The Lanzarotean researcher and collector Daniel Morales exhibits part of his valuable collection of slate records and old vinyls of Canarian folk music, in the exhibition organized parallel to the program of concerts planned for the XIII edition of the Timples Festival of La Graciosa.
The exhibition, which can be visited at the Cultural Center of Caleta del Sebo on May 8 and 9, between 10:00 and 13:00 hours and 16:00 and 19:00 hours, offers a varied set of approximately 80 specimens rescued from the period that contemplates the first takeoff in Canarias of the sound recordings of artists and folk groups during the 1950s of the last century, many of them timple players like Totoyo Millares, Juan Valerón, Casimiro Camacho or Ramón Gil.
Morales also includes in the exhibition numerous methods of musical teaching commercialized in the 50s, with which hundreds of people could learn and improve their technique before the emergence of conservatories and their regulated teaching. It must be remembered that, in the case of the Gran Canaria capital, it is not until 1958 that the music academy of the Philharmonic Society obtains the rank of Elementary Music Conservatory, and it is not until 1998, that the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands assumes its ownership.
According to Morales, in the case of the Canarian timple, an instrument traditionally associated with popular music, didactics has been crucial. “The first generations of Canarian musicians learned by imitation, and the technique was transmitted in many cases from parents to children. To go a step further, the participation of a teacher was necessary, who at the time were usually prominent musicians and who in some cases began to publish their methods as a way to disseminate their knowledge learned based on their experience.”
The first methods commercialized such as that of Francisco Alcázar in 1954 or that of Francisco Sarmiento Rojas in 1968, as well as that of Gustavo Benítez in 1981, were relevant for their accessibility and easy use. “But it was not until later decades when the first ones began to be created that allowed it to transcend its traditional role and advance in more complex repertoires and with advanced techniques,” recalls the conejero researcher, who believes that “greater effort is still required for the generation of literature with new compositions and repertoire adaptation, to promote its greater development.”
More than 200 old records
Slate records were the star medium for more than 50 years, a hegemony that did not resist the appearance of vinyl. Morales has a collection that exceeds 200 items, between slate records, vinyls, CDs and other formats, of which 80 of them can be contemplated in the exhibition considering their historical value, with some of them being able to be listened to through QR codes installed in the room.
“In the middle of the last century the music industry was not as developed as it is currently. I intuit that trusting in the release of an album by musicians who were true unknowns for companies from outside the islands and of a genre like traditional music, must not have been easy nor attractive for the general public, nor commercially profitable. An example of this is the article published by Néstor Álamo, where he recounts the vicissitudes he had to suffer in the recording of his album ‘Canciones de Gran Canaria’, in which the orchestra conductor refused to include the sound of the timple in the recording, which caused the aforementioned release to have to be paralyzed,” comments Morales. This 1953 album was recorded by the Columbia label at 33 rpm with the participation of María Mérida and orchestra accompaniment directed by Leocadio R. Machado.
The researcher states that one of the most active timple players in the release of records dedicated to the instrument in Canarias was Totoyo Millares, “who began recording very young, in a first stage between 1948 and 1956, a period in which he made a series of recordings with very primitive technology, tapes and wire threads, and hard paste records, which currently have not been able to be listened to due to not having a playback medium”.
“In the year 1961 the label Hispavox, under the direction of professor García Matos, publishes the ‘Cancionero Folclórico de las Islas Canarias’, where Totoyo Millares participates with some folías in the first solo recording that we have available today”, continues explaining Daniel Morales. “In a second stage that begins in 1963 and ends in 1987, the appearance of the solo timple is consolidated thanks to the recognition given by the first commercial recordings”, he adds.
Daniel Morales attributes the new fever (in full dominance of streaming) that has been generated again with vinyl surpassing CD sales and becoming an essential collector's item and luxury article, to “a mix of romanticism and a fixation on quality. People of certain generations grew up among vinyls and listening to music was part of a ritual where you needed your time to enjoy, both the music and the extra content provided by the covers, elements that have been lost with the immediacy of digital support”.
With his exhibition, produced by Estudios Multitrack with the sponsorship of Ayuntamiento Teguise, Cabildo de Lanzarote, Instituto Canario de Desarrollo Cultural del Gobierno de Canarias and Binter, Morales understands that he contributes directly to the conservation, recognition and future projection of the timple as a representative instrument of the musical culture of Canarias.
“Initiatives like this are fundamental to make its history known, to value its performers and bring it closer to new generations. Only through dissemination and public interest will we be able to guarantee that the timple continues to evolve and occupy the place it deserves inside and outside of Canarias,” he emphasizes. “Because the timple is much more than an instrument: it is a cultural identity mark of Canarias, an element that has accompanied the musical expression of our islands for generations and that is part of our collective heritage,” concludes Daniel Morales.