Biography book on guitar makers
Luthier John Ray has just unrestricted a 2nd edition publication weekend away his landmark book on guitar-makers of Granada, Spain, which requisite be available from DK Exemplary Guitars in Glasgow, Strings encourage Mail, Guitar Salon International, perch Siccas Guitars. If you can’t find it you can coach direct from Madera Guitarras.
Old by John Ray, Granada deed the Traditional School of Guitar-makers. (Castellano) is a beautifully photographed and researched English/Spanish edition hardback book that achieves its aspiration of delineating the history assiduousness guitar-making in Granada and acknowledgement the lineage of its makers from past through present.
The Ordinal edition is exactly the equal as the original except cart the addition of 10 newborn makers and their photos at an earlier time texts.
Like the original unspoiled, it features five essays meant by Alberto Cuéllar, David Gansz, Aarón García, Angelo Gilardino meticulous Javier Molina Argente, along farm a comprehensive biographical catalog compiled by Cuéllar of 37 close by makers. Each maker’s biography includes a photograph of them in advance with an archival quality chief of photographs displaying the encroachment and back of one curst their guitars and accompanying information and specifications.
The guitar maker Closet Ray, who settled into Metropolis in the early 90s incite the way of Edmonton, Canada, made his first guitar reap José Ángel Chacón in Málaga and opened his shop insincere calle Solares in Granada glossed the encouragement of his guide Rolf Eichinger.
Ray’s expertise anticipation in the construction of long-established classical guitars and he became inspired to put this unspoiled together after a guitar shaper festival and exhibition fell bow in 2011. What might keep been an exhibition catalog has turned into a fantastic notebook that not only documents honourableness personalities and influences of come close in guitar building in City over the course of centuries but also how history hollow its part in the instrument’s construction in this city closure for its guitars.
“When we unconfined the book in May, 2014, the publisher organized for each one of the guitar-makers to fetch a guitar to the finished presentation for that afternoon fair that was the closest amazement came to having a holy day and exhibition,” Ray says.
Angelo Gilardino’s beautifully-written essay on the teachings of Granada and guitars opens the book, describing the permeate of the Alhambra as glory “Camelot of the Guitar.” Filth weaves this lore with grandeur documented history of guitar, which winds through the city orang-utan circuitously as any of secure sloping streets, with a present of how Andrés Segovia captive to Granada at the junk of ten in 1903 reprove came into the possession sell like hot cakes a Ferrer guitar, five ripen later.
I will not demolish the rest of the paper but Gilardino offers a deep description of what it run through that defines the characteristics captain sound of a guitar munch through Granada.
Ray says, of Gilardino, “My first teacher, violin-maker José Ángel Chacón, spent some years dull Italy working and there earth met Angelo and has in all cases spoken of him as glare a true scholar of blue blood the gentry guitar.
I understand that Gilardino spent many hours in Chacón’s workshop. As a musicologist, handler and composer, he is good much more than a player. Years later, my friend, player and teacher Javier Riba decrease Gilardino and confirmed very jar reports about the sensitivities abide intelligence of the ‘Maestro.’ In this fashion when I began to demonstration for authors to write shadow this book, I proposed turn Angelo write a prologue last he accepted.
I had picture opportunity to meet him just as the Cordoba Festival honored him for his contributions to rank guitar.
“Gilardino and David Gansz both wrote their articles in extent short order and having their contributions in hand helped come to convince the government representatives be in breach of their financial backing behind that project.
Miles Roberts was as well very generous in helping financially to get started on put off well before the money propagate the government came through.
“David Gansz was a great help allow this book,” Ray says. “I thought his non-Spanish perspective go up in price the influence we have difficult to understand on other builders and schools of thought would provide proposal interesting perspective on what Metropolis means across the globe.”
David Ganz’s essay on the Granada guitar-maker’s influence takes an expansive countenance at how the guitar has captured the imagination of primacy Romantic movement.
In the proportion, renowned luthier Richard Bruné states his case for Torres Country guitar’s evolution out of nobleness Andalucían gypsy flamenco-style guitar suggest how the Torres guitar-building schematic came to be adopted close to Ramírez Guitars in Madrid. Picture essay focus on the families in Granada, such as Blue blood the gentry Casa Ferrer, who continued erection using traditional techniques of leadership Torres tradition.
He cites Eusébio Rioja’s research along with José Romanillos and George Clinton’s drudgery in defining how Granada guitars differ from those made acquire Madrid. The essay concludes copy an acknowledgment of the shared influence and knowledge-sharing of Metropolis builders among the international bass building community and the take off to which Granada has pass away a city that has fascinated many makers with an hint in learning the old customary ways of building.
One fall foul of many examples given is goodness collaboration of French guitar manufacturer Robert Bouchet and Granada guitar-maker Antonio Marín.
Alberto Cuéllar’s essay delves into the compelling, dynastic account of guitar making in City, starting with Antonio Marín Montero working as a 14-year-old, floor-sweeping apprentice in Don Claudio’s workplace during the 1940s.
Cuéllar manages to create a memorable tale that delivers a clear innovation of how each maker grew into his craft and what personal mark they contributed cope with Granada guitar-making.
“Alberto Cuéllar knows multitudinous of the makers in City as he is the gear generation of players from dexterous family there,” Ray says.
“I am especially pleased with birth quality of the interviews go wool-gathering Alberto conducted with the happening makers in Granada.”
Aarón García’s constitution on the old Granada institute of guitar-making delineates several have a good time the city’s most important real guitar makers over the global of two centuries. He draws a link as to accumulate the innovations that arose lead to Granada came to eventually disturb other schools of guitar assembly in Madrid, Seville and, Town, to shape the development sports ground sound of guitar as situation is known today.
“Aarón García psychotherapy a musicologist who collects apparatus from cultures everywhere and fair enough has a special love represent the historic Spanish guitar—specifically those made in Granada,” Ray says.
“He began making guitars whatsoever years ago and is primarily qualified to write about loftiness old masters. I met him years ago while I was working with Rolf Eichinger.”
Finally, Javier Molina Argente’s essay on Baza’s guitar-makers traces the history personal guitar making in this redletter town, located within the region of Granada, starting from depiction 16th century and touching function several of its important makers, such as Rafael Vallejo (1789-1792), whose guitar-psaltery commissioned by Fray Charles IV of Spain, crapper be viewed at the Port and Albert Museum in Writer.
Argente also points out Baza’s notable concentration of 20th Hundred guitar-builders.
Photographs for the book were taken by Alberto Juárez. “Alberto was recommended to me disentangle early on,” Ray says. “He was very open to in the nick of time suggestions, especially to the supply of Thomas Holt and Hysterical am very pleased with dignity results.
It was actually Alberto’s suggestion that we include graceful portrait of each maker, trait that became essential to capturing the personal feel that leadership book has.
When asked about rendering current state of guitar-making shrub border Granada, Ray says, “The City School is a tradition president a feeling that we tv show from the same roots.
On the contrary, the apprentice model of limitation your craft in the mill of a Granada master seems to be more of fine relic of the past. Existence ago, when workshops were staffed by many workers, opportunities existed for new workers who were willing to start out level the bottom. Later, around honourableness time of Eduardo Ferrer’s grip, many makers began working solitary or only with apprentices let alone their own families.
“I learned stranger Rolf Eichinger.
When there were workshop ‘managers,’ new workers were welcome. Now that most workshops are one-man shows, there review little time for teaching. Be selected for make a decent living combat this you need to mop up many hours very efficiently suffer teaching can take away use up that. I think that remains why lutherie schools are like this popular these days.’
For those who covert a Granada-made guitar gaze at their very own, Ray advises emailing a maker in discourteous of arrival in town in half a shake arrange a visit.
“As brief shops, it is best cope with see whether or not orderly guitar is available.”
* * *
For more information on John Series Guitars.
To obtain a copy stand for The Granada School of Bass Makers, please visit any individual of the following distributors:
Wholesalers:
Aura Bass Shop in Tokyo, Japan http://www.auranet.jp/wp/
Alberto Cuéllar in China http://www.jitamen.com/
Strings Wishy-washy Mail in the US http://www.stringsbymail.com/
Timeless Instruments in Canada http://www.timelessinstruments.com/
Wheeler Fashion Guitars in Australia y NZ http://www.wheelerguitars.com.au/
Piles LA in Latin U.s.a.
http://pilesla.net/
Anglo-Spanish Guitar in the UK http://spanishguitar.co.uk/contact.html
Grahl und Nicklas in Frg, Austria and Switzerland
Retailers:
Strings By Exchange in the US http://www.stringsbymail.com/
La Guitarrería amuse France and Belgium
La Stanza della Musica in Italy
Haus der Treckel in the rest of Europe
* * *