The reason I like so much the the historical guitars is because the first reason is because I like so much that Full my way to play um I really I really feel uh a freedom when I play historical guitars uh I like so much the sensation of the lightness the guitar is very light. The response is very clear and um I think that in Spain uh um the Spanish develop the real sound of the guitar sinceTorres and then we we talk today about the line of the historical guitars especially Madrid since the beginning of 20th century um I’m from Brazil and uh when I arrive in Spain I try to to to know and learn more about guitars and I think I’m almost 10 years in Spain I really uh made the average of the instruments I like and that we’ll talk and explain today
About the periods and about the styles of guitars I I like it’s important to explain that uh the majority of people thinks that the Spanish guitar is like one thing or one Department in fact uh you have in Spain schools of guitar making uh um I like especially all schools and all epochs
I like also the romantic guitar I like the guitar of the middle and the final of 19th century but in my opinion the guitars that I really like to play that also is instrument that um is more close um of our days is the instruments made by um students of Manuel Ramírez uh like um Manuel Ramírez, Domingo Esteso Santos Hernandez, Marcelo Barbero maybe this is the the instrument that I like more between the the the famous guitar makers in Spain um it’s very important talk about Manuel Ramírez
Manuel Ramírez was without doubts a master he could find found the best makers in Madrid in the final of 19th century to 20th century as Enrique
Garcia , Domingo Esteso and Santos as I told before uh the instruments from this Epoch um the furniture and the concept of the the the plantilla the size Etc is very very interesting uh Manuel Ramírez in my
opinion what uh the great idea of Manuel Ramírez was develop uh some steps of Torres Torres always uh is the the most important and the iconic guitar
Manuel Ramírez uh in the beginning of 20th century I think that they starts the the guitar was instrument more popular uh In classical flamenco and other styles and Manuel Ramírez needed to sell instruments so uh for this reason uh he needed a lot of employees to to work with him and the instrument from madrid from this epoch is very light he developed a good tuning and I think uh that um he was the master in that Epoch uh Domingo and Santos Hernandez and Marcelo Barbero uh they continues the the legacy of Manuel Ramírez and uh the characteristics characteristics I like so much in the Madrid school is especially the lightness the very clean voice um Crystal and at some time hot so when you need to play strong the guitars response very well when you you need to make colors the the I say like uh the the how you spread the the division of the strings is very clear and um you have uh in the instruments of Manuel Ramírez is uh Taste of Torres um something that remit me from Torres but also the modern sound um it’s important also to say that um when Manuel Ramírez and Domingo Esteso and Santos Hernandez working they use the good strings the the first guitar maker that I think that start to use the the nylon string was Barbero in the 50s so when you think about Manuel Ramírez is you need to think one feet in Torres in one feet almost in the modern sound with nylon string so this is my more or less my idea about the Madrid School
to continue our interview today I will explain um more or less the connection between these five guitars we have here uh the first instrument we select is a guitar by Santos Hernandez
Hernandez was born in 1873 and passed away in 1943 the next guitar um this is instrument from 1939 by Santos Hernandez that reflect his last period this is instrument uh with uh Cypress a flamenco guitar and the next instrument uh we are talking to connect is the viuda the Santos Hernandez from 1945 both instruments a difference of six years in Madrid uh we had a tradition when a big Maestro a important Maestro pass away uh this happened s Manuel Ramírez okay Manuel Ramírez passed away in 1916 and when Manuel Ramírez pass away he needed to finish thei struments so Santos Hernandez helped the Widow that in Spanish is “viuda” uh to finish the instruments so between 1916 until 18 or 19 Santos Hernandez finished the instruments to the Widow and the label you see Viuda de Manuel Ramírez
Widow of Manuel Ramírez so when when Manuel Ramírez pass away the Widow needed some uh guitar makers to finish the instruments so they changed the label for viuda of Manuel Ramírez Widow of Manuel Ramírez uh Santos Hernandez uh worked uh more two or three years and then the
the shop of Manuel Ramírez closed definitively. so this happens also with Santos Hernandez because Santos Hernandez um didn’t have any employees or students or nephews so the the Widow of uh Santos Hernandez in the year 43 uh she invites
Marcelo Barbero that was a young and very Talent maker in Madrid to finish the instruments so the tradition of Widow of Manuel Ramírez pass for the next uh instrument from Santos hernandes so this is a widow of Santos Hernandez maker Marcelo Barbero uh also happened with Domingo esteso with the difference that Domingo Esteso had two three nephews
Faustino, Mariano and Julio and the label was viuda the Domingo Esteso it’s very important that uh the makers that um develop this work for the widows they use the same plantilla uh they use the same system the same head of course it’s not exactly the same instrument because uh we compare the Santos Hernandez the plantilla the size and the sound is different each maker uh gave the contribution, his his sound. but this phenomenon of uh widows and and nephews just happened in Madrid um in Catalonia or or Cordoba they just put their labels but never Widow okay so this this instrument is from 1945 by Widow of Santos Hernandez Viuda de Santos Hernandez is also in Spruce after after the period that Barbero worked to the Widow of Santos Hernandez um from 43 until 47 Barbero continue to work in his shop so this is instrument of Marcelo Barbero from 43 that some people say is a second ook that is a development of the shape and a lot of different uh um bars and size Etc after Marcelo Barbero passed away in 56 um we have two very important guitar makers that was had a a strong influence by Santos Hernandez and Marcelo Barbero was Manuel de la Chica from Granada the most important guitar maker in in Granada he made the instrument um not a copy but very very inspired in Santos Hernandez okay and finally we have an instrument by Manuel Ramirez from Cordoba that had um this is a Manuel Ramirez is from 72 from Cordoba also a flamenco guitar with pegheads uh Manuel Reyes
had the opportunity uh to stay with Barbero two days in Madrid in the year 55 and Marcelo Barbero wanted to work with him and gave some instructions from for Manuel Reyes so we talk today about this line because the line of Madrid without doubt influencing influencing influence the guitar makers in now parts of Spain and also in France Etc so this is the instruments we talk today
well I don’t know if you notice that all guitars we have here except the Manuel de la Chica are instruments made in Cypress Spanish Cypress um I’m totally classical guitarist but um when I start to collect instruments and try many guitars I step by step I attract for the Cypress instruments and um I adapt my technique to play classical repertoire especially Spanish music in the Cypress instruments so this is one one point that we we discuss today the reason I fall in love with the Cypress uh I will introduce a little story I was leaving 10 years ago in Barcelona and I had the opportunity to try a Manuel Reyes
from the 80s I remember very well that when I pick that guitar I tuned the six string in D and I tried , by when I made the first D major chord
in this second position uh my mind explode because I never listen uh an instrument with a lot a lot of details a lot of magical tone is very hard to describe then I I start to to compare the instruments in Cypress and rosenwood and uh for many reasons um I started to buy instruments in Cypress and adapt my technique to playing Cypress so so many people ask me about the difference between the Cypress and Rosewood um the first thing I want to to clarify that the guitar is a guitar so the Spanish guitar has 19 Frets, Six Strings, more or less the same shape so um you need to find the guitar you like independent of the wood if is uh mahogany or Maple or Rosewood Etc you need to find the guitar that you really like fit for you for your playing for your work etc but um talking about the Cypress um the Cypress has a charm sound I can make uh can I say in English the the string separation when I want to to to put out one line for example in the second string um for me it’s more easy. The Rosewood when you play the basses uh the basses of Rosewood has a deep sound and sometimes uh reverberate a lot and I I feel difficult to to control. The cypress also are instruments that um many instruments has a very easy uh ergonomy the angle of the neck for flamenco guitars is more easy. Of course I I adjust the bone a little a little more higher and uh to play classical to not make noises and the Cypress uh is very difficult to to define but has the details. a very soft sound uh fast uh fast response that really attract me uh The second point about the Cypress is uh about the projection if you play a good Cypress guitar are in a bad acoustic place you will suffer especially the basses but if you play the Cypress instrument a good instrument in a very nice place with a very good acoustic I I made several concerts with three four Cypress guitars uh from different periods and the people uh for 40 50 100 people and I never had the problems um In Brazil four years ago I played with this Marcelo Barbero guitar in a very nice theater that had a microphone and uh in the intermission of the concert the people asked the manager uh which is the amplifier and the microphone because the sound was amazing and the microphone was just to record the instrument the the the concert uh then
I come back in the second part and I explain the audience that has no amplification the
microphone was just to record. Few weeks uh after this concert I play in my hometown in Soracaba in a very poor uh theater um indeed little than another place and the people told me that doesn’t listen well the basses of the guitar so I think that the Rosewood guitar helps you a lot for a bad acoustic or a very big place so this is one point that you need to look to buy a a Cypress guitar I think maybe it’s nice that you have a very good rosewood guitar and a very good Cypress guitar and give the use that you need so just to finish this point about the Cypress guitars
that is a a matter that I discuss a lot with Alberto Cuéllar because Alberto Cuéllar loves also the Cypress guitars I want to invite you to open your mind to try guitars without look the wood without look uh I I see many guitarists crying about the golpeador that is the the top plates this this plastic in the guitar that in fact protect your guitar of nail marks and also some guitarists claim about the pegheads if you have the pegheads very adjusted the pegheads in my opinion is more stable than mechanical so I think that you need to find the guitar you like and the the wood and the size Etc you need to adjust yourself for the instrument also has another thing about the rosewood with the people that has no experience with the Cypress so the Rosewood when you play a good guitar in rosewood has more volume more or less, and has more deep sound. But the guitarist needs they need to listen themselves a lot but you need to understand that is more important the quality of the instrument than you listen yourself a lot and um in another way is interesting because uh when I start when I start to collect guitars um I get some instruments in Cypress in very good price because yes has a a good market for flamenco guitars but the classical guitars has much more interest that decrease the price of the flamenco guitars that I’m as a musician I’m not a rich person I had the opportunity to buy cypress guitars because uh a lot of people try these guitars and they avoid um the possibility to try the guitar that for me is
ridiculous Why Try many guitars when you decide to Discovery the word of old guitars or include buy an old guitar um between 2019 I invest a lot of my time and money to travel around Spain and Europe to try guitars I visit uh many shops many Collections and guitarists that had very nice instruments uh I I had the opportunity to play seven or eight Antonio Torres many Vicente Arias Manuel Ramírez and also Friederich, Bouchet, Hauser and different schools of guitar making um I can conclude that last year I had the privilege to play La Leona by Antonio Torres 1 856 that was a peak of my trying about guitars Etc so I think that’s very important when you when you um intend to buy a old guitar to have a a a open mind to try any kind of instruments um in general is it’s better to to try guitars without big Restorations many times you pick a Hauser or Antonio de Torres that had a full restoration that not um is not the real sound no um it’s very important because the guitar is a lot of Sensations a word of Sensations um when you try guitars from Barcelona and from Madrid you really feel that it’s totally different I live in Barcelona two years the character of the Catalonian people is totally different from Madrid the guitars from Catalonia is more dark very
classical instruments deep sound uh the the guitars from Madrid is very light and crystal the guitars from Cordoba uh is very aggressive the guitars from Granada also is aggressive with a big volume Etc so I think it’s important that you try much guitars before to have a decision to buy a very expensive guitar because um by the way also I want to explain that many times you play a guitar at like five minutes or 20 minutes and you cannot feel exactly how the guitar responds I think you need to try the instrument if you have friends that have a nice guitar visit many times and play with different strings and also I was discussing with Alberto
I had some ideas about some guitars 8 years ago and today I have completely anwers so this is important I always try to try guitars and with open mind so this is the the the reason of this question
Also I want to explain about interpretation in historical guitars uh I remember when I was makind my master degree in Barcelona I was playing Maja de Goya by Granados the arrangement by Llobet I play with a modern guitar the arrangement has a lot of pizzicatos and slides, portamentos Etc I realize also I record in my CD, that the pizzicatos in the my modern guitar that epoch, not support the sound. When you think that Llobet and Tarrega was using good strings Torres guitar uh very low resonance uh this kind of uh uh uh effects they they they are looking work very well
in this kind of instrument so if you look in my channel YouTube I have concerts playing in three or four different instruments so when I I stay in my house I always looking which piece maybe is good in the Manuel de la Chica or in the the Manuel Reyes etc… and it’s very difficult to to to select uh I always think like three four months to decide but can change a lot uh the way that you you play the the instrument and your repertoire choosing different instruments um you can of course use different strings uh different tensions in the bone … for example in the Marcelo Barbero I like so much to play Albeniz I think he’s a strong guitar with a lot of resonance that really supports, in the Domingo Esteso I have that’s not here I prefer to play Llobet, Tárrega or include Arcas. So this is a point that you need to think about and I think is a large large work to develop
We try out this wonderful Santos Hernández 1939 n in cypress um I will try a set of Frescobaldi
now I will play a extract of Study of Fernando Sor
well uh firstly the guitar has like in my opinion like a human voice, is very sweet the sound, very easy to play, the balance of the the the chords is perfect in my opinion. I can change the colors easily
it’s very easy to play
um the guitar respond a lot my my plucking uh in the stacatto in the piano and uh um is really a very nice guitar I like so much I need more time to develop my playing on this instrument but the few times I have I think I can make a very nice music with the instrument by Santos Hernandez the the playability is amazing, the neck is little, is a very nice instrument, charm, I think that uh Santos Hernández was the guitar maker that imitate um with a lot of character the human voice and um you need much time to develop but um is instrument a master instrument
now we will play Viuda de Santos Hernandez 1945 this is a guitar uh that had the same uh template same um model instrument made by Marcelo Barbero uh I suggest that the guitar was made with the same Woods of the shop of Santos Hernandez and the fun bracing is very similar, it is not the same, we will show you photos after, but is almost the same
it’s very interesting because as Marcelo Barbero worked in the same shop of Santos Hernandez he used
the same fan bracing of this Santos Hernandez with very small differences um Marcelo Barbero had a characteristic of Cathedral sound when you play a very good guitar of Marcelo Barbero uh has a lot of brightness the response is absolute fast with a lot of details you can explore a lot the parts of the guitar like um the sixth string is very deep like rock like ogg ogg
now to continue we introduce the favorite guitar in my collection that is the pick of Marcelo Barbero the Marcelo Barbero 53 this instrument is absolutely extraordinary instrument uh I also bring to Alberto as a curiosity I have the photo original photo from by Marcelo Barbero in the same year of my guitar 53 this this photo was from Pepe Martinez collection has some uh writings of Pepe Martinez a close friend and great guitarist of that epoch and also I bring the LP of Jose Motos that was the the owner of my guitar and here in the cover you can see the Jose Motos with my guitar well the differences between Marcelo Barbero and Viuda and Santos Hernandez is very interesting because we are talking less than 15 years so Santos Hernandez pass away in 43 and Marcelo Barbero developed the instrument as you can see the body is larger um and the the response of this guitar is more like a concert guitar uh the fan bracings of Marcelo Barbero in the 50s his last epoch in general is five fan braces almost parallel and he used uh each each bar a reinforcement a little piece of wood that also Reyes, Manuel Reyes copy in the 80s So I will play some notes with the the guitar
this sustain is much more so a little part of La Paloma
um now I will play a very interesting Guitar by Manuel de la Chica made in Spruce and Brazilian Rosewood
this guitar also has the flemish cedar neck this is the highest model made by Manuel de la Chica in the year 1955 this guitar was made for the wife of the main governor of Granada province in the 50s that was Mr Servando Victorio for Paloma Blanco s uh in the year the guitar was made uh the governor gave the guitar to uh Andres Segovia to sign the instrument with a dedication to to to his to his wife and four years after Regino Sainz de la Maza also signed the guitar maybe it’s the unique guitar with both uh signings so Manuel was a very important guitar maker in Granada maybe the best maker in Granada in the in the epoch and he um was had a strong influence by Santos Hernandez his head is almost um a head of Santos Hernandez the plantilla, the size, the bridge he um was very influenced by Santos Hernandez so we’ll play a extract of Gran Vals by Tarrega
and now I will play with the last guitar of
Cypress instruments so I introduce a beautiful Guitar by Manuel Reyes from Cordoba from the year 1972 this is also a guitar with Cypress and Pegheads (Palillos) well Reyes I’m suspect to say I’m very fan of Reyes I think Reyes um maybe was the best uh uh flamenco maker in his epoch, the sound is very strong uh with a lot of character, sometimes aggressive sometimes very uh sweet I will play some notes for you to listen the the instrument
READ MORE
READ LESS
