Creation

Tarrega is one of the biggest guitarists and guitar composers late XIX- the beginning of the XX century. He owns 78 original works and about 120 arrangements for the guitar, the most famous are “Memories of the Alhambra”, “Moorish Dance”, “Arabic Capriccio”, “Variations on the Jota of Aragon”, mazurkas, preludes, etudes, etc. Among his students and followers - Miguel Llobet, Emilio Pujol, Daniel Fortea and other famous guitarists. Andres Segovia highly appreciated the skill of Tarrega, who often performed his compositions and used his pedagogical methods in his work.

It was from his work Gran Vals that Nokia took its "signature" melody for a cell phone call.

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Notes

Bibliography

• Pujol E. Tarrega: enseyo biografico. Lisbon, 1960.
• Rius Espinos A. Francisco Tarrega, 1852-1909: biografia oficial. , 2002; English translation 2006.

Links

• (Spanish)
• Tárrega, Francisco: sheet music of works at the International Music Score Library Project

An excerpt characterizing Tarrega, Francisco

The brother shook his head in disbelief.
- One thing that is hard for me - I'll tell you the truth, Andre - is my father's way of thinking in religious terms. I do not understand how a person with such a huge mind cannot see what is clear as day, and can be so deluded? This is one of my misfortunes. But even here, lately, I see a shadow of improvement. Lately his taunts are not so caustic, and there is one monk whom he received and spoke to him for a long time.
“Well, my friend, I’m afraid that you and the monk are wasting your gunpowder,” Prince Andrei said mockingly, but affectionately.
- Ah! mon ami. [BUT! My friend.] I just pray to God and hope that He hears me. Andre,” she said timidly after a moment of silence, “I have a big request for you.
- What, my friend?
No, promise me you won't refuse. It will not cost you any work, and there will be nothing unworthy of you in it. Only you can comfort me. Promise, Andryusha, - she said, putting her hand into the purse and holding something in it, but not yet showing, as if what she was holding was the subject of the request and as if before receiving the promise in fulfillment of the request she could not remove it from the purse It is something.
She looked timidly, imploringly at her brother.
“If it would cost me a lot of work ...” Prince Andrei answered, as if guessing what was the matter.
- Whatever you want, think! I know you are the same as mon pere. Think whatever you want, but do it for me. Do it please! My father's father, our grandfather, wore it in all wars ... - She still did not get what she was holding from her purse. "So you promise me?"
"Of course, what's the matter?"
- Andre, I will bless you with the image, and you promise me that you will never take it off. Promise?
“If he doesn’t drag his neck down to two pounds ... To please you ...” said Prince Andrei, but at the same moment, noticing the distressed expression that his sister’s face assumed at this joke, he repented. “Very glad, really very glad, my friend,” he added.
“Against your will, He will save and have mercy on you and turn you to Himself, because in Him alone is truth and peace,” she said in a voice trembling with excitement, with a solemn gesture holding in both hands in front of her brother an oval ancient icon of the Savior with a black face in silver chasuble on a silver chain of fine workmanship.
She crossed herself, kissed the icon and handed it to Andrey.
– Please, Andre, for me…
From big eyes beams of kind and timid light shone from her. These eyes illuminated the whole sickly, thin face and made it beautiful. The brother wanted to take the scapular, but she stopped him. Andrei understood, crossed himself and kissed the icon. His face was at the same time gentle (he was touched) and mocking.
- Merci, mon ami. [Thank you my friend.]
She kissed him on the forehead and sat back down on the sofa. They were silent.
- So I told you, Andre, be kind and generous, as you have always been. Don't judge Lise harshly, she began. - She is so sweet, so kind, and her position is very difficult now.
- It seems that I didn’t tell you anything, Masha, so that I reproach my wife for anything or be dissatisfied with her. Why are you telling me all this?
Princess Mary blushed in spots and became silent, as if she felt guilty.
“I didn’t say anything to you, but you were already told. And it makes me sad.
Red spots appeared even more strongly on the forehead, neck and cheeks of Princess Marya. She wanted to say something and could not utter it. The brother guessed right: the little princess cried after dinner, said that she foresaw an unfortunate birth, was afraid of them, and complained about her fate, her father-in-law and her husband. After crying, she fell asleep. Prince Andrei felt sorry for his sister.

Francisco Tarrega, (Spanish: Francisco Tárrega) was born on November 21, 1852 in the small Spanish village of Villarreal and died on December 15, 1909 in Barcelona. An outstanding classical guitarist and composer, one of the founders of modern guitar performance.

The parents of the great guitarist were not rich people. They married in 1851. And a year after the wedding, on November 21, 1852, at four in the morning, their first child was born, who was named Francisco - in honor of his father.

Parents were forced to hire a nanny for their son, because. both were busy with work. However, the girl they hired had a rather complex character. Once, irritated by the crying of little Francisco, she threw him into the river. And if it were not for the neighbor who watched this scene and managed to save the child, the world would never have met the musical genius Francisco Tarrega. And the nanny, frightened by the wrath of her parents, ran away from the village and never again showed herself to the eyes of the family of Francisco Tarrega.

After the child was rescued from cold water, for some time he was between life and death. Unfortunately, due to his injuries, the boy's eyes were badly damaged. He had to undergo several operations on his eyes, but they were all inconclusive. His myopia worsened year after year.

Father Francisco decided that a blind man could earn a living with music. Therefore, he made his efforts to ensure that Francisco developed precisely in the musical field. Blind guitarists helped the boy learn the guitar. In particular, the blind musician Eugenio Ruiz, who gave Francisco the first music lessons, and later Manuel Gonzalez took over the baton, is also a blind guitarist.

When the boy was 10 years old, he began to study with the famous guitarist Julian Arkas. Simultaneously with learning to play the guitar, Tarrega learned to play the piano, which his father insisted on. Five years later - in 1869 - Francisco acquires the first serious instrument, a guitar made by the famous master Antonio Toressa.

Don Antonio Cones, who had a considerable fortune, was amazed by the abilities of the young guitarist. It was he who provided Francisco Tarrega with the necessary financial support to move to Madrid, where in 1874 he managed to enter the Madrid Conservatory to study piano and composition, because. there was simply no guitar class at the conservatory at that time.

Six years later, in May 1880, Tarrega decided to give his first solo guitar recital, which was a huge success. After that, his concert activity begins. He performs not only in his native Spain, but travels with concerts in France, Italy, Austria, Holland, England ...

After another 2 years, Francisco marries Dona Maria Riso, from whom he has two children - son Francisco and daughter Maria. Together with the Tarrega family, he settled in Barcelona, ​​where he began to engage in concert and teaching activities. During his life, Tarrega transcribed for the guitar more than 120 works of such famous composers, such as: Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc. and wrote 78 works for the guitar, including "Arabic Capriccio", "Memories of the Alhambra", etc. By the way, it was from his work, which is called "Grand Waltz", that Nokia borrowed its "signature" melody for ringing cell phones.

It is worth noting that Tarrega's students were such well-known guitar virtuosos as Emilio Pujol, Miguel Llobet and others.

Intense concert activity led to the fact that in 1906 Tarrega had a stroke, the consequences of which was paralysis. right side body. The musician never fully recovered. However, despite his illness, he continued to give concerts. Unfortunately, his creative life was short-lived. Three years after the stroke - on December 15th, 1909 at five o'clock in the evening - Francisco Tarrega died at his home from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 57.

Francisco Tarrega is named after the International Guitar Competition, which is held annually in Spain. And in the city of Castellón de la Plana, Francisco Tarrega erected a monument.

Attention! Take the guitar course! Course duration: 90 minutes!

TARREGA-EYKSEA Francisco (Francisco Tárrega y Eixea), 21.XI.1852 - 05.XII.1909, is an outstanding Spanish virtuoso guitarist and composer, the founder of the Spanish school of playing the guitar. He has been playing the guitar since early childhood. Tarrega's musical abilities attracted attention and, with the support of a wealthy family, he managed to go to Madrid and in October 1874 enter the conservatory, from which he graduated brilliantly in two specialties - piano and composition. Despite his good pianistic abilities, Tarrega preferred the guitar, in playing which he improved so much that he decided to give his own concert at the Alhambra theater in Madrid. The huge success that accompanied this performance finally decided the issue - Tarrega became a guitarist. Concert trips to France, Italy, Austria, Holland and other countries confirmed the outstanding abilities of the guitarist. The press compared Tarrega with the largest contemporary performers - the violinist Pablo de Sarasate and the pianist Anton Rubinstein.

Tarrega's own compositions for the guitar are few, only 34. However, Tarrega's compositions are outstanding examples in terms of the mastery of the use of technical means and the sound capabilities of the guitar. These are the famous "Moorish Dance", "Arabic Capriccio", "Jota of Aragon", "Memories of the Alhambra", "Dreams", as well as others: mazurkas, polkas, preludes, etudes, etc. His work has opened new paths for composers and performers. Of value are many made by Tarrega, guitar arrangements of works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Schumann, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schubert and other composers. Tarrega did not write a school for the guitar, but his pedagogical activity allows us to speak of him as an outstanding teacher. Suffice it to name just a few of his prominent students - M. Llobet, E. Pujol, D. Prat, D. Fortea.

The activity of Francisco Tarrega seems to be especially significant during the general decline of guitar art in the early twentieth century. Tarrega showed the widest possibilities of the six-string guitar and proved that the ways to improve playing it lie in persistent work on acquiring mastery of the instrument, in identifying and subordinating to artistic goals the sound beauties of the guitar that are inaccessible to other instruments.

He belonged to those artists who do not choose a profession - the guitar was his destiny.

Tarrega was born in the small Valencian town of Villa Real de los Infantes. His passion for the guitar began the day he heard a folk musician, the blind guitarist Manuel Gonzalez, play. From the age of 10 he studied guitar with the famous Spanish guitarist Julian Arcas (1832-1882).

Despite his passion for the guitar, Tarrega graduated from the Madrid Conservatory in piano and composition. This happened only because neither the Barcelona nor the Madrid conservatories at that time had a guitar class. And Tarrega had no other choice but to enter the piano class. However, "betrayal" of the guitar turned into happiness for her - Francisco Tarrega became a highly educated musician. Soon he had already visited with concerts all the major cities of Spain, and then Europe, having won success and recognition. Returning to Spain in 1881, Tarrega continued to give concerts and devoted himself entirely to his instrument. He composed, transcribed works for the guitar famous composers- Chopin, Bach, Beethoven, not forgetting his compatriots - Albeniz, Granados. The most famous works of Tarrega are "Memories of the Alhambra", "Arabian Capriccio" and "Jota of Aragon" with variations. Tarrega, like no one else, was able to reveal the unique individuality of the guitar - tenderness, intimacy, richness of the colorful palette.

Granada. Alhambra.

It was Francisco Tarrega that Spain owes the beginning of the revival of guitar art. He is considered the father of the modern classical guitar. Compatriots sacredly keep the memory of the outstanding artist. His name was given to the International Guitar Competition held in Spain. A monument was erected in Castellón de la Plana Tarrega.

Collection of works by Francisco Tarrega

MUSICA PARA GUITARRA POR EL MAESTRO TARREGA

Antich y Tena Editores, San Vicente, 99, Valencia
(A. y T. 357-360, 362, 364, 391-396)

State Music Library of Sweden
From the Collection of Carl Oscar Boye (1849-1923) - Boije 828, 829

Part 1 - PDF (2.16 Mb)

1. Capricho Arabe (Serenata para guitarra) ..................... A. y T. 357
2-3. Preludios No 1 and 2 ............................................... ............ A. y T. 358
4. Largo de la Sonata de Beethoven (Op. 7) .................... A. y T. 362
5. Gran Vals ............................................... .............................. A. y T. 360
6. La Mariposa (Estudio para guitarra) .............................. A. y T. 359
7. Adelita (Mazurka para guitarra) ...................................... A. y T .364

Part 2 - PDF (1.23 Mb)

1. Preludio No 20 Chopin ...... A. y T. 391
2. Preludio No 3 .............................................. ................... A. y T. 392
3. Preludio No. 4 ............................................... ................... A. y T. 392
4. Preludio No. 5 ............................................... ................... A. y T. 392
5. Preludio No 6 Chopin (Op. 28) .................................... A. y T. 391
6. Preludio No 7 Chopin ........ A. y T. 391
7. Rosita (Polka) ............................................... ................... A. y T. 393
8. Marieta (Mazurka para guitarra) ................................... A. y T. 393
9. Menuet de la Fantasie Op: 78 de Franz Schubert .... A. y T. 394
10. Menuet Beethoven ............................................... ........... A. y T. 395
11. Menuet de Haydn ............................................... .............. A. y T. 396

MUSIC, TABLATURE AND NOTES FROM OTHER PUBLICATIONS

					TAB	RAM
Adelita (in Spanish by David Russell)						MP3
Sheet music (*.jpg)				[ 1 ]	ZIP
					TAB	MP3
Sheet music (*.jpg)	[ 1 ]	[ 2 ]	[ 3 ]	[ 4 ]	ZIP	PDF
Danza Mora (Moorish dance)						MIDI
Sheet music (*.jpg)			[ 1 ]	[ 2 ]	ZIP
						MIDI
Sheet music (*.jpg)			[ 1 ]	[ 2 ]	ZIP
Endecha (Prelude)					TAB	MIDI
					TAB	MIDI
Estudio en Forma de Minueto					TAB	MIDI
					TAB
					TAB	MIDI
					TAB	MIDI
					TAB
					TAB	MIDI
Sheet music (*.jpg)				[ 1 ]	ZIP
					TAB	MIDI
Pavana (Spanish D. Russell)						WMA
Sheet music (*.jpg)				[ 1 ]	ZIP
Marietta (Mazurka)					TAB	MIDI
Sheet music (*.jpg)

BIOGRAPHIES OF GUITARS - COMPOSERS (classics)

TARREGA FRANCISCO

T Arrega Eixea Francisco. Outstanding Spanish guitarist and composer. We present here his baptismal certificate and death certificate.

On Sunday, the twenty-first day of November 1852, in the parish church of Villareal, diocese of Tortosa, province of Castellón de la Plana, I, the undersigned, subvicary of that church, solemnly christened Francisco, the legitimate son of the spouses Francisco Tarrega, born in Castallón and Antonia Eixea, born in Castellón de la Plana. Paternal grandparents Salvador Tarrega and Vicente Tirado of Castellón; by mother Vicente Eixea and Rosa Broch of Castellón de la Plana. He was born today at four o'clock in the morning in St. Pascual's place. The godmother was Catalina Thomas, to whom I announced what relationship and what obligations were imposed on her by this act. Sebastian Brau.

“Death of Don Francisco Tarrega Eixea. Don Juan Vives Farres, deputy municipal judge in charge of the civil registry of the district of the University of Barcelona; court No. 6. I testify: on sheet 255 No. 1805 of book 134 of the Third section of this civil register for the corresponding year, the following entry was made: In the city of Barcelona at seventeen o'clock on the fifteenth of December one thousand and nine before Don José G. Manfredi, municipal judge of the district of the University and don Alonso Torrents, don Sebastian Corominas, born in Barcelona in the same municipality of the same province, married, carpenter, adult, living in Aribau no. years old, living at Calencia Street No. 234, first floor, died at five o'clock in the afternoon today at his home from a cerebral hemorrhage, which he duly reported, because. This was requested by the family of the deceased. In connection with this application and the optional certificate presented, the seigneur of the municipal judge ordered that the present entry be made and signed under it. In addition to the above, it was possible to obtain the following information: that at the time of his death he was married to Dona Maria Riso, a native of Novellada, 48 years old, from the marriage with whom two children remained alive, Francisco and Maria. He was the legitimate son of Don Francisco and Dona Antonia, both deceased, born respectively in Castellón and Villarreal. That it is not known whether there was a will, and that the corpse will be buried in the South-Western cemetery. Personal witnesses were Don Avelino Abril, a native of Barcelona, ​​an adult, single, an employee by profession, living in Barcelona, ​​st. Major No. 23, in the shop and Don Agustín Torrens, born in Barcelona, ​​adult, unmarried, employee by profession, living in Barcelona, ​​Aribau, No. 26 in the basement. After reading the entire present record and inviting the persons who are to sign it to read the record themselves if they see fit; the record bears the seal of the municipal court; it was signed by the senior judge, the applicant and the witnesses. I testify. Jose G. Manfredi, Sebastian Corominas Avelino Abril - A. Torrens - Adolfo Torrents. There is Mark. I issue the real record in Barcelona, ​​the thirty-first of January, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-three.

A child of a humble family from Castellón, born by chance in Villarreal. A year after his birth, his parents return to the named city, where the future great artist spends almost his entire life. In his childhood, he had to listen several times to the performance of the blind guitarist Manuel Gonzalez, who was popularly known as the “blind from the coast”, who had the fame of a famous guitarist and at that time in the province of Valencia he had no equal. The boy liked the musician's game so much that when he was 11 years old, he decided to study with him. Later he took lessons from Felix Pansoa and Sebrian, and when he managed to get to the Arkas concert, he became so interested in the instrument that he did his best to get into the city and study under Julian Arkas. “Musical Illustration” (02/03/1884) presents him as a student of Arkas in the following way: “Tarrega is not one of those whom we called; he is an artist in the fullest sense of the word, he was not only a student of the famous Arkas.” There are people who, like the guitarist Camadevilla, born in 1861 (q.v.), claim that Tarrega also took lessons from Thomas Damas. Finally, he moved to Barcelona, ​​and although he did not manage to study with Arkas, perhaps because he was not in the city (being a concert performer, he traveled all over the provinces), he was patronized by the Comte de Parcent, admiring the great abilities of Tarrega, he helped him until the great guitarist, through hard work and hard work, became a good performer. He moved to Valencia, where he intensifies his studies even more and gives several concerts that made him famous. Here he is overtaken by the news of the death of his patron, the Comte de Parcent. Deprived of much-needed help, he moves to the nearby village of Burriana, surviving on the lessons he has learned from his rising fame. From that time on, his life is the goal of constant efforts, sorrows and ups and downs, which later, obviously, left a mark on his body. At this critical moment, he was greatly helped by his friendship with Don Antonio Conesa, a wealthy city merchant and a great admirer of the guitarist; Conesa gives him the means necessary for his life, and Tarrega moves to Madrid, where (according to Saldoni's Dictionary of Spanish Musicians, p. 336, volume 3): “In October 1874, he entered the National School of Music, studying solfeggio and in a public competition educational institution in June 1875 he received the first prize, being a student of Senor Gaines (José Gaines Coramendi, assistant teacher at the Madrid Conservatory, appointed on 01/08/1870). In the same city, the maestro practices piano and harmony with teachers Miguel Galiana y Folquez and Rafael Hernando. Both of them were professors of composition and harmony. The young Tarrega hesitated for a short time in the choice between the two instruments that he studied, but he makes the final decision after the concert that came to the place, in which outstanding artists took part. This evening he surpassed himself in playing the guitar. In November 1878, at a meeting of the Catorre Society in Barcelona, ​​he performed several plays with great success. Then the artist gave another concert with a brilliance that had never been seen before, judging by what was written in La Campana de Gracia, year IX, No. 485 of 11/17/1878, the article "Theatres".

In May 1880, in Madrid, the Filipino poet Senor Paterno gave a literary and musical evening at his home and the Correspondence of Spain, on the 30th day of the mentioned month, 1880, writes the following about him: we have never heard and will not be able to hear anything better on such an instrument” (Saldoni, “Spanish Musicians, Volume IV, p. 337). After the triumph in Spain, he continues to fight hard and consolidate his fame. In 1880, the artist moved to Paris, where he achieved even greater success. He also successfully performs later in London, according to biographers, although this city did not really suit him, as he himself told his friend F. Canto. The magazine Art and Literature, in No. 19, in an article signed by Canto, writes: “In the summer of 1880, I spent several months in Paris. One evening, when I returned to the Gersay Hotel, where I was staying, I was informed that some gentleman who had come from London was staying at the same hotel and asked about me. It was Tarrega. When he saw me, he threw himself into my arms. "I'm coming," he told me, "from Covent Garden, running away from England." He had an agreement to give three concerts and, despite good reception he only gave two. “I can't stand the English tension, the language I don't know, the climate, the fogs. In Paris, on the contrary, I feel at home, and now I have met my dear compatriot and am among my own, among the people of my homeland. Returning to Barcelona, ​​he undertakes a major tour of the major cities of the peninsula, was baptized as a guitar player of the highest class, which has never been heard in Spain, according to some critics. In the book Musical Celebrities, Fernando de Arteaga gives the following opinion about the fame won by a great artist. But let us first point out that this book was published in 1886 in Barcelona, ​​and this opinion was previously published in the Castalla magazine. This suggests that the fame of the artist began a few years before and now she is at its peak. Later in the same book, we will quote a paragraph whose date confirms our confident opinion.

“Don Francisco Tarrega, an outstanding artist who surpassed, what seems impossible, the famous guitarists Sora and Aguado, reminiscent of his happy follies of Paganini and Liszt.”

“Barcelona is the city where he achieved the greatest triumph and where he had the most friends and where he spent the most time in his itinerant life as a concert performer. Due to the fact that the guitar is a special instrument that is forced to confine itself to a modest space and seek success in a narrow circle and does not allow spacious rooms and a large audience, the famous Tarrega did not achieve the social position that, according to his talent, he should have occupied, hence his a very modest existence, sanctified only by the love of his wife and admirers, a life filled with exercises that require great patience, which he does not stop even at the height of his fame and which, we have no doubt about it, will lead the guitar to a degree of perfection that we cannot now and guess.

Tarrega, as we said, is an outstanding artist. He is not only the most skilled performer. When you listen to him, you are fascinated by his tenderness and sensitivity, elegant and classical phraseology, the absence of sensual affectation, so characteristic of guitarists. We do not want to say anything about his wonderful performance, it would be very difficult for us to give a clear idea about him, to appreciate the mastery of harmonic sounds, the variety of harmonies that he extracts from the instrument, the purity and clarity of performance. Suffice it to point out the miracles he performs when, casually cleaning the neck of a guitar, in interludes he enchants us with a harmony that we do not know how and where it comes from.

In addition, Tarrega is an excellent master of harmony, which is evidenced by his original works and arrangements. This is a real miracle, reminding us of the miracles that were obtained when Liszt transcribed Beethoven's symphonies for piano. Great to listen to him perform. Beethoven sonatas, Talbert’s “Funeral March”, “Canzonetta” and Mendelssohn’s romances, Gottchock’s tremolo study and other very difficult works for piano, while absolutely all the little things are preserved, with harmonic fullness, skill and talent for interpretation. Of his original compositions, the most important are: a collection of 12 studies, Caprice-Gavotte, two melodies, a Scherzo in D major, a fantasy on Spanish motifs, “Variations on a Theme” Venice Carnival” and Concert Etude in A major.”

The first paragraph quoted from Arteaga is a bit incomprehensible. We do not know what is the advantage (the author does not tell us about it) of Tarrega over Sor and Aguado. If as a performer, then of the three, due to the fact that the first two lived at a different time, we heard only Tarrega. And the opinion on this matter runs like a red thread through the whole work. We doubt that the author of this opinion heard the first two maestros. As far as the composer-guitarist is concerned, our opinion is categorical and in due time we will express it where we are talking about Tarrega the composer. As for the last excerpt from Arteaga, we can only regret that Tarrega wasted time and misused his talent for the performance and arrangement of Beethoven's sonatas, Thalberg's Funeral March, Mendelssohn's Canzoneta, romances and other musical motifs. . We will also give the grounds for our opinion when we talk about the composer. The merit of Tarrega is the revival of the revival of the guitar, which was started in Spain by P. Basilio, a student of Aguado, F. Sor (the pinnacle of the guitar composition), Arcas (the most prominent performer of his time), Viñas, Broca, Parga, Ferré and others. Tarrega became the link between the eras of the guitar, and he accomplished this with undoubted merit both in the person of the performer and in the person of the composer. The strong impetus he gave to the instrument and the musical state in which his pupils found themselves make us look with Franciscan reverence both at Prelude No. 5 and at the not-so-suitable March from Wagner's Tannhäuser. In those years, few were able to have their own opinion about music, only Albéniz, Breton, Chani and others could, but no one could judge the guitar balanced enough, even these maestros, who did not know the instrument, only listened to Tarrega a few times and were captivated by his great performing arts as a born artist. This explains the fact that all of us, who surrounded the great guitarist, naturally, not knowing the significance of the original literature for the guitar, were delighted with the performance of arrangements that today make such a bad impression, regardless of whether they belong to Tarrega or not. Therefore, we were an ignorant audience, and the performer also did not know the great guitar literature of our Golden Age of the pen of Sor, Diabelli, Coste, Carcassi, Giuliani, Legnani, Carulli, Regondi and many others, who enriched the instrument much earlier. It is interesting to look at Tarrega's program, we have one of the programs at hand. We will give here the program of the concert, which we do not know where it took place, but we assume that in Barcelona, ​​because. it features the pianist Juan Goula, a son who was born in that city in 1866 and has always lived in the same "Mug of Trade Union". Tarrega Concert, Saturday 13 July 1889 at 9 p.m. Program.

I part

1. Melody “Evening in Sicily” - Verdi.

2. “Miscellaneous” - Marina Arrieta.

3. Spanish fantasy - Tarrega.

4. Bass aria from "La Sonnambula" by Senor Planas with piano accompaniment by Senor Jimenez-Bellini.

5. Romance without words - Mendelssohn, "Funeral March" - Thalberg Senor Tarrega.

6. The wedding of Figaro, Senorita Mata with accompaniment on the piano by Senor Goul (son) - Mozart.

II part

1. Aria of Don Carlo Senor Planas with piano accompaniment by Senor Jimenez - Verdi.

2. Big tremolo by Senor Tarrega - Gotchock.

3. Variations from the Venice Carnival - Tarrega.

4. The “devoted” dramatic melody by Senorita Mata, with accompaniment on the piano by Senor Goula (son) – Goula, father.

5. Concert etude - Tarrega.

6. National melodies - Tarrega.

As you can see, the program is arbitrarily and hastily drawn up as far as music is concerned. Not only because of the class of music that has nothing to do with the guitar, but also because of the very weak first movement, up to the "Death March". In the first works there are characteristic things, such as, for example, “Miscellaneous” by Marina, which is replaced by a work by Verdi and one work by the maestro. After a few years, Tarrega's musical progress is not noticeable, i.e. the guitar is not yet fully understood. Tarrega himself, in fairness it should be noted, felt it well, but he was not seized by the possibilities of the instrument and the role that he himself, without noticing it, played for the benefit of the rise of guitar literature. Therefore, we thought many times that Tarrega was an intuitive musician, and not a dreamer who took place in the process of mental development of ideas. However, in Tarrega there is already some progress in the choice of music to be played. It excludes operatic music and zarzuela music. This cannot be said about the ordered ensemble of the program, which, on the contrary, suffers from an obvious rollback. Let's look at the following program "Tarrega Concert": "An invitation to a concert given by the outstanding guitarist Don Francisco Tarrega on the 23rd of the current month at half past ten in the evening in the hall of Cateura and Co. at Passage de la Merced No. 5 (Cortez, between Casanovas and Munganer), Barcelona on December 22, 1906. Senor D. Domingo Prat. Program.

I part

1. Romance - Mendelssohn.

2. Barcarolle - Schumann.

3. Granada (serenade) - Albeniz.

4. Romance - Schumann.

5. Etude (tremolo) - Tarrega.

II part

1. Spanish serenade - Albeniz.

2. Mazurka - Chopin.

3. Andante - Haydn.

4. Minuet - Mozart.

5. Musical moment - Schubert, Gavotte - Bach.

6. Variations on the theme of Paganini - Tarrega.

The cover has a stamp that reads “Tarrega Concerts – Barcelona.”

It is impossible to accept, even without applying the strictest musical criteria, that Albéniz's Granada, preceded by another romance, should be performed between Barcarola and Romance Schumann. As for the second movement, starting with Cadiz and continuing with the classics Mazurka and Andante and then Bach's Gavotte is really disappointing. Then, in a collection of 12 works, there are only two original compositions for guitar, one of them is the “Spanish Fantasy”, which we know because. several times they listened to her performance in a narrow circle, a composition that is very pale in terms of harmony. He never dared to publish it; he is saved by the resources of the effects applied by the great guitarist. It would be logical, respecting the integrity of the two parts of the program, to compose it as follows: Part I. Remove Albeniz and put him in the penultimate place. II part. Swap Albéniz with Bach, and include Chopin after Mozart. And if we leave “Variations on a Theme of Paganini” in the finale, because in these years everyone is used to listening to them performed by guitarists as the last number, because. thanks to effective musical figures, this work caused enthusiastic applause.

This lack of criteria and knowledge (we want to emphasize this) is not unique to Tarrega. We insist that the reason for this phenomenon is rooted in the lack of culture of the Environment, which is characteristic of any embryonic period. We could name many programs of other soloists, similarly or worse composed, where there was nothing from the original Italian literature of the Golden Age of the guitar, nor from Coste. To illustrate this statement, let's take an eloquent example: the two programs of Segovia. One program dates from 1916, when the brilliant soloist was just beginning his career; another program of his last days. The difference, as you can see at first glance, is big. In the first program, Segovia falls into the same mistakes that we talked about: in the second program, when his musical culture has already been formed and when he has gained rich experience in long artistic tours, he gives us a program model and an ensemble that reveals the tireless search for the most the best works, enriching both literature and guitar performance.

Solo concert by guitarist Andres Segovia. Palace of Catalan Music. 03/12/1916 Program.

I part.

1. Arabic capriccio, scherzo Gavot-Tarrega.

2. Minuet in B, studies in B flat major - Sor.

3. Allegro in A major - Costa.

4. “El mestre (folk) - Llobet.

II part.

1. Bach's gavotte.

2. Minuet - Haydn.

3. Romance, Canzoneta - Mendelssohn.

III part.

1. Granada, Sevillas - Albeniz.

2. Maha Goya, dance in E major, dance in G major - Granados.

3. Mazurka - Tchaikovsky.

Here, on February 29, 1932, he gave another concert with the program given below:

I part.

1. Pavane and galliard (first performance) - Gaspard Sanz (1674), two songs

2.- Saltarella (from the 16th century code of compositions for the lute (first performance) - Kilesotti.

2. Joy (for lute) (first performance) - David Kelner (1670-1748).

3. Preamble and Gavotte (from the manuscript of the Naples Conservatory (first performance)) - A. Scarlatti (1659-1725).

4. Jiga (for lute) - Sylvius A. Weiss (1686-1750).

5. Gavotte in the form of a rondo (previously written for the lute) - Bach.

II part.

1. Sonatina (dedicated to A. Segovia) (first performance).

2. Allegretto, Lento expressive, Allegro - M. Ponce.

3. Melody and preludes (dedicated to A. Segovia) (first performance) - Torroba.

4. Improvisation (dedicated to A. Segovia) - Carl Pedrel.

III part.

1. Sevillana (dedicated to A. Segovia) - Turin.

2. Preludes (dedicated to A. Segovia) (first performance) - Aloys Fornerod.

3. “Segovia” (dedicated to the artist) (first performance) - Albert Roussel.

4. "The Enchanted Goddess" - Albeniz.

5. Seville - Albeniz.”

When the author of these lines (Prat D. - when we deem it necessary for greater clarity, we personalize speech and speak in the first person, since the author of this Dictionary directly takes responsibility for the opinions and statements expressed) left Spain for the first time to give concerts in America, he also had a poor musical education, which now, after a few years, causes a blush of shame. We left everything to the fingers, concentrated on the performance and little on the composition, but we were far from other issues of music that we did not consider vital to our art. In order to show how little common sense the author of this work had in regard to music, we present here the following program (textually): Salep “Italian Workers”, Buenos Aires, st. Cuyo 1374. Thursday 7 May 1908. 8.45 p.m. Big guitar concert by Domingo Prat (Spanish concert performer).

I part.

1. Minuet - Sor.

2. Serenade - Malats.

3. Mazurka (a), Mazurka (c) - Chopin.

4. Bakers - Arkas.

5. Burre (2 sonatas) - Bach.

6. Granada - Albeniz.

7. Manchechas - Chueca.

II part.

1. Andante - Haydn.

2. Arabic capriccio - Tarrega.

3. Romance - Mendelssohn

4. Mazurka - Chueca.

6. Big jota - Tarrega.

As everyone understands, we gracefully, but without losing seriousness, mixed Sebastian Bach with Arcas and Chopin with Chueka, although the only thing that unites the last two authors is the similar sounding of surnames and their spelling with the same letter CH. Today, looking through old programs, we nevertheless meet a guitarist who was able to avoid the mistakes of people from an uncultured environment who played the guitar. We have in mind Jimenez Mancon, who in his concerts in Paris in 1889, in Barcelona in the same year and later in Buenos Aires, included original music for guitar by Regondi, Giuliani, Aguado, Sora and his own, not excluding, therefore, arrangements from Beethoven and Schumann, but adapted to the capabilities of the instrument. He did not include operatic motifs far from the capabilities of the instrument.

I loved Tarrega very much, I think that it is necessary to tell the truth and confirm it with documents, not limited to commendable phrases, which later turn out to be just a historical hoax. I want to put everything in its place and therefore I criticize and regret that we have forgotten about this man who had such a great influence to raise the instrument to its recognized category, the man on whom the education of the Spanish guitar environment in those years depended. It depended on him, and not on someone else, because. then he was a man greatest talent, not only performing, but also composing. One of his students, a great performer, whose real opinion I especially respect, wrote an article in the Bulletin of the Catalan Orpheus, from which we will extract several passages, where in words praise is expressed, but in reality the real merits of Tarrega are belittled.

“Speaking of Tarrega, it is not enough to say “he was the first guitarist in such and such a time” No! With him, the guitar lost its most prominent face, the most climactic face of all time, of all generations. And this is because Tarrega was not only a performer (there has never been another like this), he was also the creator of a school that can almost be considered a “new era” of the guitar, opening up new horizons and a whole series of effects and harmonies so unknown that when it listen, the instrument sounds both unique and sublime.”

All opinions about Tarrega that contain praise deserve respect and are worthy of being taken into account. But to say that with him the guitar has lost the most climactic face of all times and generations is clean water a fantasy all the more unforgivable because it is spoken with a serious air. As far as Tarrega is concerned as a performer (we repeat the previous words), the one who wrote these words with such ease did not hear and could not hear him, because at that time he was a fool. And let us recall that in the latest authoritative opinions, the sublime art of Segovia is compared with the art of Arcas, not paying attention to Tarrega. If the guitarist's praise is motivated by the composer, then, sincerely, we will no longer attach any importance to the words of the notorious author of the article. It is further added that he was the "founder of the school." With this we also disagree, for reasons which will be given where we speak of the "Tarrega School."

“If the two most legitimate celebrities of the past, Sor and Aguado, were with us, then how great would be their surprise when they saw the progress and degree of perfection of the instrument thanks to Tarrega, because they themselves exalted the guitar in their time.”

We do not really know how great the surprise of Sora and Aguado would have been, however, we know that Tarrega did not know either when he taught, like others, from the “Guide” of this latter. As if to give rise to irony about the real significance of his maestro, the author adds the following lines:

“He achieved his greatest success in transcriptions. They can be considered a real achievement, because it is amazing how he was able to imbue the author's idea, to such an extent that it seems that most of the compositions were created for the guitar. And this was partly a secret that only he owned and which consisted in the most correct choice of works.

We deny that Tarrega possessed the secret of "the most correct choice of works", and this is well known to the author of the article. Unfortunately, that's the only thing he didn't own. This is evidenced and spoken about, if not by the musicians, then by some transcriptions published by Tarrega. Theme from the opera La Traviata, romance from the opera Mephistopheles, Beethoven's sonata opus 13, March from the opera Tannhäuser, a fragment of a symphony from the same opera, Beethoven's Funeral March, a fragment from Beethoven's 7th symphony and a fragment from Septimino the same author. Other transcriptions are more acceptable, such as, for example, transcriptions of piano works, except, of course, Schumann's Lullaby, which Tarrega arranged so arbitrarily that it completely distorted the character of the work. It is a pity that the author of the article, as we have already said, a great performer and student of Tarrega, underestimated the importance of the original compositions of his maestro, where he embodied all his generally recognized talent, and spoke in favor of transcriptions, which are always less interesting due to the lack of originality with an aggravating circumstance giving the guitar pages that, instead of enriching it, impoverish it.

Some biographers from among his students say that he did everything possible to distance his art from his own “plebeian feeling”, and if he performed “folk jotas and fantasies”, this was in order to more effectively preach the gospel of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. We will not question the good intentions of Tarrega; but the facts, the work of the composer from Valencia, not original, say the opposite. On the other hand, the guitar already has its own gospel in Sor, Costa, Giuliani and other composers of the Golden Age of guitar and orchards where you can eat without breaking someone else's fence. We believe that the guitar has nothing to do with Beethoven, with Mozart, although their works are beautifully arranged. The same cannot be said about Bach, although he wrote for the lute, which Tarrega himself did not know. The biggest, the only thing that an instrument should have in common for us with these grandiose musicians is to try to get the Beethoven or Mozart of the guitar, but before that it will be necessary to elevate it as it deserves, to elevate it as far as its capabilities allow, and not to mystify her historically.

Tarrega's published original work of 25 compositions and 9 preludes is known; in total they make up 34 works. Those who have collected 300 or more essays lose hope that they will be published. These works, created by the fantasy of irresponsible people, Tarrega never wrote, and I declare this with full responsibility, to which I am entitled thanks to my knowledge and the fact that I was friends with him, although I was very young. And my assertion is supported by the fact that, a quarter of a century after Tarrega's death, these writings are still unpublished. Some compositions were attributed to Tarrega and published under his name, then performed by his students in public concerts, when they still did not know who they really belonged to. The author of this Dictionary also performed at a concert in Buenos Aires, attributing to Tarrega the sonatina, Alard's violin etude and the scherzo of the guitarist Thomas Damas from his work "Paternal Love". Authorship last work established by researcher Dr. Martin Ruiz Moreno of Buenos Aires, a copy of which is in my private archive, given to me by Dr. Ruiz Moreno. Another composition attributed to Tarrega is an etude originally written for piano by Kramer, and which the outstanding concert performer Josefina Robledo performed as a work by Tarrega. It is quite inexplicable why he was credited with the “Tango”, published by the publishing house of Ildefonso Albera, Madrid, after 1920 and which appeared earlier at the end of the century in Buenos Aires under the name “Enriqueta” (habanera), signed by Carlos García Tolsa. According to the genre of music, it could well belong to this latter, and we believe that it would not add fame to Tarrega, because. has no value in terms of music. This piece could have reached Tarrega in two ways: either it had been heard performed by Garcia Tolsa in Spain before he came to America with the Figaro Ensemble, or it had received one copy from Buenos Aires. Be that as it may, the author of this Dictionary refutes the belonging of this bad work to one or another, since. many times when he was little, he heard his father play it on the guitar. Why can't it belong to the author of The Dove, Sebastian Iradier (1809-65), who composed very similar habaners? We regret that those who were his students did not bother to find out whether some of the works really belong to the maestro. And it's a shame they downplay the supposed author. The works that we can certainly say that they belong to the pen of the one about whom we write are the following:

1. Arabic capriccio.

2. Moorish dance.

3. Dream (tremolo). (Dreams).

4. Memories of the Alhambra (tremolo).

5. Gavotte Maria.

6. Pavane.

7. Minuet (pizzicato).

8. Mazurka (in G major).

9. Mazurka Marieta.

10. Mazurka Adelita.

11. Mazurka Dream.

12. Aragonese jota.

13. Tear (prelude).

14. Sad song (prelude).

15. Oremus (prelude).

16. Dawn (music box).

17. Butterfly (characteristic study).

18. Study in the form of a minuet.

19. Big waltz.

20. Waltz “Isabel”.

21. Two sisters (waltz).

22. Waltz.

23. Dance of the Odalisques.

24. Polka Rosita.

25. Swing and nine preludes.16

We have not included "Cartagenera" and "Malaguena" because we do not want to attribute such disgusting pages to someone who had such spirituality and could not fall so low musically. Most of Tarrega's works are distinguished by exquisite taste, correct composition and are generally melodic. His music always sings with a subtle feeling, without the heavy chords that are most often the repeated notes of a developing phrase. They are of moderate length and often sin with excessive brevity. Mazurka "Dream" is much worse than other works. The Prelude "Tear" was first published in Buenos Aires during the stay of the guitarist's son in 1914. It consisted of two parts. Ten years later, it comes out here in three parts, some attribute additions to us. But I consider myself unworthy of such an honor. It has now been republished by the Fortea Library of Madrid (Daniel Fortea - student of Tarrega) with its complete parts, although in a different order. The authorship of this very good work is duly framed. The four mentioned waltzes do not have special significance. It is doubtful that "Dance of the Odalisques" was written by Tarrega. Polka "Rosita" - rough and does not have a large musical significance. 9 preludes published during his lifetime - the best pages of his literature, especially No. 2, with modern harmonic features; exquisite 5, 1 and 7 and very acceptable 3 and 4, the rest do not have of great importance . Endecha - a sad song (prelude) with a subtle musical phrase is important for understanding the spirit of the maestro in recent years; it is short and has good taste but poor composition. The 8 first acts set the tone for development, and the phrases are incomplete. If this prelude had been published during Tarrega's lifetime, the musicians would have said that he had no knowledge of harmony, but the fact is that not very educated and honest people presented them to the public without the editing of a qualified specialist, when they were just sketches and melodic themes. , which the maestro took out at random and left for future works. Tarrega, who was well versed in composition, would never publish random bars. We would like to say the same about Preludes No. 10, 11, 12, etc. (this numbering was given to them by some maestro in Buenos Aires), which later appeared in other publications with a different nomenclature. They do not reach the category of preludes, they are just sketches and phrases of the maestro, which, unfortunately, he did not have time to develop; in an excerpt that we have quoted from Arteaga's "Musical Celebrities", at the same time copying from the magazine "Castalia", it is said that Tarrega has 12 studies that we do not know, which we sincerely regret, despite our best efforts in this regard. Baron de Alcagali in his book "Music in Valencia" (p. 416) names among the works of Tarrega "Concerto in A minor", which we have never heard the maestro or his students call. It is a pity that Tarrega unwittingly gave birth to admirers who abused the kindness of the musician, in one of the moments of reverence, to praise him, attributing to him things that he never composed (the unforgivable mistake of admiration is an exaggeration). But even more regrettable is the fact that those of his students who knew the work of the maestro did not put things in their place, but, on the contrary, condoned that fakes remained, and such serious authors as Baron de Alcagali and de Arteaga in such popular and important writings that they wrote, without suspecting it, sinned against the truth. Pascual Roch, who says that he is a student of Tarrega and about whom we write in the appropriate place (see), says at the beginning of his "School" about Tarrega: "Two words", p. 3, to a composer whose number of works and etudes is several hundred." We have already said that the hundreds of compositions written by Tarrega (we mean his compositions, the fruit of his artistic conception) reach only 25, and the preludes 9 compositions. As for sketches, until now we have not been able to give one of them to students, because the author did not write them. It is often said that Tarrega's compositions are the highest musical expression in the guitar.

Many people love the maestro, including us, and we knew a lot about him and keep the best memories of him, but we in no way allow any comparison with Coste, Sor or any other guitarist of that time. None of the compositions of the guitarist from Villarreal can compare with Coste's Etude No. 19 in development and in harmonic content with Etudes 17, 20 or 22 of the same author, where the advantage of Coste's music is immediately apparent. To compare Tarrega with Sor seems heresy to us, it is enough to name one of the smallest things of this brilliant musician, for example, etude No. 25; Tarrega in none of his works shows such a mastery of musical structure, which is visible in this modest composition of Sor.

Who writes that he has 62 more opuses behind him and the “School of the Game”, which, when compared with the works of Tarrega, cast such a shadow on them that completely overshadows them. The richness and beauty of Sora's music can be seen the better, the higher the musical culture. Tarrega's music is undoubtedly beautiful and subtle, but always melodic. He offers us a golden thread that stretches out with a richness of hues. The music of Sor and Coste, on the contrary, forms a harmoniously textured fabric with the best chromatic fibers. The same can be said about Diabelli's bars, his three sonatas, Giuliani's sonata and others; their harmonic concept is so superior to any work of Tarrega that one should by no means listen to those who attach such importance to Tarrega. We regret that we had to deal with the comparison of these authors, but we did it to do away with those who make such comparisons forever. Thanks to an ever-emerging musical culture and the acquisition of the instrument from the great contemporary musicians in the first decade of this century, Tárrega's works and his arrangements are becoming more and more popular; in the second decade there is not a single concert where Tarrega's works were not performed, and in the third decade we were present at the concerts of his students (an eloquent fact), where they completely perform the work of the maestro in search of real values ​​that will bring applause. They often write and talk about the “School of Tarrega”. We deny the existence of such a school simply because the Valencian guitarist left no "School of Playing" nor any rules for learning to play the guitar. We do not know of collections of his studies for certain exercises, and although the authors teaching aids just as the writer of these lines, gives in his notebook "Scales and Arpeggios" three small exercises taken from Tarrega, and other authors do the same, this cannot be considered the creation of a guitar school, because then with the same right one could assert that there are as many guitar schools as there are didactic authors.

Some add that the Tárrega school is based on the way of picking the string, i.e. take the string, quickly leaning on the adjacent lower one. But this is quite impossible to do when two or more strings are taken together. Thus, this is not the difference between the Tarrega school and others. If playing with or without nails belongs to this pseudo-school, then there would be the Sora school when playing with a pad (because he gave us a Guide and advice on this method) and there would be the Aguado school when, on the contrary, the string is played with the nails. , because on this occasion he left us an excellent Guide and clear explanations of how to play with a pad or nails. We say "School of Sora" and "School of Aguado", even though they were created by composers who preceded them - didacticists who considered aspects of the performance that interests us. Under the pretext of the method of taking the string, they insisted on the school, although its existence is best refuted by his students themselves. Let's see how right we are: Dr. Severino Garcia Fortea, a student of Tarrega, from his youth until the last days of the maestro, played with rather pronounced nails; Miguel Llobet, an apprentice in the last decade of the century, plays with his fingernails; both at the same high level; Maria Rita Brondi does this with protruding nails and a metal tip on her thumb, as is now performed on the modern zither; Daniel Fortea plays with the pad, except for thumb where it supports an impressive length of the nail; Josefina Robledo only plays with a pad. We don't know of any other ways to pick the string, but if Tarrega's students kept coming out, there would no doubt be new variations. As for the way to hold the instrument horizontally, as Josefina Robledo does, or tilted up, as we have seen, Tarrega did, up to the position of the hands with a more or less protruding wrist - all this is done by his students in different ways. Can this variety of ways be called a school? Clearly not. And even if everyone who studied next to him has the same form of taking an instrument, the same use of hands and taking a string, this would also not be a school, but simply a way of performing, different at different times. A school is a set of rules for different aspects of guitar technique, which is divided between two hands and as a result gives a special manner of playing scales, various harmonies, portamentos, arpeggios, chords, legato, trills separately with the left hand, pizzicato, vibrations, etc., which, different from other methods of application, would be able to give acceptable results. Pascual Roch in his Handbook writes about Tarrega: (Volume I, Chapter XIII): "The maestro of the maestro has laid down firm rules." His technique, “new and one of a kind”, was not subject to capricious and purely mechanical formulas. He turned his ring finger right hand into a worthy opponent of other fingers, and turned the thumb into a miracle.

“He was looking for the largest number of combinations,” and therefore, with all diligence, he trained all the fingers. Undoubtedly and clearly from the observation that four units will make more combinations than three, and three more than two.

“Sor was forced (here is one of the favorite comparisons we talked about) to use the same finger at every step to play one or more notes. Aguado followed the same path (we emphasize), which suggests that both were mistaken in such a significant and important issue.”

Okay: Let's analyze these Roche passages. Regarding the first, we ask: where are the hard rules and Tarrega's new and one of a kind technique? In what manuals, scales, lectures, exercises and etudes? If all of his students have been proven to play in a different manner and not with a new and one-of-a-kind technique? Further, the following paragraphs speak of Roch's total ignorance of Aguado, his exercises and text. In The New Technique of the Guitar (published by José B. Romero, Buenos Aires, 1929), the work of the author of this Dictionary, one may read: indicates to perform the study with all five fingers of the right hand; this is the same study as on p. 52 of the edition published in Madrid in 1843; on pages 96 and 97 of the Lemoine and Son edition - Paris and on pages 132 of the Breuer-Ricordi edition. Remembering Aguado, if not a musician, then at least as a great didactic respected to this day, in the “Appendix”, p. 10, § 2, he writes: “The direction and indicated hardness of these fingers is also useful when using the ring finger and even the little finger ” and ends the paragraph with the following call: “I perfectly understand how much force must be applied so that the ring finger and little finger pick up the strings with a certain energy if the right hand is to maintain the position that I have explained; nevertheless, having tested this on the students, I realized that this difficulty can be overcome.

Before starting the titled etude on p. 118, Aguado gives the following explanation: “The fingers of the right hand will take the arpeggio in order, leaving the lowest voice for the thumb, and the five fingers of the right hand may also be used (we emphasize), each on a different string ". These lines, written more than a century earlier than Rocha's, show that Tarregue's immoderate praises are intellectually frivolous, and in fact one should have praised the old maestros. On the other hand, Roche utters the well-known truth that four ones make more combinations than three. Naturally, Aguado with five fingers would have made more combinations than Tarrega, who played with four fingers, i.e. he did not use the little finger or little finger. "New Guitar Technique" was written on the basis of the use of the five fingers of the right hand, i.e. with the formal use of the little finger. And therefore, since Aguado did it earlier, I think that Tarrega did not become the founder of the style of playing, and even more so of the school, but simply developed this style and provided it with special exercises. We will again quote Aguado on the use or non-use of nails and quote a paragraph from Sketches for a School of Play, op. 6, Schonenberger, Paris, 1819 (textual):

“171. Some teachers and amateurs felt that I should explain the techniques I use to play passages easily. Happy to fulfill their demands, I observed myself and was able to establish some strong points (which I dare not call rules) on which my performance, which many consider unusual, is based. I will talk about each hand separately (!). There is this call:

“I don't think this is the right place for my opinion on the use of the nails of the right hand. Through thought and experience, I have come to the conclusion that playing with the pads of the fingers guarantees the freedom and confidence of the game, a circumstance which, along with other important circumstances, makes the merit of Señor Sor so important. Therefore, I believe that a padded thumb should generally be used. So for the speed of playing notes it is convenient to take the string as little as possible by the occupying body, which, therefore, does not capture the string. This, in my opinion, happens when you play with your nails. The brilliance of everything that he performs, my compatriot Senor Huerta, is largely due to the fact that he picks up the strings with his nails, and from here many of the special effects that his manner of performance causes in the audience are obtained. I believe that with directed practice one can achieve confident playing with the nails, but in addition to getting a good sound, one must pick the string first with the pad, “back”, and then with the fingernail so that the string slides between the first and second. Lately I have come to the decision not to use my thumbnail, but to use my index and middle fingernails.”

Usually they say about Tarrega that he never used his nails when playing, i.e. the one who knew him after 1900, thus notifying everyone of his ignorance of the subject. Those who affirm this do not say that in the indicated years he was already in complete artistic and physical decline. IN Last year century this Hercules suffered from arteriosclerosis, his nails are transformed, become thick and lose their characteristic sensitivity, they move away, tear off and separate from the pads at the extreme part, because of which he is forced to cut them, and what most of all complicates his life, the blindness he has had since childhood is increasing, threatening to plunge him into darkness. But he already had the fame of an outstanding performer, he achieved it when he played with a pad-nails, which can be proved by referring to Saldoni's famous “Dictionary of Spanish Musicians”, Volume IV, p. 337, which says: “Tarrega Eixea D. Francisco is one of the most famous guitarists in Europe at the beginning of 1879”, or the passage we have included in Catalan, dating from 1878; or Arteaga's excerpt from Musical Celebrities 1886. Viñas, who died in 1888, dedicated an "Introduction and Andante" to him with the following entry: "To the eminent concert performer Señor Tarrega" and a series of publications such as the "School Torratx" (1886), where about him before physical ailments and artistic decline took hold of the great guitarist. If we were guided by the popular opinion that yesterday praised the virtuosity of Arkas, and today the virtuosity of the genius Segovia (both of them played with a pad-nails), apply to those who are considered unsuitable for this business: “You don’t have nails for a good guitar player!” It's clear that Tarrega has always been great, with or without nails!

After 1900, when he began to play only with a pad, I (*) was always near the great artist in his house at 234 Valencia Street in Barcelona, ​​captivated by his art and infinite kindness. When Tarrega was at home, I didn't miss any of the Tuesday and Friday evenings. And, surely, if I was not somewhere in the corner of the living room, where I was sitting on some rough bench, it meant that the person who usually bowed soulfully over the six strings was somewhere else in the province of Valencia, where he had many acquaintances who became his friends as soon as they met him. Evenings lasted from 5 to 8 pm. We always found him playing sitting on a low chair next to the table, which also served as a music stand for him. He always had music paper in front of him, a crude alarm clock, a ticking tic-tac, and a pack of cigarettes from Alicante. The first minutes he devoted to arpeggios, trills and other exercises, until the alarm clock announced another phase of training. Then, from time to time, this or that record, two notes, one bar, another, and the performer split into a great performer and good master harmony. These bars were tested in different keys, certain phrases were repeated on different strings, different effects were observed when the EQUISONO was changed, portamento was included or legato was excluded: the phrase blossomed in all the context of beauty and intensity. All the assembled were silent under the impression of the poem, which he transferred to the stave, while the shadows thickened in the corners of the dining room, squeezing us with the smoky semi-darkness of the last rays of the sun, until in the darkness we began to guess each other like spots. The silence, which is further enhanced in the darkness, was musically illustrated by the constant blows on the anvil of the blacksmith, who, from a nearby forge, mixed his harmonicas with the maestro's majestic harmonicas. From oblivion brought us back to reality swipe door knocker; it was 19 o'clock. Usually at this time an old friend and neighbor, the doctor Severino Garcia Fortea, came. They turned on the light, and another “vihuela” appeared, on which the newcomer played and which, in a duet, joined the vihuela of a brilliant performer. And they listened to various passages from Bizet's Arlesian on two guitars, Haydn's Andante, Gounod's Dove, Suppe's Poet and Peasant (symphony), Albéniz's Oriental Song, Beethoven, Mozart and Veiga's Galician Dawn. Unfortunately, at 20.00 the time for which my parents let me go was running out. The fifteen blocks that separated Tarrega's house from my house I filled with reflections on the future, where my love for the guitar was always present.

Tarrega's physical appearance was impressive, especially when he played the instrument. While playing, he invariably kept a cigarette from Alicante in his mouth, sometimes bronchitis bothered him so much that, without removing the cigarette from his mouth, he had to make such sharp and prolonged movements that sparks scattered on his chin, some, trying to get to heaven, fell cut through the guitar, while others, touching the curves that gave the guitar shape, left scorch marks. Tarrega, who was of gigantic stature, was joking and simple-hearted like a child, but the child was large and bearded, remarkably ugly, but he was adorned with spirituality.

At the corner of Calle Caspe and Barcelona Marina, at the beginning of the century there was an inn called "Two Lions", which was located in "Forte Pio", a military bastion, the remains of which are preserved to this day. Tarrega was often brought here under the pretense of getting him out of the house and having him have a little fun. Having finished dinner, Tarrega, not wanting to waste a single minute, asked that they bring him a guitar and, in the reverent environment of those present, he forgot about the time and played until dawn overtook us. Other concerts that were organized “pooled up” (to which each contributed a few pesetas) took place in the basement of the tailor Herman; in the home of the piano manufacturer Baldomero Cateura; in the choral society "Lira Martinense" and in the workers' circle of the "International". These last two societies were organized by my father, Don Thomas Prat. I remember that when I told Tarrega about this, his eyes lit up that he would play in a revolutionary circle. He was carried away by the ideas of the revolution, enthusiastically read the books of Marx, Bakunin, Kropotkin and other Russian and German thinkers. These ideas arose when he listened to Leroux's exalted speeches when he was a revolutionary. A photograph was accidentally preserved, taken in the courtyard of the People's House in Barcelona, ​​​​where Tarrega is on foreground next to the named politician.

Tarrega played in many other places, sometimes under contract, sometimes he was invited by friends and admirers, of whom he had many. But the two important concerts that we remember are the concert at the Four Cats in Rue de Montesion, the first concert after he cut his nails; the second concert took place at the house of Cateura, passage de la Merced No. 5 (1906), when the maestro was already unwell and depressed. He asked us to play him sitting on a small chair, like the one he used to practice. One more significant detail about his condition can be mentioned; asking for forgiveness, he changed the program. Of the good friends who helped Tarrega more than once, we remember Baldomero Cateura, Leoni Farre Duro, S. Garcia, Gerard, Manuel Loscos and the eccentric Englishman Walter Lekki, with whom Tarrega traveled many times in Spain and abroad. We will also always remember the great guitar enthusiast and later patroness of other guitarists, the wealthy Valencian Dona Concepción Jacoby, with whom he also traveled around the peninsula and other European countries. I have many good memories of the great Tarrega, I have several of his original papers, for example, "Arabic Capriccio", which he recorded with his own hand as "Moorish Capriccio"; date 28 July 1889, Barcelona. I also have some of his arrangements, and finally I have a portrait of the artist, which he gave me when he said goodbye to me before leaving for America in 1907. This portrait has always hung and will hang in a place of honor in my house.

The great Valencian died on December 15, 1909. Six years later, his remains were exhumed and transferred to Castellón de la Plana, where he was given proper honors. The name Tarrega was given to one of the streets of Villarreal, another in Castellón and one in Barcelona. On Piazza San Pascual there is a memorial plaque with the words: "In this house was born on November 21, 1852 the glory and honor of Villarreal, the outstanding guitarist Don Francisco Tarrega i Eixea." In the city of Castellón de la Plana, in the Main Park, since 1916, there has been a monument that Spain erected to its outstanding guitarist and guitarist.

(*) - in this and other cases - on behalf of D. Prat

Francisco Tarrega-Escia (1852-1909) was a Spanish virtuoso guitarist, teacher and composer. Francisco Tarrega is the founder of his own school of playing the guitar, on the principles of which the next generation of guitarists studied, who made a huge contribution to the development of this instrument. Francisco was born in the small town of Villareale. A year later, the family left for Castellon, the home of the boy's parents. Francisco's father knew how to play the guitar in various styles, including flamenco, so the boy heard enchanting sounds from early childhood. At the same time, he heard the game of the well-known blind guitarist Manuel Gonzales in the province. People called him "The Blind from the Coast". Struck by the blind musician's performance, Francisco dreams of learning from him. The boy's father did not object, because after suffering an illness, Francisco's eyesight fell badly and, thinking that you can earn a living on the guitar, even being blind, gives his consent. Francisco Tarrega turned out to be a very talented boy, willing and able to learn. Soon he takes lessons from Eugeni Ruiz, and seeing these successes of his son, Francisco's father insists that, in addition to the guitar, he study the piano. Francisco meets the famous guitarist Julián Arcas, who is touring in their province. Acquaintance with such a famous musician and his advice to come and take lessons from him in Barcelona does not go unheeded. Arcas could not teach guitar to Tarrega for a long time, since his tour did not allow him to do so, but Francisco continued to travel to Barcelona even in the absence of his teacher there. He played in coffee houses and restaurants, earned money and tried to arrange his career. At the age of 22, Francisco enters the Madrid Conservatory under the sponsorship of the wealthy merchant Antonio Kenesa. Here he studies music theory, harmony, piano and composition. Conservatory teacher Emilio Arrieta, hearing the young musician play the guitar, convinced him to pursue a career as a guitarist. A few years before entering the conservatory, Francisco acquired an extremely loud and resonant guitar by the master from Seville, Antonio Torres. This superb instrument reinforced his opinion of the guitar's potential as a serious musical instrument and its ability to compete with other musical instruments already established on the stage. In November 1878, at a meeting of the Catorre Society in Barcelona, ​​he performed several plays with great success. Inspired by success, Francisco gave another concert, which was held with unprecedented brilliance until that time. These performances finally convinced Francisco to devote himself entirely to the guitar.

Francisco Tarrega plays for friends.

In the late 1870s, Francisco Tarrega not only gave concerts, but also studied teaching activities. His students were such famous Spanish guitarists as Miguel Llobet, Daniel Fortea. Tours in Paris and London in 1880 brought great success. The press called Francisco Taregga "The Sarasate of the Guitar" (Pablo de Sarasate was the outstanding Spanish violinist of the time). In 1885, Tarrega moved to Barcelona, ​​where he wrote his main works for the guitar. After visiting the Moorish palace of the Alhambra with its fountains and magnificent architecture, Francisco wrote his famous work for guitar, in which he conveyed the murmur of the water of the fountains of the palace. Written on the basis of the tremolo guitar technique, “Memories of the Alhambra” is included in the repertoire of all famous guitarists in the world.

Alhambra. Moorish palace fountains.

In 1990, Tarrega visited Algiers, where, inspired by the rhythms performed on the Arabian drums, he wrote "Moorish Dance". In total, Francisco Tarrega wrote 34 works for the guitar. Among them are such well-known as "Arabic Capriccio" and "Jota of Aragon". In addition to writing his own guitar works, Francisco has made many arrangements for the guitar, using his extensive knowledge of piano music. Francisco Tarrega Spain owes the beginning of the revival of guitar art. His name was given to the International Guitar Competition held in Spain. Francisco Tarrega died at the age of fifty-six from a cerebral hemorrhage. In the city of Castellón de la Plan, a monument was erected to the great artist and teacher.