Those unique individuals
who bestow on mankind a legacy of artistic greatness, often
also engender an almost insatiable desire to know more about
them, the circumstances in which they lived, worked and what
motivated them to such levels of achievement. Some were reserved,
humble people who avoided fame and fortune, sustained primarily
by their magnificent accomplishments. The biography under review
is about such a man whose avoidance of the limelight has made
biographical studies all the more challenging.
Over the past five
decades the classical guitar has undergone a remarkable renaissance,
both in the number of students who undertake serious study of
the instrument, and in those who appreciate the guitar for its
subtle and sublime beauty. One man who made a unique contribution
to that ultimate process was Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909).
The epithet, ‘Modern Awakener of the Guitar’, would be deemed
pertinent by those fortunate to have studied his music or heard
it performed by a master guitarist. Until recently the English-speaking
world has had limited access to material about this great guitarist.
Information available in print is sketchy, often contradictory
with the odd biography in Spanish.
After ten years
of methodical research, guitarist Adrián Rius Espinós has produced
a biography on Tarrega. Copyrighted in 2006, it was translated
from Spanish and published soon thereafter in English. My copy
was only recently discovered and other aficionados may be unaware
of its existence. Comprising 300 pages, it is copiously illustrated
with photographs, and pages from Tarrega’s diary. Like many
such biographies there is a strong reliance on correspondence.
Included are copies of various letters, mainly those that Tarrega
wrote to friends, pupils and disciples. There are also many
articles from newspapers that give reviews of his performances
and concerts. These provide a more objective means of evaluating
Tarrega as a performer, composer and arranger of popular music
of the time. They also give balance to the myth and legend that
doubtless infiltrates the numerous anecdotes included in the
biography.
Regrettably there
are no audio recordings of Tarrega, however it is evident from
those who reviewed his concerts that he was a guitarist without
peer. There seems to be a lack of adequate accolades to accommodate
the praise that reviewers heaped on Tarrega when reviewing his
concerts. The effect of hearing him play had quite profound
effects on some individuals. The Italian guitarist Maria Rita
Brondi went to Tarrega in January 1907 with the objective of
perfecting her guitar studies. After hearing him play for the
first time she was hardly able to sleep on the ensuing night.
Dona Concha Gomez de Jacoby fainted in the middle of a post-dinner
concert given by Tarrega. A famous gathering venue for aficionados
of Tarrega was the dairy, and later a tavern, owned by Leon
Farre, both in the Derecha del Ensanche, Barcelona. As tough
as Farre was purported to be, on occasions when Tarrega was
playing he would fall into a dead faint. These are some of the
more believable anecdotes. A flamenco guitarist, Borrull, is
purported to have slashed his wrist during a performance by
Tarrega. Although saved in time, he wanted to die in a state
of complete bliss!
Tarrega has been
described as a ‘natural musician who just happened to be a guitarist.’
A skilled harmonist and accomplished pianist, he addressed the
paucity of repertory by arranging and transcribing popular music
of the day for the guitar. This included original compositions
by Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Albeniz and
Gottschalk , among others. Done with consummate skill
and executed beautifully on the guitar, this process appears
to have attracted no objections from critics of the day.
Interestingly,
of the dozen or so concert programmes included, none contain
any original works for guitar except that by Tarrega. If these
programmes represented his attitude at large, one wonders why
he excluded original music by Sor, Aguado and others. It is
also significant that decades later, even the great Andrés Segovia
could not escape the wrath of music critics for this same process
of transcribing and arranging music from other instruments for
the guitar.
Aside from his
attributes as a guitarist and musician, the biography clearly
documents that Tarrega was also a fine human being, beloved
by all who knew him. He had profound empathy for his fellow
human beings. Those who visited Tarrega’s home were embraced
with ’an atmosphere that affected the deepest parts
of the very being; it conferred a spirit of well-being and serenity’
One writer described Tarrega as ‘St Francis Assisi of the Guitar’.
His friendly nature, courtly way of speaking, his attitude
towards all humanity was always one of complete self-sacrifice
to his fellow man.’
As one would anticipate
in a biography of this nature, there are slight inconsistencies.
Of no particular significance, Tarrega is described by Emilio
Pujol as ‘a man of normal height and appearance for a native
of the Valencia region.’ Josefina Robledo, who first met Tarrega
when she was 12 years old, described him as ‘rather tall’. Domingo
Prat refers to ‘Within the gigantic stature of his body.’ Federico
Garcia Sanchiz refers to his ‘tall broad body.’ It may be that
all are accurate and, relative to the rest of Spain, those from
the Valencia region are atypically tall?
One does not get
the impression that this biography was written by a guitarist
because some of the issues that preoccupy guitarists are not
dealt with. The writer does not address specifically what the
‘Tarrega technique’ constituted. Unique, and the forerunner
of modern technique for the classical guitar, it is very important
in the technical evolution of the instrument. Some sources suggest
that Tarrega was the first to use a stool for the left foot.
This enables the instrument to be cradled between the left thigh
and the breast, providing a comfortable position and elevation
of the neck that assists reaching notes in the high position.
A photograph of Julian Arcas (1832-1882) using this same device,
tends to discredit any belief that Tarrega was the first to
use such a foot stool. Tarrega received tutelage from Arcas
when the former was around ten years of age. Tarrega’s unique
right hand position resulted from holding the hand so that the
first finger (i) would strike the string at right angles. This
contrasts with Segovia who changed his hand position so that
the ‘a’ finger would strike the string at right angles. Julian
Bream amended the position further to accommodate a broader
palette of tonal colours. Tarrega also employed the ‘rest stroke’
extensively in his playing which meant abandoning the tradition
of anchoring the fourth finger (pinky) to the soundboard. Despite
popular belief that he introduced this technique, evidence exists
to show that Julian Arcas also used rest stroke extensively
and that it was common to flamenco guitarists. These matters
may not have been addressed because there is insufficient evidence
to substantiate general belief.
Another interesting
aspect of Tarrega’s playing is the employment of fingernails
in execution of strokes with the right hand. I remain unconvinced
that a player of Tarrega’s genius would take four decades to
decided that the tone produced with fingertips alone was superior
to that when a nail and flesh combination are used. It is fairly
obvious from the narrative that Tarrega was frustrated over
a long time with periodic breaking of his weak, thin nails;
he may have persisted only because the sound was bigger and
more voluminous with nails. Finally, at the age of 48, he trimmed
them entirely and began to play with fingertips only. A man
of Tarrega’s capabilities learns to adapt to whatever resources
are available, and during the latter nine years of his life
he changed his approach to fingertips only. I recall nothing
in reviews of his concerts that expresses a preference for the
tone of his playing before 1900 or after, when he played with
fingertips only. The debate continues, although the majority
of concert guitarists have now followed the admonition of Segovia
who played using a nail-fingertip combination.
There is an interesting
narrative on the first meeting between Tarrega and Antonio de
Torres and how Tarrega obtained his first of several Torres
guitars. The circumstances are almost identical to that related
by Segovia in his autobiography, and how he obtained the Manuel
Ramirez guitar that he was to play until around 1937.
One issue that
Rius does indirectly address is the mooted relationship, outside
the guitar, between Tarrega and dona Concha. When Tarrega first
met this highly talented lady she was an affluent 35 year old
widow who the author describes as ‘a brunette with large expressive
black eyes and a very attractive figure’.It was to this student
that Tarrega dedicated the unpublished version of his tremolo
study, Recuerdos de la Alhambra, in 1899. This one original
composition alone would have been sufficient to immortalize
him, but in a typical unassuming, humble way he added a notation
to the manuscript: Since I can’t offer you a gift of greater
value on the day of your Saint, accept this, my poor little
poetic note, an impression of what my soul felt before the great
marvel of the Alhambra we admired together in Granada.
It was his subsequent
rededication of the published study to Alfredo Cottin, and rumours
spread by dona Concha apropos a rift between her and Tarrega
that fuelled conjecture about their relationship; Tarrega had
rejected her romantic overtures. Other works dedicated
to dona Concha retained that dedication, and Rius notes
that that dona Concha later asked Tarrega’s forgiveness for
her inappropriate behaviour.
There is also no
mention of Salvador Garcia who, while outside the main body
of Tarrega’s pupils and disciples, some claim to be his greatest
pupil. Unable to become a concert artist in his own right because
of a psychological disorder, he became a famed teacher. Among
his pupils are included Jose Luis Gonzalez and Melchor Rodriguez.
Evidence suggests that prior to his first trip to Argentina
in 1920, Segovia lived in the home of Garcia and received from
him extensive tutelage in the principles of Tarrega.
This is an interesting
and welcome biography in English of Francisco Tarrega, ‘Modern
Awakener of the Guitar.’ It is essential reading for anyone
interested in the life and times of this great guitarist.
Zane Turner
