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Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
Romanillos tribute
A touching tribute to Jose L. Romanillos, via four guitars he kept in the family. The instruments are played by Antigoni Goni and two of her students. There are numerous commentaries by Goni, Marian Winspear Romanillos, Jose’s wife of more than 50 years, the luthiers Gerhard Oldiges and Leonard Plattner, and the recording engineer John O. Taylor—maybe a few others.
The guitars include “El Medio Siglo,” which commemorates Jose’s and Marian’s 50th wedding anniversary. Marian quotes Jose, “This may be the most beautiful guitar I have made.” She says that upon finishing a guitar he usually said something like, “I could have done this thing better,” or would set out upon a new experiment.
The sincere love and respect for Jose by all the participants is abundantly evident.
This is a touching story, but every one of the guitar makers talking about Romanillos was cringeworthy, ( I couldn’t wait for them to shut up) with the exception of one guy. They should have edited the luthier talking heads out of it because it added nothing to the story.
My favorite parts were Marian and Antigoni and the other guitarists. If I had made that film I would’ve used more of their footage. But as it stands it’s a beautiful thing to leave everyone with those slightly eccentric guitars he chose to keep. I especially like that they didn’t put any finish on one of them, and that one was for Marian.
I watched the video yesterday, but I don’t remember much of what the luthiers had to say, except about Jose as a teacher. He never talked down to a student. He always approached everybody as an equal.
I liked that the players said Jose’s guitars are fantastic, but they’re hard to play.
John Taylor, the recording engineer and author of “Tone Production on the Classical Guitar,” said Romanillos’s instruments don’t have a huge sound, but the subtle quality of each note leads into the next one, carrying the listener’s (and player’s) attention through the whole piece.
When Marian was asked whether she heard anything of herself in the guitar named after her, she replied,”No. When I hear it I see him. I see him working, or walking around the shop getting his tools.”
Medio Siglo is the one Jose made for their 50th wedding anniversary. Although he was critical of almost every guitar he made, of Medio Siglo he said, “This may be the most beautiful guitar I have ever made.” He left it unpolished for fear of changing the sound
This documentary is vary well made and vary much worth the hour. Watch on a screen with hood speakers rather than an iDevice.
We should all strive to leave behind such a legacy: a loving wife and a reputation for treating others with respect.
HR
ps. I have had five failed employees get back to me any time from thirty days to five years later to thank me for giving them tools they didn’t understand at the time, but sadly none of them would say I treated them as equals or was anything other then an ****.
pps. Not going to mention what the ex wife thinks…
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I prefer my flamenco guitar spicy, doesn't have to be fast, should have some meat on the bones, can be raw or well done, as long as it doesn't sound like it's turning green on an elevator floor.
Odd to me that people in the guitar world use the word "asthetics" to denote what you can see on a guitar. I think the word originally referred to all aspects of beauty, whether visible, audible,....
The boys who brought you that festival, which was a celebration of Torres' work and included an exhibition of Torres copies, have done it again. This time it was homage to Romanillos but Abel and some of the others were back again. I was invited to make a guitar for this event too but since I never studied with José it didn't seem appropriate. However, upon seeing the photos I am sorry I didn't attend. The 2017 festival was wonderful; intimate, respectful and full of sharing between professionals. This year's looks even better and I can't get over the fact that they have display cases. Nobody does that! At the most they give you a table with a cloth over it. I am including links to the various pages of the event.
I was invited to make a guitar for this event too but since I never studied with José it didn't seem appropriate. However, upon seeing the photos I am sorry I didn't attend.
I think you made the right call on not exhibiting, but damn, it sure looks like it would have been a great event to have attended. Hopefully there will be another in the future.
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