Joséf Pagés
Encyclopedia
Joséf Pagés, who was born circa 1740 and died after 1822, was a notable Spanish
guitar maker of the Cádiz
school.
, Sevilla around 1740. His brother Juan Pagés also became a notable guitar maker. It is thought that Joséf was the first of the brothers to go to Cádiz around 1760. He established his workshop in Calle de la Almargura by 1809. A leading member of the Cádiz school, Joséf, followed very closely all the innovations that Francisco Sanguino had introduced, but with the additional development of doming the soundboard with the struts, an approach that later makers such as Jose Recio, Antonio de Torres, and Francisco Gonzales also adopted. Pagés started with systems of three braces, like the early guitars of Sanguino and Benedid; his later instruments used five.
His guitars greatly influenced Louis Panormo, who used similar fan strutting designs and similar proportions for the body of the guitar.
The great Spanish composer
and guitarist
Fernando Sor
thought highly of Pagés's guitars, stating 'The guitars to which I have always given preference are those of Alonso of Madrid, Pagés and Benediz of Cádiz, Joseph and Manuel Martinez of Malaga...' The composer Dionisio Aguado
also mentions the Pagés brothers as among the makers he would recommend. Joséf Pagés's known surviving guitars date from the 1790s to 1822.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
guitar maker of the Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
school.
Life and work
Joséf Pagés was probably born in EcijaÉcija
Écija is a city belonging to the province of Seville, Spain. It is located in the Andalusian countryside, 85 km east of the city of Seville. According to the 2008 census, Écija has a total population of 40,100 inhabitants, ranking as the fifth most populous city in the province...
, Sevilla around 1740. His brother Juan Pagés also became a notable guitar maker. It is thought that Joséf was the first of the brothers to go to Cádiz around 1760. He established his workshop in Calle de la Almargura by 1809. A leading member of the Cádiz school, Joséf, followed very closely all the innovations that Francisco Sanguino had introduced, but with the additional development of doming the soundboard with the struts, an approach that later makers such as Jose Recio, Antonio de Torres, and Francisco Gonzales also adopted. Pagés started with systems of three braces, like the early guitars of Sanguino and Benedid; his later instruments used five.
His guitars greatly influenced Louis Panormo, who used similar fan strutting designs and similar proportions for the body of the guitar.
The great Spanish composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Fernando Sor
Fernando Sor
Josep Ferran Sorts i Muntades was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer. While he is best known for his guitar compositions, he also composed music for a wide range of genres, including opera, orchestra, string quartet, piano, voice and ballet...
thought highly of Pagés's guitars, stating 'The guitars to which I have always given preference are those of Alonso of Madrid, Pagés and Benediz of Cádiz, Joseph and Manuel Martinez of Malaga...' The composer Dionisio Aguado
Dionisio Aguado
Dionisio Aguado was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer.-Biography:Born in Madrid, he studied with Miguel García. In 1826, Aguado visited Paris, where he met and became friends with and for a while lived with Fernando Sor...
also mentions the Pagés brothers as among the makers he would recommend. Joséf Pagés's known surviving guitars date from the 1790s to 1822.
Guitars
This is an incomplete list of the guitars that Joséf Pagés made.- 1791 - A six course Juan Pages instrument in the Granary-Guitars museum, UK.http://www.granary-guitars.com
- 1805 - In the collection of the Royal Academy of MusicRoyal Academy of MusicThe Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - 1809 - (no. 70) Plucked, struck and fretted guitar labeled "Josef Pages Me Hizo En Cadiz Ano de 1809 Calle de la Amargura N.70". Length of back 455mm (17 15/16in), the soundhole surrounded by concentric circular dotted wood, with 16 nickel frets to soundhole, with later tied bridge, with some inked manuscript lining on the inner back and ribs, the head cut down with machines added for 6 strings, in lined and fitted mahogany brass mounted case. Sold 15 December 2009 for £8,160, inclusive of Buyer's Premium, at BonhamsBonhamsBonhams is a privately owned British auction house founded in 1793. It is the third largest auctioneer after Sotheby's and Christie's, and conducts around 700 auctions per year. It has 700 employees....
, - 1810 - (no.30) In the private collection of Timothy Lawrence Williams (MA).
- 1811 - In the collection of Ringve Museum, Trondhjem, Norway. (images, technical drawing / construction plan)
- 1813 - The Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments Item #282 is a 6-course: (6 x 2) strings, 12 strings guitar.
- 1818 - Mentioned in Romanillos, J.L., Bream, J. Antonio de Torres: Guitar Maker, His Life and Work (Bold Strummer, 1997) p. 94
- 1822 - (no.177) Spanish Six-course guitar, labeled "Josef Pages Me Hizo En Cadiz ano de 1822" and inserted over top of label in script Calle del Sacremento in print no. 70 and inscribed over no 177. Length of back 455mm (17 15/16in); Upper bouts 217mm; Middle bouts 177mm; Lower bouts 281mm. The soundhole is surrounded by a band of inlayed white circles on a black ground with further concentric circles surrounding the sound hole. The six course head has 12 pegs, with 10 brass frets to the body with later bridge with an inalid cartouche under the bridge. The back and ribs is made of various coloured wood and shows some slight wear and tear due to use and age. The guitar has a soft black case. The guitar previously belonged to Antonio Maria Galliano (1841–1903) of the Galliano BankBanco GallianoBanco Galliano was the oldest bank in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.-History:In 1855 Antonio Luis Galliano and his family, immigrants from Genoa via Cádiz, established A.L. Galliano Bankers in Gibraltar, better known as Banco Galliano in Spanish, or Galliano's Bank in English...
. The guitar passed from Antonio Maria Galliano to his eldest son, Andrew (1875–1939). When Andrew died in 1939, the guitar passed to his only son, Jacinto, who died in 1967 without issue. Andrew's widow, Ana Bonell de Galliano (1880–1969) gave the guitar to her nephew Francis (Paco) Galliano OBE, ex-Chairman of A.L. Galliano Bankers Ltd. On 10 March 2008, Francis Galliano sold the guitar for £6,600 at auction via Bonhams.
External links
- Restoration of a Pagés by Rohan Lowe