Here Declan Zapala returns to Romantic-era Catalonia to explore some bitesize building blocks of classical guitar technique through this short and chirpy study.
José Ferrer Esteve de Fujadas was an influential exponent of Spanish guitar music during the late 1800s and early 1900s. A performer, composer, and teacher he was famed for his deep technical knowledge of the instrument, having been taught by guitarists who themselves were taught by famed pedagogues Fernando Sor and Dionisio Aguado. As an artist Ferrer represents a key link to the 19th century guitar tradition. His unpublished method book for guitar, Metodo Para Guitarra, written towards the end of his life, is a hefty 180-page encyclopaedic work, available on London’s Royal Academy of Music online library and definitely worth checking out.
Born in Torroella de Montgrí in the far east of Catalonia, Ferrer was a friend of Francisco Tarrega, Isaac Albéniz, and Julián Arcas, and was initially taught guitar by his father who, a lawyer by trade, was also an amateur guitarist and composer. Ferrer left the Costa Brava in his early 20s and moved south to Barcelona to study with José Brocá with whom he forged a lifelong friendship. Ferrer spent most of his professional career split between Paris and Barcelona, teaching at the Académie Internationale de Musique and Institut Rudy in Paris, and the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona. During this time he composed no less than 100 works for guitar including solos and duets, as well as a smaller body of piano music. The music he wrote for our instrument is notoriously guitaristic in nature, in that nothing is written that does not sit comfortably and securely under the hands. This comes as no surprise from someone who had a lifelong obsession with guitar technique and how to write for the instrument. Only around half of Ferrer’s compositions were published during his lifetime and this month’s piece is the seventh Ejercicio or ‘exercise’ from an unpublished selection of 15 short pieces titled Various Ejercicios para Guitarra. It is very much a student piece and is a great opportunity for us to explore some core classical guitar techniques including familiarising ourselves with basic chord shapes in the key of E Minor and E Major, as well as controlling simple three-part bass, melody and accompaniment musical textures.
NEXT MONTH Declan arranges Barcarolla Op.51 No.1 by French guitarist Napoleon Coste
