Category Archives: People

Welcome to Almeria

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Antonio de Torres’ house

I took a little trip to Almeria yesterday and spent the day with Carlos González, Aarón García, Pepe Zapata and, of course, Antonio de Torres Jurado. The importance of Almeria in terms of guitar-making is not limited to Torres but he does represent the focal point and one of their few international references from the past. However, the fact that the town council agreed some years ago to establish a museum dedicated to his memory is a huge coup given the spanish tendency to ignore the guitar as a money-maker, tourist draw and cultural reference. We stopped in to visit the Casa Museo de Antonio de Torres in la Cañada and although there wasn’t much to see there are plans to organize some activities there in the near future. For now a peña flamenca meets there on a regular basis. The highlight of the day was an extensive tour of the Antonio de Torres museum in Almeria itself. The occasion was the exhibition “Cinco siglos de la guitarra española” centered around an incredible guitar by Thomás Durán from 1684. This is the oldest guitar from Spain! At least as far as reliably dated instruments go. I found the documentation displayed quite interesting as one display case showed publications about the Durán guitar and another showed the first literature dedicated to the guitar. Some of the more interesting instruments which can be seen in the museum right now are a guitars by Panormo, Roudhloff, Maccaferri, Aubert a Troyes; these all recently donated to the museum by an English collector. There are a few well-made copies of interesting instruments and a few more minor pieces and a very unusual Torres guitar.

The exhibition was organized by Carlos González, well-known maker of early instruments and tireless historical researcher. It was a pleasure to spend some time with him and to learn more about the history of the museum and his plans to expand the collection and the activities offered there.

Pepe Zapata, Carlos González and Aarón García

El Decameron Negro – Javier Riba

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This piece by Leo Brouwer is very important to me. It represents the best of contemporary guitar, is a flagship for compositions from the New World and is my favourite Brouwer piece. I have only ever met him in passing but have enjoyed him as a composer and conductor and been inspired by him for years. I heard El Decameron Negro in Montreal at about the same time I began classical guitar lessons (1987?) and was hooked. I ran out and bought a recording by Jorge Oraison and the sheet music shown in the photo. Only at 22 could I have ever believed that learning to play this was within my possibilities. As you can see I still have the sheet music and still pull it out every now and then and try to understand how the beauty of Ballade de la Demoiselle Amoureuse can possibly be distilled into the black and white that I see on the page. Speaking of that 3rd movement, if you are not really a fan of guitar or music in general just jump to 9:00 and listen to that. For the rest of you listen to the whole thing from start to finish, won’t disappoint.

So here we are over 30 years later and I still can’t play the music but I can make the perfect guitar to play it on and I have a dear friend who plays it beautifully. Thank you Javier!

Concierto en Sevilla

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Un dúo fantástico de guitarra y chelo.

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.