Julian Arcas

María Esther Guzmán, guitarra

AN EVENTFUL LIFE Julián Gabino Arcas Lacal was bo.rn in María (Almería) on 25th October 1832. His father, Pedro Arcas, was a good amateur guitarist who followed the work of Dionisio Aguado and his school. At an early age he was to start teaching his sons Julian and Manuel, both of whom immediately showed a natural affinity for the instrument. When Julián is 12, the Arcas family moves to a Malaga, perhaps attracted by the economic boom the city was then experiencing. Here, he is taught by José Asencio, Dionisio Aguado's favourite guitarrist, who was capitali...+ info

Maestros Andaluces en Nueva España

Cappella Mediterranea

Music and Andalusian musicians in New Spain   The musical links between New Spain and Andalusia have existed since the earliest days of the discovery and the conquest. Surely that "maese Pedro, he of the harp ", mentioned by Bernal Diaz del Castillo upon arriving on American soil with Hernán Cortés’ troops, was a member of the first group of Andalusians who came to settle in the newly-conquered America. But the passing of time, particularly after the foundation of new cities and the construction of their cathedrals, brought closer the links with the music of Andalusi...+ info

Rollos de Pianola

PIANOLA: PORTRAIT OF A MUSICAL WONDER   Its ancestors For centuries; the ability to enjoy music without the effort of learning the associated necessary techniques has been a chief motivation for many inventors, inspiring them to create different forms of music mechanization. The treatise La Tonotechnie ou l'art de noter les cylinders, written in 1775 by the Augustinian monk Domingo Engranelle, shows evidence of this motivation. His work served as a theoretical fundament for several subsequent inventions, including the mechanical instruments that preceded the pianola. Several of t...+ info