In his introduction to Fernando Sor’s Twenty Studies for the Guitar, Andres Segovia calls Tárrega “the awakener (sensibilizador) of the modern guitar.” Tárrega has also been called the father of the classical guitar and one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He is considered to have laid the foundations for modern classical guitar technique and for increasing interest in the guitar as a recital instrument.
Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909) came of age as a musician and guitarist as the instrument was rapidly evolving. Antonio Torres (1817-1892) was a leader for much of this evolution of the instrument. Tárrega was inspired by performances on Torres guitars and would perform on Torres guitars throughout his life. Tárrega acquired his first Torres guitar at the age of 17 (1864 guitar, FE 17) and would go on to own at least two others (1883 guitar, SE 49, and 1888 guitar, SE 114). The intersection of Torres’ innovations in guitar design and construction with the emergence of gifted guitarists like Tárrega provides a window on a seminal period in the development of guitar technology, technique, and repertoire.
Tárrega was drawn to the guitar at an early and age. As his reputation grew, he began to perform widely in Spain. He would go on to perform in France, England, and Italy. He became a prolific composer of original works for the guitar and also transcribed works by others for the guitar. While many guitarists from this period are remembered more for their studies or methods, Tárrega is best remembered today for his original compositions for the instrument. He was active during an important period in Spanish music, with the full flower of the romantic period, and the emergence of important Spanish composers including Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados, and Manuel de Falla.
As Tárrega developed his technique, he also became an important teacher. His students included Emilio Pujol, Miguel Llobet, and Daniel Fortea, among others. While Tárrega wrote out exercises for his pupils, he published no method as many earlier guitarists had. Ultimately, Pujol would rectify this with his publication of Escuela Razonada de la Guitar, a method based on Tárrega’s technique and dedicated to the Maestro.
Pujol (1886-1980) became an important Spanish guitarist in his own right, as well as a composer, musicologist, and a leading teacher of the classical guitar. He began his studies with Francisco Tárrega in 1902, when he was sixteen years old. In addition to his method based on Tárrega’s technique, Pujol authored a biography of Tárrega (Tarrega Ensayo en biografico. Lisbon, Portugal: Ramos, Afonso & Moita, Lda., 1960). Torres figures prominently in this biography and the book includes vignettes which highlight the influence of Torres in Tárrega’s musical life.
One vignette from this biography describes the inspiration the young Tárrega experienced on hearing a performance on a famous Torres guitar, La Leona [The translations from the original Spanish are the author’s.]:
“Around 1862, Tárrega, who was not yet ten years of age, was already a young man with a lively imagination, bold and shy at the same time, and eager to experience what the world held in store for him. He enjoyed seeing reflected in those who listened to his guitar the charm that his playing produced in himself. On these waves, like the invisible wings of a Pegasus, his thoughts were carried into the unknown space of imagined worlds. His friends from the street sometimes asked him to play for them. When he agreed, he would play little dance pieces that were easy to understand, as well as other more difficult ones learned by ear from the famous “Cego de la Marina.” At other times, he improvised on the six strings some air they knew, or improvised at will, letting himself be carried away by his own inspiration. The study of music theory, his introduction to the piano, and the infrequent performances of popular bands and rondallas fueled his desire to hear more and better music. The stories of those who, having visited Valencia, Barcelona, or Madrid and listened to operas and concerts of true artistic importance, increased his lively desires more and more.
It was around this time that an unusual event took place in Castellón that was to have a deep impact on the young Tárrega, a concert given in that city by Julian Arcas, the most famous of the Spanish guitarists of that time.
Arcas, although still young, was already popular. Son of noble parents, he was born on October 25, 1832 in María, a picturesque town at the foot of the mountain that bears the same name, in the province of Almería. Arcas’ father, guided by Aguado’s method, had instructed him on the guitar. Resounding and continued successes in various towns in Spain and abroad earned him deserved fame among national artists devoted to music.
His programs were made up of fantasias on motifs of operas adapted by him for the guitar, by original works in free forms in the taste of his time, themes and variations, rondos, polkas, etc., or works by others on regional popular themes, skillfully developed with the idea of exhibiting not only the instrument, but the virtuosity of the performer. Several of these compositions, including “Soleá”, “Jota” and “Panaderos,” achieved such success that, extending beyond the guitar, they were incorporated into the national repertoire for other instruments.
From November, 1861, Arcas was in Barcelona, where he had given several concerts with great success at the Círculo Ecuestre, Orfeón Barcelonés and Teatro Odeón. It was then that, in Barcelona, where the guitar tradition was never interrupted, intimate meetings took place at the home of Maestro José Viñas (guitarist, violinist, composer and conductor of the Lyceum orchestra). These meetings were attended by, in addition to José Brocá, the pharmacist Esterriol, and other friends and guitar fans, Julián Arcas and his brother Manuel, a guitarist of equally renowned merit.
While the specific date is unknown, the concert held in Castellón must have taken place after the aforementioned performances by Julián Arcas in Barcelona in late-February, 1862, and between the concerts given in England in the autumn of the same year under the auspices of the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Maria Adelaide.
The impression Arcas’ concert made on little Tárrega must have been profound since he never forgot it. Although his young age prevented him from grasping the significance of an art as superior as that of the celebrated performer, the occasion of hearing the guitar played with such mastery for the first time had to leave him captivated. From the warm sound of that guitar built expressly for Arcas by Antonio de Torres, who called it “La Leona” because he considered it the best of all existing guitars, to the nuanced effects and virtuosity without effort or defects, everything was cause for admiration and enthusiasm.
Tárrega’s father, supported by a group of friends and fans, begged Arcas to listen to the precocious artist, to which the maestro agreed, not without curiosity. Little Tárrega played without shyness or presumption, like anyone who feels free from responsibility, perhaps imagining that in the generous attention of the distinguished artist he would find the sympathetic indulgence and support he needed to broaden his horizons.
The maestro, surprised by Tárrega’s exceptional capabilities, offered to guide him in his studies, and, consequently, he suggested the idea of sending him to Barcelona, where at that time Arcas had his residence. Francisco Tárrega Tirado, despite his very scarce resources, quickly managed to collect the cost of the trip, and, without another thought, sent his son to the house of some of his countrymen, owners of a cafe in the neighborhood of Sans, suburb of the city of Condal, who had agreed to host him for a small fee.”
A second vignette from the biography tells the story of Tárrega’s acquisition of his first Torres guitar:
“The autumn of 1869 had arrived and D. Antonio Cánesa [Tárrega’s patron at the time] was preparing to undertake his periodic trip to Andalusia.
He was meeting as usual with the group of “friends of the guitar” that revolved around Tárrega, and he listened to an intimate performance that the artist gave from time to time to such enthusiasts. At the end of the evening, and in an atmosphere full of emotion and fervor, someone explained that Arcas, in a concert given in Castellón, had played an instrument with powerful sound and warm timbre, built in Seville by D. Antonio de Torres, and on whose excellent qualities the success of the famous artist was attributed in large part. All the members of that circle reached the conclusion that it was necessary to acquire a good guitar for Tárrega, and, if possible, from the same maker. D. Antonio Cánesa embraced the idea and decided to put it into practice without further delay.
Indeed, Tárrega and his patron left for Seville a few days later. When they arrived in the Andalusian capital, they visited the famous violero in his shop on Calle de la Cerrajeria, number 13 [Romanillos indicates the label for this guitar lists the address as Calle de la Cerrageria, numero 32]. Torres’ impression was that the unknown visitors did not seem to be interested in a high-priced guitar. Consequently, he showed them a guitar of his standard type. Tárrega began by examining the instrument, and then he began to play, performing chords and passages that allowed him to put the qualities of the guitar to the test. Torres, who, in addition to being a builder, was a performer of recognized skill and good musical sense, immediately realized that he had an exceptional guitarist before him. His surprise and admiration grew until, addressing Tárrega, he told him: “Wait, this guitar is not for you.”
He entered the back room, and in a few moments returned with a precious instrument that he had built for his own personal use with all his artist’s love. And putting it in Tárrega’s hands, he told him: “This is the guitar that you deserve.” It was made of maple with a spruce top, cedar neck and headstock, and ebony fingerboard. Its size was a little smaller than common. Its soundhole and body were bordered by the finest herringbone motif of a pale green tone and the rosette had a double border of lozenges. On the headstock and back and sides was a beautiful meander mosaic. To the spontaneity of its sound, was joined, perhaps due to the tornavoz, a clear and warm timbre, as that of gold.
The balance of bass to treble was perfectly graduated in volume, and the sustain of the notes were equally generous in any area of the fingerboard. It was enough to place the fingers in the position of a chord so that, by pressing the three lower notes only, the complementary harmonics in the other strings could be clearly perceived. In Tárrega’s hands, when passing from one chord or one arpeggio to another, the voices resonated without discontinuity, linked to each other. That sound of that instrument had something indefinable that, by itself, caused enchantment.
Tárrega played this guitar until 1889. The frets were made of silver and had worn away under the constant hammering of his indefatigable fingers in a work of twenty years. The strings brushed the fingerboard and distorted the sound. The fretting, therefore, had to be changed.
The guitar maker, Enrique García, from Barcelona, was in charge of the repair, but, perhaps due to the lack of good material, or due to unforeseen movements in the top due to the tension of the strings, the repair was not totally successful. Tárrega, unable to use the guitar for his concerts, withdrew it from use. Only from time to time, in the brief intervals that he remained in Barcelona between his trips, would he take it out of the case, pluck its strings as a doctor auscultates a patient and, disappointed, put it back. Another Torres guitar had taken the place of the first. It belonged to the second era of that famous guitar maker and was built in Almería.
Enrique García, feeling Tárrega’s sadness in his own heart, and tormented by the memory of his previous failure, believed that one day he would have to find a solution to the problem that was the source of so many worries. He begged Tárrega to let him try to repair it again. The Maestro agreed, and, this time, the result was completely satisfactory. It was in 1907, when Tárrega was convalescing from a serious illness. From that time on, and with great joy, he returned to this guitar for his study and his concerts until the end of his life.”
Pujol’s biography is also the source for a very important letter regarding Torres, the man, and his lutherie. Pujol tells the story as follows:
“In January, 1931, when I returned with my wife from an artistic tour of South America, we decided to disembark in Almería to get to know this Andalusian city and visit, incidentally, the house where the famous guitar maker D. Antonio de Torres was born on June 13, 1817.
Guided by the label attached to the back of some of his instruments which indicated Calle Real, number 80, in Cañada de San Urbano as the luthier’s address, we headed to this suburb of Almería in search of acquaintances or descendants of the artist, and there a sentimental scene occured that deserves to be described here.
The house, whose address is on the label in question, had a grocery store on its ground floor. In response to my inquiries, we learned that the only surviving daughter of the famous guitar maker, Matilde, lived nearby with her children and grandchildren. Driven to her home, and she being absent at that time, they went in search of her, telling her that some travelers from Barcelona wanted to see her. In a little while an elderly woman appeared, nervous with anxiety, who, upon seeing us, exclaimed with an air of visible disappointment: “Oh, it’s not Teodoro either!”
I later learned that the suicide of Teodoro, Torres’s first-born son, which occurred around the year 1894 in Barcelona, had never been revealed to his sister, Matilde, who adored him, for fear of the consequences that such immense pain could have caused her. She, always hopeful, believed she saw the absent brother arrive every time she was told of foreign visitors.
Overcome with emotion, Matilde wanted to show us the house where her father was born and lived until 1836, when he married. Immediately afterwards he fulfilled his military duties, and, after that parenthesis, he was reunited with his wife.
He learned the trade of ebanista [cabinetmaker] in the town of Vera. He later moved to Granada, Calle de la Plazuela, number 8, where the guitar maker José Pernas introduced him to the art of building guitars. Later he went to Seville, in whose capital, having become a widow, he contracted a second marriage, and lived until 1870, the year in which he moved and settled permanently in Almería.
We consider the following letter that the archivist canon of the Cañada de San Urbano, D. Francisco Rodríguez, was kind enough to share with to us, to be of vital documentary interest. It was signed by D. Juan Martínez Sirvent, a beneficiary of the Córdoba cathedral, priest in charge of the parish church of La Cañada during the period from 1887 to 1895, and a close friend of Torres.
Córdoba, January 29, 1931
Sr. D. Francisco Rodríguez Torres
Almeria
Dear friend:
I received your heart warming letter, and the cooperation that you require of me I lend you with great good will, although as the work of an elderly priest.
Your enthusiastic and affectionate letter makes me long for the place of my first assignment which was my residence for eight years
I treated my dear friend, the famous guitar maker Don Antonio Torres, with real affection, and I can relate to you episodes of his memorable life. He was a man of calm and serious thinking. He spoke slowly and his penetrating gaze reflected his great intelligence. He was a poet whose compositions he read to us in intimate gatherings, causing us admiration that, in his old age, he revealed a youthful soul. He was a good musician and composer, whose compositions he revealed to us on the guitar, his favorite instrument, made by him. He very often called me to help him to glue the ribs and soundboard, the back, inlays and rosettes, extremely delicate work that he could not carry out on his own because he was very shaky. When these tasks were performed, he always locked the door of his workshop so that he would not be seen, even by those most intimate with him.
Once, I asked him what was the source of the sound of his guitars and he replied that it was only the top, for the condition of the wood, the carving and shape constitute the secret of its sound.
I remember that one patron saint’s day, for the greater solemnity of the party, I invited Don Emilio Jiménez to celebrate mass, Don Serafín Abad to play the harmonium, my cousin D. Miguel Sirvent, then a doctoral student, to preach, and, as he was such a friend of the famous Fr. Garzón, S. J., who was in Almería giving exercises to the priests, Torres also honored us with his presence. When it was time for lunch, I invited Don Antonio Torres (because Don Antonio fit in among illustrious people) and, after dinner, the question of guitars was raised. Father Garzón, a victim of the opinion that was current at that time, told him: “Don Antonio, you must not go to the grave without revealing the secret of your guitars to posterity.” And looking at us, he answered smiling: “Father, I am very sorry that a man like you is also a victim of that opinion that abounds among laymen. Juanito (this is what he called me) has witnessed the secret many times and he knows that I cannot bequeath the secret to posterity for it will have to go to the grave with my remains. This is because it consists of the touch of the tips of the thumbs and index fingers which informs the mind of the maker whether or not the top is well carved and how it should be treated to obtain the best sound from the instrument.” All were convinced that artistic genius cannot be transmitted, not even with the will of the artist, nor to the most beloved blood relatives. That is a gift from heaven.
Don Antonio had a daughter from his first marriage. After he moved to Seville, he married again, being sponsored by the famous soloist Don Julián Arcas. From this marriage he had four children, Teodoro, Antonio, Matilde and Ana. He dedicated himself to the construction of guitars on the advice of Sr. Arcas. While he was building regular models for sale, he wanted to build one with cypress sides and back, cedar neck, ebony fingerboard, machine heads, a bled-spruce top [a tapa de pinabete sangrado], simple border, wide rosette, and tornavoz. He called it “La Leona” [The Lioness]. Arcas said it was the best guitar for concerts. Then he built the papier mâché one, with a surprising sound [The letter uses the term cartón but this is presumed to be a reference to the guitar of 1862, FE 14.] Neither this, nor the previous one, he ever wanted to sell.
Then he made the one for the exhibition, of rosewood with a secret bridge for the strings, a true work of art never before seen, and with a case admirably constructed in proportion to the jewel that it contained.
During his stay at La Cañada, the most eminent artists from Spain in his genre would pass by his house: Sres. Arcas, Don Julián, Don Manuel, Don Estanislao, Sr. Tárrega, Paco Lucena, sextets of string instruments from the kingdom of Valencia, and others who, without being soloists, were enthusiasts and admirers of the incomparable, dear and unforgettable friend of mine, Don Antonio Torres. They ordered guitars from South America, northern France, etc. The wood that he used for the soundboxes and necks was from ancient furniture.
I believe I have fulfilled your wishes, and if there is something left to report, ask me, that I may satisfy your request . . .
Yours affectionately in J. C., good friend and companion
Juan Martinez Sirvent
To the aforementioned letter, already so eloquent in itself, we will add that Torres was an innovator in his art, as generally one is who has a personal view of things. He surpassed his predecessors by breaking with the old molds and creating a new type or template for the guitar, characterized by its harmonious contours, larger size, solidity of construction, and the quality of the tone, all of which offered the guitarist the necessary ingredients for good performance and greater power in the sound.
The template Torres created for his guitars has been copied and adopted by almost all current builders, Spanish and foreign. Although the tornavoz, used occasionally by him and his disciples, fell into disuse, the mechanical tuning machines that he was the first to adopt [Torres was not the first] are still used. The mosaics around the sound hole and on the edge of the ribs have been imitated everywhere. His guitars have even been taken apart with the obsessive desire to penetrate the mystery of his unmistakable sound and timbre. Labels have been falsified and appear on instruments Torres never built. It is not impossible, however, given his extensive production, that an authentic guitar, not yet cataloged, from this famous manufacturer could appear in any corner of the world.
There is no doubt that Torres’ conscientious work, his science, and his art are enhanced today by the beneficial effects that time transmits to wood. His instruments will always have an advantage over those that were built by later craftsmen.
To demonstrate clearly that the most important factor in the construction of a guitar was the soundboard, it occurred to him to build a special instrument, with a papier-mâché soundbox, except for the top which, as in all of them, had to be of spruce. When his work was finished and exposed to the consideration of the most knowledgeable and demanding, it caused true astonishment and his thesis was recognized and accepted.
At a very advanced age, this artist, of lasting memory, died in Almería, on November 20, 1892.”
Pujol mentions Torres’ guitar made with papier-mâché back and sides and relates stories bearing on its history. He indicates that, while Tárrega was living in Barcelona at the home of his then patron Doña Concha, “he brought his music papers and guitars came with him, including the papier-mâché one Torres had given him.” Tárrega later had a falling out with Doña Concha and she shifted her allegiance to Llobet. Pujol says she “acquired a magnificent Torres guitar for her protégé [Llobet] in Andalusia” and “also gave him the famous guitar papier-mâché guitar that the brilliant luthier had dedicated to Tárrega and that he had left without removing it from the tower of San Gervasio [Concha’s home in Barcelona].”