Polivios - Julián Arcas - Fantasía sobre el Paño, o sea, Punto de la Habana - Guitar Rafael Grajales

Julián Arcas (1832–1882) — Fantasía sobre el Paño, o sea, Punto de la Habana Performed by Polivios on an original historical Spanish guitar by Rafael Salazar Grajales, Seville, c. 1880. Julián Arcas was one of the most important Spanish guitarists and composers of the nineteenth century, and a pivotal figure in the development of the modern Spanish guitar tradition. A celebrated virtuoso who performed throughout Spain and Europe, Arcas was closely associated with the musical world from which the instruments of Antonio de Torres emerged, and his playing and repertoire had a profound influence on the subsequent generation of Spanish guitarists, including Francisco Tárrega. Fantasía sobre el Paño, o sea, Punto de la Habana is characteristic of Arcas's synthesis of nineteenth-century virtuosity with Spanish popular and dance traditions. Its contrasting textures, rhythmic vitality and rapid changes of colour reveal both the expressive possibilities of the guitar and the distinctly Spanish musical language that was taking shape during this period. The instrument heard in this recording is an original guitar by Rafael Salazar Grajales of Seville, dating from approximately 1880. Grajales belonged to the remarkable Andalusian tradition of guitar making that flourished in Seville during the second half of the nineteenth century. A contemporary of the master Antonio de Torres his workshop was located around the corner. This guitar of Grajales is an important Torres contemporary circle instrument of remarkable quality. Exceptionally lightly constructed, highly responsive and possessing an extraordinary range of colour, it represents the sophisticated level of guitar making being practised in Seville during the great formative period of the modern Spanish guitar. Its combination of warmth, transparency and almost vocal responsiveness makes it particularly compelling in the nineteenth-century Spanish repertoire. Performed and recorded by Polivios WWW.POLIVIOS.NET