1961 Arcángel Fernández No. 108 SP/IN

This 1961 Arcángel Fernández No. 108 is a spruce and Indian rosewood classical guitar from Madrid – a rare rosewood classical by one of the great flamenco makers.

A Rare Rosewood Classical by Arcángel Fernández

Arcángel studied under the legendary Marcelo Barbero and later tutored his son, the late Marcelo Barbero Hijo. Rosewood classicals from this maker rarely enter the market. Demand for them over the past several decades has been so strong (particularly in Japan) that they have become among the rarest of the rare. This one carries the early numbered label, No. 108 of 1961.

Sound and Condition

This is an exceptionally strong guitar with a huge sound, very bold across all registers, and it lives up to its reputation with ease. Apart from two well-repaired cracks in the soundboard (none in the back and sides) the guitar is a collector's (and player's) dream. Extremely desirable in all ways – we were thrilled to have this rare gem.

Arcángel Fernández: Flamenco Guitar Maker of Madrid

Arcángel Fernández (born 1932) is one of the best and most famed Spanish luthiers of both flamenco and classical guitars of the latter half of the twentieth century. He came to the guitar from cabinet making, and in 1954 he became the assistant of Marcelo Barbero – then the finest maker in Madrid – preparing woods and finishing instruments. He was the only person ever to apprentice with Barbero. When his master died in March 1956, Arcángel completed the guitars left unfinished in the shop and for about a year went on building for Barbero's widow.

His Own Workshop in Lavapiés

He then opened his own workshop at Jesús y María 26, a couple of blocks from Barbero's old shop in Madrid's Lavapiés quarter. There he took in Barbero's young son, Marcelo Barbero Hijo, taught him everything he had learned from the father, and worked side by side with him for some forty years. Like his master, Arcángel played an integral role in defining the archetypal flamenco guitar – light, fast and powerful, with a loose, dry and woody "old world" sound – which still serves as the model for flamenco luthiers chasing that classic mid-century sound. He built only a small number of guitars each year, in his later decades almost exclusively for collectors in Japan, until demand grew so great that he stopped taking orders. In 2011 he retired to the Canary Islands.

Books on Arcángel Fernández

A 1962 Arcángel Fernández is one of the guitars reproduced in Alberto Martínez's book "34 Classical Guitars in Life Size", with photographs and full-size drawings of each instrument:

34 Classical Guitars in Life Size