vrijdag 6 januari 2017
This second CD and the repertoire played:
Finally I was able to finish my second CD. It has everything to do with
the pieces I wanted to record as it takes time to really master them and
you always encounter new pieces you really like to record.
Having said that I will come up with the reasons for recording specific
pieces of music.
6 Pavanes - Luis Milan: Most of the time students get to play these ones
at the beginning of their study. However these pavanes tend to have a
lot more complexity in them as the audience (and pupils) will experience
the first time. That has everything to do with the polyphonic lines in all
registers. Attention has to be given to these parts to perform them in a
natural way.
These Pavanes all have been played on a Manueal Contreras (1983)
guitar to have the 6 pieces "even" sounding. A cedar topped instrument
with the so well known "dark Madrid" tone.
Air and Galliard - John Dowland. In fact the same things count for these
two pieces by this famous English composer. This time played on my
Vicente Arias 1899 double back guitar. The result by using this guitar is
a little more trebly sound that adds nicely to these pieces.
Adagio - Tomasi Albinoni. This orchestral piece has been recorded so
many times and appears to be a favorite by many classical music lovers,
I decided to include it here but in fact not ment for classical guitar.
Played on the Vicente Arias 1899.
Jesus, joy of Mens' Desiring - J.S. Bach. And of course Bach has to be
on this CD. I already played this one a long time and being the top in
baroque music this composer has to be presented here. In fact not written
for guitar one has to find solutions to get it really polyphonic but that is
of course THE challenge! As the Vicente Arias "separates" the tones so
nicely it has been done on that guitar.
Deck the Halls - Traditional. No, not a Christmas song in fact but a so
called "Winter Song" that seems to be quite old. The exact age is unknown
to me. Played on the Vicente Arias 1899. My own arrangement.
Noy de la Mar - Traditional. And another traditional song that especially
is in favor by the Catalan people in Spain. For them it is a kind of a hymne.
This song has been transcribed in different versions: Emilio Pujol, Miguel
Llobet and later Andres Segovia a.o. but this later version, transcribed by
Jack Marshall has more elements in it for me. Still a challenging piece so
I used the easy playable Manuel Contreras 1983 guitar for it.
Capricho Arabe - Francisco Tarrega. One of the highlights in guitar music
I always liked and already played when I started my education. I played it
by then but "on another level" to be honest and even now there are elements
to be worked upon so I will keep it in my "luggage". Played on the Vicente
Arias 1899 guitar.
Gran Valse - Francisco Tarrega. Just recently picked up by me and this
piece was a memory regarding our visit in Salamanca (Spain) We saw a
Tuna orchestra playing on the Plaza Mayor but going home we both didn't
remember the name of our camping nor the name of the city it was located.
The only thing we could do by then was taking the highway back as the
camping was announced there. Played on the Manuel Contreras 1983.
La Cathedral I and II - Agustin Barrios. The first two pieces I studied from
this remarkable composer. I could have waited till I mastered part III but that
would have taken too much time. Played on a Jose Ramirez II guitar from
1945. An instrument built with modest materials and in a totally different
way from the later Jose Ramirez III guitars. It is a very light and vibrant
instrument with a lovely "woody" tone in it.
Prelude nr. I and V - Heitor Villa Lobos. Number 1 has been played a lot
already but number V is absolutely equal in quality to number I to my
opinion. Preludio I has been played on my Jose Ramirez 1A (1981) guitar
while prelude V has been played on the Manuel Contreras (1983).
Estudio sin Luz - Andres Segovia. Mister Segovia decided it to be a wise
thing to choose for one option: becoming a great guitar player. He figured
it to be better to make a choice as you can't possible excel in both fields.
With this composition he proves it to be a wrong idea as it is a remarkable
piece of music, composed when he was recovering from an eye operation
and was nearly blind by then. Played on a spruce topped Antonio Duran
Ferrer guitar from Granada 1974.
Estudio - Regino Sainz de la Maza. I was involved into this composer just after
a concert from a German guitar player and decided to study some pieces more
than the well known Petenera and Zapateado. Played on the Vicente Arias 1899.
Meditation - Regino Sainz de la Maza. Another lesser known piece of music.
The experiment was there as I played this on a remarkable flamenco guitar built
by Mateu Ramis from Barcelona. In fact very suitable for these Spanish oriented
music. Mateo Ramis built this guitar in 1953 and had no successors as a builder.
Zapateado - Regino Sainz de la Maza. A challenging piece as well so I decided
I would record this one on an easy playable instrument. This time a "flamenco"
model from a Dutch builder: Juan de la Montagne (in fact he "renamed" himself
as his real name is Jan van den Heuvel.) This instrument hasn't got the character
of a real flamenco guitar and isn't that vibrant. Nor has it lots' of volume but the
overall tone is a beautiful one and it separates in a nice way as well.
Jan van den Heuvel was a supervisor for the Dutch Alpha Musical Instruments
company and he was especially responsible for the wood selections for which
he visited German wood suppliers.
Angostura - Antonio Lauro. Another remarkable composer. His music isn't that
easy when you hear it at first but has a lot of elements in it that makes it worth
the effort of playing it. Played on the Antonio Duran Ferrer (Granada - 1974).
El Negrito - Antonio Lauro. Played on the Manuel Contreras (Madrid - 1983).
Valse Venezolana - Antonio Lauro. Played on the Jose Ramirez III 1981. The one
with the bigger scale but these guitars are suitable for very different styles of
music and that explains their popularity in the past decades.
Preludio de Adios - Alphonso Montes. I played this on several different instruments
in order to finally decide that this piece sounded the most beautiful on the Jose
Ramirez 1945. The intimate sound of that guitar adds to the melancholy of this piece
as Montes wrote this after leaving his home country knowing that he could never
return.
Queen of Scots - Amazing Blondel. In fact a "modern" piece but the roots lie in
the English folk tradition to my believe. Amazing Blondel recorded this instrumental
on the album "Evensong" from 1970. It has some tough parts in it to play in a
proper way. The original track isn't that successful recorded everywhere so I
decided to give it a "new" life. An old friend of mine, Wlady Rabiej at first wanted
to play that piece so I decided to transcribe it. This is the final result. Played on the
Jose Ramirez 1981.
This Marriage - Eric Whitacre. In fact a Choir piece as this composer made some
more of these beautiful songs. This one has been performed on guitar and I liked
it that much that I decided to transcribe it myself. This particular piece is based
on a poem out of 12 / 13th century (!) I'm not a real poem lover but these words
are really overwhelming! Played on the Antonio Duran Ferrer (1974)
Pavane 1 - Luis Milan. Played on a Husson Duchene guitar from 1845, a small
bodied guitar from France. Most likely built in the Aubry Maire workshops.
Estudio - Regino Sainz de la Maza. played on a Vicente Arias 1898, a guitar from
my brother in law that at that time was a restoration project for me. Though a simpler
version of the Vicente Arias 1899 this guitar also has its' qualities!
La Cathedral II - Agustin Barrios. Played on a Manuel Romero Macias guitar, a
guitarrero from Montellana, a small village near Sevilla. The guitar dates from 1995
it it has a dark and vibrant sound with beautiful clarity in spite of some crudely
made construction details.
the pieces I wanted to record as it takes time to really master them and
you always encounter new pieces you really like to record.
Having said that I will come up with the reasons for recording specific
pieces of music.
6 Pavanes - Luis Milan: Most of the time students get to play these ones
at the beginning of their study. However these pavanes tend to have a
lot more complexity in them as the audience (and pupils) will experience
the first time. That has everything to do with the polyphonic lines in all
registers. Attention has to be given to these parts to perform them in a
natural way.
These Pavanes all have been played on a Manueal Contreras (1983)
guitar to have the 6 pieces "even" sounding. A cedar topped instrument
with the so well known "dark Madrid" tone.
Air and Galliard - John Dowland. In fact the same things count for these
two pieces by this famous English composer. This time played on my
Vicente Arias 1899 double back guitar. The result by using this guitar is
a little more trebly sound that adds nicely to these pieces.
Adagio - Tomasi Albinoni. This orchestral piece has been recorded so
many times and appears to be a favorite by many classical music lovers,
I decided to include it here but in fact not ment for classical guitar.
Played on the Vicente Arias 1899.
Jesus, joy of Mens' Desiring - J.S. Bach. And of course Bach has to be
on this CD. I already played this one a long time and being the top in
baroque music this composer has to be presented here. In fact not written
for guitar one has to find solutions to get it really polyphonic but that is
of course THE challenge! As the Vicente Arias "separates" the tones so
nicely it has been done on that guitar.
Deck the Halls - Traditional. No, not a Christmas song in fact but a so
called "Winter Song" that seems to be quite old. The exact age is unknown
to me. Played on the Vicente Arias 1899. My own arrangement.
Noy de la Mar - Traditional. And another traditional song that especially
is in favor by the Catalan people in Spain. For them it is a kind of a hymne.
This song has been transcribed in different versions: Emilio Pujol, Miguel
Llobet and later Andres Segovia a.o. but this later version, transcribed by
Jack Marshall has more elements in it for me. Still a challenging piece so
I used the easy playable Manuel Contreras 1983 guitar for it.
Capricho Arabe - Francisco Tarrega. One of the highlights in guitar music
I always liked and already played when I started my education. I played it
by then but "on another level" to be honest and even now there are elements
to be worked upon so I will keep it in my "luggage". Played on the Vicente
Arias 1899 guitar.
Gran Valse - Francisco Tarrega. Just recently picked up by me and this
piece was a memory regarding our visit in Salamanca (Spain) We saw a
Tuna orchestra playing on the Plaza Mayor but going home we both didn't
remember the name of our camping nor the name of the city it was located.
The only thing we could do by then was taking the highway back as the
camping was announced there. Played on the Manuel Contreras 1983.
La Cathedral I and II - Agustin Barrios. The first two pieces I studied from
this remarkable composer. I could have waited till I mastered part III but that
would have taken too much time. Played on a Jose Ramirez II guitar from
1945. An instrument built with modest materials and in a totally different
way from the later Jose Ramirez III guitars. It is a very light and vibrant
instrument with a lovely "woody" tone in it.
Prelude nr. I and V - Heitor Villa Lobos. Number 1 has been played a lot
already but number V is absolutely equal in quality to number I to my
opinion. Preludio I has been played on my Jose Ramirez 1A (1981) guitar
while prelude V has been played on the Manuel Contreras (1983).
Estudio sin Luz - Andres Segovia. Mister Segovia decided it to be a wise
thing to choose for one option: becoming a great guitar player. He figured
it to be better to make a choice as you can't possible excel in both fields.
With this composition he proves it to be a wrong idea as it is a remarkable
piece of music, composed when he was recovering from an eye operation
and was nearly blind by then. Played on a spruce topped Antonio Duran
Ferrer guitar from Granada 1974.
Estudio - Regino Sainz de la Maza. I was involved into this composer just after
a concert from a German guitar player and decided to study some pieces more
than the well known Petenera and Zapateado. Played on the Vicente Arias 1899.
Meditation - Regino Sainz de la Maza. Another lesser known piece of music.
The experiment was there as I played this on a remarkable flamenco guitar built
by Mateu Ramis from Barcelona. In fact very suitable for these Spanish oriented
music. Mateo Ramis built this guitar in 1953 and had no successors as a builder.
Zapateado - Regino Sainz de la Maza. A challenging piece as well so I decided
I would record this one on an easy playable instrument. This time a "flamenco"
model from a Dutch builder: Juan de la Montagne (in fact he "renamed" himself
as his real name is Jan van den Heuvel.) This instrument hasn't got the character
of a real flamenco guitar and isn't that vibrant. Nor has it lots' of volume but the
overall tone is a beautiful one and it separates in a nice way as well.
Jan van den Heuvel was a supervisor for the Dutch Alpha Musical Instruments
company and he was especially responsible for the wood selections for which
he visited German wood suppliers.
Angostura - Antonio Lauro. Another remarkable composer. His music isn't that
easy when you hear it at first but has a lot of elements in it that makes it worth
the effort of playing it. Played on the Antonio Duran Ferrer (Granada - 1974).
El Negrito - Antonio Lauro. Played on the Manuel Contreras (Madrid - 1983).
Valse Venezolana - Antonio Lauro. Played on the Jose Ramirez III 1981. The one
with the bigger scale but these guitars are suitable for very different styles of
music and that explains their popularity in the past decades.
Preludio de Adios - Alphonso Montes. I played this on several different instruments
in order to finally decide that this piece sounded the most beautiful on the Jose
Ramirez 1945. The intimate sound of that guitar adds to the melancholy of this piece
as Montes wrote this after leaving his home country knowing that he could never
return.
Queen of Scots - Amazing Blondel. In fact a "modern" piece but the roots lie in
the English folk tradition to my believe. Amazing Blondel recorded this instrumental
on the album "Evensong" from 1970. It has some tough parts in it to play in a
proper way. The original track isn't that successful recorded everywhere so I
decided to give it a "new" life. An old friend of mine, Wlady Rabiej at first wanted
to play that piece so I decided to transcribe it. This is the final result. Played on the
Jose Ramirez 1981.
This Marriage - Eric Whitacre. In fact a Choir piece as this composer made some
more of these beautiful songs. This one has been performed on guitar and I liked
it that much that I decided to transcribe it myself. This particular piece is based
on a poem out of 12 / 13th century (!) I'm not a real poem lover but these words
are really overwhelming! Played on the Antonio Duran Ferrer (1974)
The next songs in fact are so called "BONUS" tracks:
Pavane 1 - Luis Milan. Played on a Husson Duchene guitar from 1845, a small
bodied guitar from France. Most likely built in the Aubry Maire workshops.
Estudio - Regino Sainz de la Maza. played on a Vicente Arias 1898, a guitar from
my brother in law that at that time was a restoration project for me. Though a simpler
version of the Vicente Arias 1899 this guitar also has its' qualities!
La Cathedral II - Agustin Barrios. Played on a Manuel Romero Macias guitar, a
guitarrero from Montellana, a small village near Sevilla. The guitar dates from 1995
it it has a dark and vibrant sound with beautiful clarity in spite of some crudely
made construction details.
Vicente Arias 1899
As far as I know one of the 3 Vicente Arias guitars with a double
back. I bought this one on a flea market in Belgium being not fully
aware of its' value and tonal qualities. Arias was the only luthier in the
19th century whose work came close to rivaling that of Antonio de
Torres. The other two double back guitars do have two holes in the
inner back and are both made in 1900. Javier Riba owns one in
pristine condition. It has never been out of Spain. Check youtube!
The Granada based luthier John Gray made a copy of that guitar.
19th century whose work came close to rivaling that of Antonio de
Torres. The other two double back guitars do have two holes in the
inner back and are both made in 1900. Javier Riba owns one in
pristine condition. It has never been out of Spain. Check youtube!
The Granada based luthier John Gray made a copy of that guitar.
Vicente Arias 1898
Presented here is the Vicente Arias 1898 with
the fingerboard removed. This was a move as
the replaced fingerboard didn't had a correct
spacing between several frets and in fact was
not playable in pitch until that moment.
Besides placing a new fingerboard the bridge had to be
reglued. Luckily there already was a gap between the
bridge and the soundboard so with a careful procedure
the original bridge could be saved and replaced!
And a close shot of the rosette on this guitar as that
was one of the remarkable features on Vicente Arias'
guitars. The label states this guitar to be from 1898.
Manuel Contreras (1983)
This Manuel Contreras date from 1983, the time Manuel
Contreras I was in charge. Cedar topped guitar and Brasilian
rosewood sides and back. A 65,5 scale is provided and
of course an ebony fingerboard.
Husson Duchene
Here is a front view of the guitar that most likely
was made for the house Husson et Duchene.
The label in this guitar is lost but a lot of features
are pointing in that direction. When you compare
this picture with the one beneath you might be able
to trace the repaired cracks (3) and the outer
ends of the bridge. It received new fretwork as well.
There were possible relations with Aubry Maire
as a supplier of instruments for Husson et Duchene
but regarding this instrument it is still a supposition.
(source: Sinier de Ridder)
Antonio Duran (Ferrer)
The Granadian school of guitar building has much
history to offer as they mostly stayed close to the
great guitarreros of the past. Even Antonio de Torres
seemed to have studied in Granada. In later times
the influence of Jose Ramirez III and Rodriguez
can be detected. The Granada guitars normally
have a quite modest plantilla but when the popularity
of builders like Jose Ramirez grew, one of the leading
luthiers of Granada, Eduardo Ferrer and his son
in law, Antonio Duran choose for a bigger
plantilla. The scale of this guitar is 66 cm.
It has a 7 fan bracing with two closing bars,
in fact very traditional, especially in combination
with the French polish technique they often used.
Antonio Mateu (Ramis) 1953
Antonio Mateu Ramis was a Barcelona based luthier.
Little can be found about his activities but a classical
guitar by this builder was highly praised by the
famous Alexandre Lagoya. (Collection Sebastian Stenzel)
Very lightly built in the typical flamenco tradition.
Spruce top and ebony fingerboard.
A dry tone and quickly responding.
On this label the luthier marked this instrument no. 13 being
dated the first of july 1953. In fact this luthier stopped in about 1965.
He had no successors. A classical guitar of this builder is
in the possesion of Sebastian Stenzel . (no. 239 - 1961)
dated the first of july 1953. In fact this luthier stopped in about 1965.
He had no successors. A classical guitar of this builder is
in the possesion of Sebastian Stenzel . (no. 239 - 1961)
Juan de la Montagne
This is most likely ment as a flamenco guitar regarding
the cypress back and sides. Though for a flamenco guitar quite
heavy, I'm always triggered in how such a guitar sounds for
the classical guitar pieces of Spanish composers. It has to be
repaired at first as the head is showing a crack. This looks more
severe to non-luthiers as even a broken head can be fixed
satisfactory. This guitar has been built with a traditional
7 fan Torres bracing and no closing ribs.
Ebony fingerboard and bridge. The scale is 650 mm.
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