks in the top and one in the back. The geometry of the guitar is healthy and I think will continue to be a very playable instrument for many years.
Author Archives: johnray
Summer Arts Student Concert
I have been writing about the guitar-making competition and wasn’t able to say much about the student concert that closed CSU’s Summer Arts programme in Granada this year. This is the second year that La Guitarra Española has been held in Granada and on wednesday evening we were told that it will be held here next year again. The students spend 3 weeks studying in Granada with great guitarists in a masterclass setting. Over the past two years we have seen the likes of Scott Tennant, Pepe Romero, William Kanengiser, John Deaman, Matthew Grief, Vicente Coves, David Martinez, Magarita Escarpa, Rafael Aguirre, Kai Narezo and the director of the course Dr. Scott Morris.
The concert on August 8 was very well played, eclectic and enjoyed by the varied public present in the town hall courtyard. Bach, Spanish composers, brazilian music and contemporary composers like Brouwer were all represented. There were even two flamenco pieces which all of the students played together. My favorites always seem to be the quartets as they are impeccably played and often much more interesting musically. Believe it or not even a guitar-maker can get tired of solo guitar after seeing so many guitar concerts in such a short time during the Festival which runs parallel to the Summer Arts course.
Francisco Muñoz Alba
Making great guitars is a question of having great teachers, good wood, and a bit of luck but mostly a true passion for your work and tons of practice making guitars. Francisco Muñoz has been making guitars for many years in Granada and I have watched his progression since I met him well over 10 years ago. His hard work is paying off now that he won first prize in the II International Guitar-making Competition “Antonio Marin Montero“. The prize consists of having Guitar Salon International and Jitamen (China) each order and purchase two of his guitars.
I had to catch a plane on the second day of the competition but was able to take in the first day of sound testing and deliberations and was pleased and very impressed by the time, effort and dedication of the jury members in examining the guitars. After hearing the verdict I am convinced that everyone can see the impartiality of the jury. Once again Vicente Coves (director of the festival) has filled the city with guitar-makers, guitarists, and guitar buyers and is bringing more of the general public to the guitar.
Final phase and concert
These are the guitars which will be vying for the top three prizes today in the Centro Federico García Lorca.
Yulong Guo, China
Hans Van Velzen, Holanda
Yan Lei , China
Hironori Fukuda, Japón
Fernando Moreno, España
Francisco Alba, España
First Round of the Competition
Today was a very active day for the festival, the first round of the Antonio Marin Guitar-making competition and the concert by students of Summer Arts who have been here for three weeks studying guitar with some great teachers. Here are the guitar-makers who were selected to continue tomorrow in the second round of trials:
Yulong Guo – China
William Gonzalez – Estados Unidos
Rafael Fuentes – España
Samuel Perez – España
Hans van Velzen – Holanda
Gaoyi – China
Mijail (Michael) Kharash – Rusia
Valerio Licari – Italia
Hironori Fukuda – Japon
Yan lei- China
Fernando Moreno – España
Francisco Alba – España
Donatella Salvato – Italia
Once again I am pleased with the showing by Granada makers; Francisco Muñoz Alba is from Granada, Mijail Kharash and Valerio Licari have been living and working in Granada for many years now.
Alexei Khorev demonstrating the guitars.
The true stars of the show.
Participants and jury.