Gerard Cousins – Charme de la Nuit

José Ferrer Esteve de Fujadas was born in Girona and took lessons from his father and the virtuoso José Broca. He wrote about 100 compositions for the guitar, many of them written for, and dedicated to, his pupils. Despite spending much of his time in Barcelona and Paris he seems not to be concerned with the modernist impulses of the fin de siècle, but instead focused on an exquisitely crafted ‘salon’ style which his music exhibits. He had a profound understanding of the instrument – his pieces feel totally idiomatic and are a joy for any guitarist to play.
Indeed, when I was taking my first steps as a guitarist José Ferrer’s Ejercicio No.9 appeared in my grade 2 examination book. I loved the elegance and symmetry of the opening theme and the way this contrasted with the more fiery ‘Spanish’ middle section. All in all, a wonderfully balanced miniature that gave me a sense that I was really expressing something beautiful.
But that was it for many years, José Ferrer’s name did not appear in the standard repertoire that I was playing and he remains a peripheral figure in the guitar world to this day.
Some years ago I visited the library of London’s Royal Academy of Music and explored more of Ferrer’s music archived in the Robert Spencer collection. This treasure hunt piqued my interest in performing more music from this unjustly forgotten composer.
I humbly present this small collection of some of my favourite Nocturnes along with the little Ejercicio which has continued to bring me joy after all these years.
—Gerard Cousins
THE ARTIST
CREDITS
Executive producer: Edgardo Vertanessian
Recorded at Sally’s Studio, Reading, UK, August 26th 2024
Mixing and Mastering: Edgardo Vertanessian
Guitar: Antonio Marin Montero (1992) with many thanks to Roger DeBree
Photographs by Robert Pugh
All Texts by Gerard Cousins
Cover design: Andrew Vlasov & Tatyana Vlasova
Booklet : Romina Pacor
Catalog number: PRIMA061
Catalog number: PRIMA052
Catalog PRIMA026 © & ℗ 2025 Prima Classic. All trademarks and logos are protected. All rights reserved.