José Ferrer (guitarist)

José Ferrer Esteve de Fujadas (in 19th-century France known as "Joseph Ferrer") (13 March 1835 – 7 March 1916) was a Spanish guitarist and composer.[1]

José Ferrer (guitarist).

Life

Ferrer was born in Torroella de Montgrí, Girona, and studied guitar with his father, a guitarist and collector of sheet music, before continuing his studies with José Brocá. In 1882, he left Spain for Paris in order to teach at the Institut Rudy and at the Académie Internationale de Musique, also becoming the official guitarist of the Comédie Française, and remained in Paris for 16 years.

Ferrer gave regular performances as a soloist. He taught at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona from 1898 to 1901. Following a period of moving between Barcelona and Paris, he settled permanently in Barcelona in 1905, where he died.

Music

Most of Ferrer's compositions were written for guitar but, being a deeply religious man,[2] he also wrote some sacred music. His works for guitar solo and duo resemble the fashionable salon music of his time, bearing titles such as Le Charme de la nuit ("Charm of the Night") and La Danse des Naïades ("Dance of the Naiads"). One of his most popular pieces was his opus 1, Recuerdos de Montgri.[3] He dedicated a number of pieces to his pupils, especially to the females. About half the number of his c.100 compositions were published during his lifetime, mainly by Vidal of Barcelona, Dupont and Pisa of Paris and latterly by Union Musical Española of Madrid.

He also wrote an unpublished method for guitar as well as duos for guitar and flute, and songs. His method "shows his great knowledge and understanding of the guitar's history and technique".[4]

Compositions

Sorted, within the sections, after opus-number. Dates are for first publication, not necessarily for composition, taken from the online catalogues of the Biblioteca Nacional de España and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Guitar Recuerdos de Montgri. Capricho op. 1 (1873) (dedicated to José Brocá) Quejas de mi lira. Vals op. 2 (1892) Fantasía con variaciones sobre un tema de Beriot op. 3 (1877) Cuatro piezas progresivas op. 4 (1885). Contains: 1. Vals; 2. Minué; 3. Andante; 4. Allegretto. El ramillete. Diez pequeñas piezas op. 5 (1885) Brisas del Parnaso. Cuatro piezas op. 6 (1885) El talismán. Vals op. 7 (1885) Horas apacibles. Ocho piezas fáciles op. 8 (1885) Tres valses op. 9 (1885) Polonesa op. 10 (1885) Dos nocturnos op. 11 (1888) Doce minués op. 12 (1888) (dedicated to Francisco Tárrega) Elegía fantástica op. 13 (1888) (dedicated to the memory of José Brocá) De noche en el lago. Fantasía con variaciones op. 14 (1888) La gallegada Fantasía pastoril con variaciones op. 15 (1892) Los encantos de París. Capricho fantástico op. 16 (1892) Veladas íntimas. Cuatro piezas para guitarra op. 17 (1904) Impresiones juveniles. Vals brillante op. 18 (1904) Dos tangos op. 19 (1904) Canto de amor. Vals de concierto op. 20 (1904) Veillées d'automne. Quatre pièces faciles op. 21 (1893) Echos de la forêt. Mélodie-valse op. 22 (1893) Belle. Gavotte op. 24 (1893) Souvenir du 15 Aout Romance sans paroles op. 25 (1892) L'Étudiant de Salamanque. Pièces caractéristiques espagnoles op. 31 (1898) Agréments du foyer. Trois pièces faciles op. 32 (1898) Les Soupirs. Valse de concert op. 33 (1898) La Danse des Naïades op. 35 (1898) Charme de la nuit. Nocturne op. 36 (1898) Brise d'Espagne. Valse caractéristique op. 37 (1898) Pensées mélodiques. Quatre pièces op. 38 (1898). Contains: 1. Menuet; 2. Barcarolle; 3. Mélodie expressive; 4. Sicilienne. Souvenirs d'antan. Six menuets op. 40 (1898) Gerbe de fleurs. 4 pièces faciles op. 41 (1903). Contains: 1. Cantilène espagnole; 2. Pavane; 3. Mazurka; 4. Berceuse. Trois Mélodies op. 42 (1903). Contains: 1. Plainte amoureuse; 2. Méditation; 3. Doux message. Rêve du poète. Mélodie op. 43 (1903) Pensées du soir op. 44 (1903) Soliloquio. Nocturno op. 46 (1906) Urania. Nocturno op. 47 (1906) Canto del bardo. Capricho op. 48 (1906) Minué op. 49 (1906) Cuatro piezas fáciles op. 50 (1912) - Perhaps his most popular piece today is Tango No.3 which is from this collection. El gondolero. Melodía op. 51 (1912) La mascarita. Mazurka op. 52 (1912) Barcarola op. 54 (1912) Balada op. 59 (n.d.)[5] Adagio op. 60 La Ausencia op. 61 Marcha Nupcial op. 62 Seranata Espagnol op. 63

Piano Ismalia. Galop (1864) La Exposicion. Vals (18xx) La inquieta. Polka (1864) Las dos Hermanas. Polka-mazurca (1867) Loreto. Americana (1867) Misterio. Capricho-Schotisch (1876) La Craintive. Polka-mazurka op. 21 (1878) Le Premier salut aux beaux-arts. Mélodie variée (1878) La tranquila. Redowa (1885) Duos Minué (n.d.) and Vals for two guitars (1879)[6] Mélancolie. Nocturne op. 23, for two guitars or flute and guitar (1898) Les Sirènes. Valse op. 26, for banjo and guitar or two guitars (1892) Sérénade espagnole op. 34, for two guitars (1898) Boléro op. 39, for piano and guitar (1895) Terpsichore. Valse op. 45 for two guitars (1903) Songs El jaque. Canción española (words by M. Alcayde) (1904)

Bibliography

• Prat, Domingo: Diccionario de Guitarristas (Buenos Aires, 1934)
• Wynberg, Simon (ed.): Charme de la nuit. Selected Character Pieces for Guitar (London: Faber Music, 2003)

References

1. Josef Zuth: Handbuch der Laute und Gitarre (Vienna, 1926–8), p. 96; Józef Powroźniak: Gitarren-Lexikon (Berlin, 1979; 3rd edition, 1986), p. 73.
2. David Burden: Introduction to José Ferrer: Minuet & Vals for Guitar Duo (Heidelberg: Chanterelle, 1992).
3. J. Powroźniak (1986), as above.
4. D. Burden, as above.
5. First published in Jens Franke (ed.): Romantic Guitar Anthology vol. 4 (Mainz: Schott, 2010), p. 15–17; ISBN 978-1-84761-059-1.
6. Originally unpublished; edited by David Burden: Heidelberg, Chanterelle, 1992.

External links

Sheetmusic

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