Julián Arcas
Complete guitar music
(first world recording)
https://www.brilliantclassics.com/articles/a/arcas-complete-guitar-music/
http://www.dotguitar.it/ewzine/zine/novcd/zanetti-arcas.html
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/arcas-complete-guitar-music/hnum/10234929
Complete essay in the booklet.
It was at 9 o’clock on the morning of 25 October 1832, in the village of María in the Spanish
province of Almería, that Antonia Local París gave birth to a son. That same day, held in the arms
of his godmother Manuela Ganíguez Robles, the baby was baptised Julián Gabino de Arcas Lacal
by the local priest, Pedro Manuel García Martínez, at the Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation.
Julián’s father, Pedro Arcas Arjona, was a talented guitarist, trained in the method of the great Spanish master Dionisio Aguado (Madrid, 8 April 1784–Madrid, 20 December 1849), and he passed his passion for the instrument on to his sons Julían and Manuel. As well as becoming a fine guitarist, the latter was also a singer who achieved great success at the Teatre Principal in Barcelona, the city in which he settled and lived until his death in 1890. In 1844, the Arcas family moved to Málaga, where Julián began lessons with José Asencio, a highly respected teacher who had studied directly with Aguado.
When he was 16, Julián Arcas gave his first public concert, in Málaga. The enthusiasm with which
his performance was met led to his giving two further concerts, in Granada, both of which were
also very warmly received. By the age of 20 he was on the road to national fame, his virtuosic style
making an unprecedented impact wherever he went. As part of one of his tours in the early 1850s,
Arcas travelled to Seville. This led to a key encounter in the history of the guitar: while in the city
Arcas met guitar maker Antonio de Torres (Almería, 13 June 1817–Almería, 19 November 1892),
born in the same province as the guitarist but now resident in Seville. The two men became friends
and on 7 November 1868 Arcas was a witness when Torres married his second wife, Josefa Martín
Rosado. Theirs was a true friendship that lasted the rest of their lives, with Arcas a frequent visitor
to Torres’ workship in Calle Cerrajería. In 1856 Torres built an extraordinary instrument, nicknamed
“La Leona” (“the lioness”), on which Arcas went on to give many performances. By this time he was
maintaining a busy concert schedule – this included successful recitals at the Palacio Real in Madrid that resulted in his becoming the favourite musician of Isabella II.
Other particularly notable concerts of this period include a special recital Arcas gave in Málaga
with pianist Antonio Martín, mentioned in an article that appeared in the newspaper El Avisador
Malagueño on 12 December 1858. The following year he performed at the Royal Conservatory
of Madrid and was acclaimed by the great masters of the day. Then, in February 1862 he gave
a concert in Castellón (in the Valencia region) which proved to be immensely significant in the
history of the guitar: among those present and moved by the performance was a young Francisco
Tárrega (Vila-real, 21 November 1852–Barcelona, 15 December 1909). Tárrega’s father arranged
for his son to play a few pieces for Arcas, who was in turn impressed by his ability and invited him
to come to Barcelona and take lessons with him. It seems more than likely that the appoggiatura
technique generally attributed to Tárrega was adopted by him from his teacher. Arcas was based
in Barcelona for around 12 years, and it was there that between 1858 and 1875 he published three
volumes of works for guitar.
In 1862 Arcas gave a series of concerts in England, the first of which took place on 12 September
at Apsley House, the London residence of the second Duke of Wellington. Presented under
the patronage of the wife of the Duke of Cambridge and in the presence of the Duke’s sister,
Princess Mary Adelaide, the event was such a sensation that it was advertised on the front page of
The Times: the tickets were so exorbitantly priced that only the upper aristocracy could afford to
attend. Arcas stunned his audience with his virtuosity and ability to imitate the sounds of a multitude of other instruments. He was then invited to visit the Cambridges at the Brighton Pavilion, where they usually spent time each autumn. He gave a concert there and on 29 October a review in the Brighton Guardian hailed him as the greatest guitarist in the world, comparing him favourably with Trinidad Huerta and Giulio Regondi.
