2022 activity report

POSTHUMOUS TRIBUTE to JL Romanillos - 90th Anniversary

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The event was held on Saturday, June 11, 2022, at the Escorxador Cultural Center, in Badalona

 

The death of the distinguished luthier José Luis Romanillos, in February 2022, reached us when our Association was preparing a concert to celebrate its 90th birthday in June. Despite the sad news, we decided to hold the concert and, moreover, turn it into an act of posthumous tribute to him.

 

CHRONICLE

It was a simple and sincere event, in which several Romanillos disciples remembered him and spoke about him and his work. Next, Miguel Javaloy offered us a beautiful recital with his Romanillos guitar.

We want to highlight the presence at the event of Marian Harris, widow and collaborator of the luthier, who travelled to Badalona to attend the tribute, a gesture that moved all attendees and that is an honour for our modest Association. We deeply appreciate it.

Our intention was to celebrate an event focused on the memory of the figure and work of José Luis Romanillos, as a luthier and as a person. For this reason we chose an image of him to preside over the stage where the three acts of this event were held: 

1 - COLLOQUIUM ON ROMANILLOS
with Antonio Manjón and Joan Pellisa.

2 - PRESENTATION OF THE BOOK:
"Jose Luis Romanillos - Guitars - Guijosa Period" with Josep Melo.

3 - GUITAR RECITAL
with Miguel Javaloy

 

 
Recognition messages from students and friends
 
Along a panel located in the entrance hall of NAU 3, the attendees were able to see and read a collection of messages of recognition to the figure and work of José Luis Romanillos. They were messages sent a few days before by guitarists, guitar makers, students and friends of the Master, from different parts of the world.
 
It was an idea of our Association to contact some people who knew the teacher and we proposed them to write a few words for this act. In this way, distinguished guitar makers such as Abel García López from Paracho (Mexico), Tobias Braun from Austria, Carlos González from Almería (Spain), Carlos Juan Busquiel from Petrer (Alicante, Spain), Mónica Esparza from California (USA), Pablo Sánchez Otero from A Coruña (Spain) or Paolo Coriani from Modena (Italy), among others, expressed their feelings and their support for this tribute. 
 
Some illustrious guitarists such as Carles Trepat from Lleida (Spain) or the famous Greek guitarist Antigoni Goni, who also regularly plays with a Romanillos guitar, wanted to join this written tribute. Miguel Javaloy also added his written testimony to his participation.
 
 
Timeline panels
 
Next, the attendees found three panels that reflected the main milestones in the life of José Luis Romanillos as notes of a chronology. Each panel addressed to one of the three aspects of his legacy: Romanillos as a guitar maker, as a teacher and as a researcher.
 
 
Talking about Romanillos
 
The guitar maker from Badalona Antonio Manjón Martín,  former student of Romanillos and current president of the Badalona Guitar Association, welcomed and thanked all attendees for their presence, with a very special greeting to  José  Luis Romanillo's widow, Marian Harris.

Then, Joan Pellisa Pujades, a Romanillos disciple and collaborator, spoke about the life and work of the master.

Two more prestigious luthiers who were in the room also went on stage to comment on aspects of his experiences with Romanillos: Jaume Bosser Artal and Andrés Daniel Marvi.
 
 
Presentation of Josep Melo's book
 
Next, the luthier Josep Melo i Valls, a Romanillos friend and collaborator, presented the book he has written and published about Romanillo's guitars made during the Guijosa period.

It is an exhaustive work, carried out over fifteen years, in which he shows us the instruments with a profusion of documentation and with very high quality and actual-size photographic reproductions of the guitars!

Josep Melo explained the details of the photographic and technical processes that he had to carry out to achieve excellence in the result as we can see in the final work.
 
It is an unparalleled work in Spain, at the level of the best guitar publications worldwide.
 
 
Guitar recital by Miguel Javaloy
 
Miguel Javaloy Serrano offered a beautiful and emotional recital to us, with his Romanillos guitar, number 776 “La Playera”.
 
Before starting playing, Miguel told us details about his personal experiences with Romanillos, and how the desire to own and play one of his guitars arose in him.
 
He interpreted a repertoire of pieces from different periods and styles (you will find the program at the end of this article)

What we did not know is that Miguel had a surprise in store for us. It is something that does not happen at all concerts: A PREMIERE!

A few days after the death of José Luis Romanillos, in February  2022, the Argentine composer Roberto Moya created the piece "Elegía para un Guitarrero" (Elegy for a guitar maker) as a tribute to the master Romanillos. He agreed with Miguel Javaloy that it would premiere at the concerts dedicated to Romanillos on June 11 in Badalona and June 18 in Sigüenza.

This is how we have had the privilege of being able to hear in Badalona for the first time this piece recently created and dedicated to José Luis Romanillos, performed with one of his guitars.
  
 
... And two more guitars
 
In addition to "la Playera", which was the guitar with which Miguel Javaloy performed the concert, we were also able to see live, courtesy of Josep Melo, two other magnificent guitars by Romanillos: "Joseps" and "La Culé".
 
    
 
The most important thing is that we have felt great satisfaction for paying this heartfelt tribute to the illustrious guitar maker José Luis Romanillos, and we also feel very fortunate and grateful for having had the presence of his widow, Marian Harris, wife, researcher and collaborator of his work, to whom we delivered a bound copy of the texts sent by the former students and friends of the teacher and which were exposed on the entrance panels.
 

 

VIDEO

 

VIDEO-SUMMARY OF THE TRIBUTE TO ROMANILLOS IN BADALONA:

Although the event lasted more than two hours, the video that you can whatch below summarizes it in less than 20 minutes. All the people who participated appear in it and the most relevant and emotional moments are relived.

 

  

 

THANKS TO ...
 
We want to highlight the good reception that this event has had among the guitar family and thank all the people who have participated with their presence or collaborated in some way in this act of homage to José Luis Romanillos. We quote here those who have participated directly and known attendees. We may forget someone because we did not identify them, for which we apologize.
 
GUITAR MAKERS: Josep Melo i Valls, Joan Pellisa Pujades, Jaume Bosser Artal, Andrés Daniel Marvi, Antonio Manjon Martin, Abel Garcia Lopez, Carlos González, Carlos Juan Busquiel, Mónica Esparza, Pablo Sánchez Otero, Paolo Coriani y Tobias Braun.
 
GUITAR INTERPRETERS: Miguel Javaloy Serrano, Antigoni Goni, Carles Trepat. As event attendees: Guillem Pérez-Quer, Maria Rovira y Jordi Sàbat.
 
We thank Mrs. Anna Maria Lara i Carmona, Councilor for Culture of the Badalona City Council, for her presence at the event and the institutional recognition involved.
 
We would also like to thank Pere-Andreu Jariod for his presence and the support and dissemination he has given to this event through his program "El Taller del Luthier" (The Luthier's Workshop) on Catalunya Ràdio.
 
Thanks a lot to the partners and friends of our Association who have contributed and collaborated to make this event possible.

And finally, a very special thanks to Marian Harris Winspear for having traveled to Badalona to be with us and to fill this humble tribute with memories, affection and emotion that we have dared to pay to her life partner.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

MORE IMAGES OF THE EVENT:

 

 

 

ROMANILLOS

posthumous tribute

90th birthday

BADALONA

 

 

SPONSORED BY:

 

 

 

ORGANIZE                                              COLLABORATE

                                           

 

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / DATA OF PARTICIPANTS:

 

 

WHO WAS JOSÉ LUIS ROMANILLOS?

 

Recently deceased (February 12, 2022) José Luis Romanillos has been one of the most prominent luthiers - or guitar maker, as he preferred to be called - in recent decades worldwide.

He is not only a reference due to his work as a guitar maker, but also for his research projects and his teaching activity and training of new guitar makers.

Our Association began to prepare this event to celebrate his 90th birthday. Unfortunately, it will be a posthumous tribute.

In our blog we have published a brief biography of José Luis Romanillos. Click on the following link:

José Luis Romanillos, guitar maker, teacher and researcher

 

 

THEY TALK ABOUT ROMANILLOS: 

 
Antonio Manjón Martín  

Joan Pellisa Pujades

Guitar Maker from Badalona (Barcelona)

Disciple of José Luis Romanillos. He was his student at the guitar courses at the Córdoba Guitar Festival in 1992, 1993 and 1995.

Afterwards, he has maintained a good relationship with the Maestro, for whom he has always felt great admiration, both for his professional and human virtues.

Antonio builds concert guitars. He is a founding member and president of the Badalona Guitar Association.

  

Guitar Maker from  La Fatarella (Tarragona)

Disciple of Romanillos, he learned many things from him, some about guitar and others about life in general. He proudly affirms that Romanillos has been a teacher for him, but, above all, a good friend. Joan participated as an assistant professor in the “Curso de Construcción de la vihuela de mano”, organized in Sigüenza in 2010, together with Jaume Bosser, under the direction of Romanillos.

Joan Pellisa builds plucked string instruments. He is researcher and disseminator specialized in historical instruments and in the work of Antonio de Torres.

 

PRESENTATION IN BADALONA OF THE BOOK:

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

The author: Josep Melo i Valls

He is a guitar maker trained as a designer, so he studied the shape, design, sound, wood... which provided rigor to his work, his thinking and the experience and illusions for the construction of his guitars. The final product is high quality musical instruments, rigorously elaborated.

He benefited from the experience and friendship of guitar makers such as James L. d'Aquisto in New York, José Luis Romanillos in Guijosa and Steve Klein in California.

Since he met Romanillos in 1995, his admiration and proximity to the Maestro encouraged him to start an exhaustive and prolonged graphic documentation process that lasted until 2010. The material obtained has allowed the creation of the impressive work that he presents to us. In it, he shows us the guitars of Romanillos with a profusion of documentation and with photographic reproductions of the instruments of very high quality and in real size!

This is an unparalleled job, comparable to the best guitar publications worldwide.

 

 

CONCERT DE PRIMAVERA (SPRING CONCERT)

Interpreter: Miguel Javaloy Serrano

With the Romanillos guitar nº 776 "La Playera"

 

Miguel Javaloy Serrano

Born in Alicante, Miguel Javaloy Serrano was a student of José Tomás at the “Oscar Esplá” Conservatory in his city, obtaining the highest marks. He completed his training with José Luís González, Carles Trepat, David Russell, Hopkinson Smith and Oscar Ghiglia.

Throughout his career he has performed at numerous festivals and has been a jury in national and international competitions.

He has recorded for RTVE and Catalunya Música. Together with the soprano Mª Teresa Garrigosa, he has recorded for the music publisher “La Mà de Guido” the CD “Jaume Bosch, le Roi de la Guitare”, the first worldwide publication of the songs of this composer and guitarist. Likewise, with the same publisher he has released “Souvenir de Barcelone”, an album with pieces by Sor, Bosch, Tárrega, Llobet, Pujol and Trepat.

Miguel Javaloy usually performs with a Romanillos guitar and with a replica of an Antonio de Torres guitar built by Joan Pellisa. He is currently a guitar teacher at the Municipal School of Music of Cambrils (Tarragona).

 

 

 

 

CONCERT PROGRAM

 

 

 

 

 

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