Mark Colenutt's Blog: Jousting with Windmills - Posts Tagged "madrid"
Flamenco Appreciation Society
I have seen quite a bit of Flamenco during my time in Spain, from the famous Madrid tablao Casa Patas to the biannual of Flamenco in Seville. I have seen shows in village theatres and bullrings as well as local bars and even Barcelona's elegant Liceu theatre.
Madrid is surprisingly world HQ for the art form but the South is its homeland and the gypsies are the celebrated masters of its dance, song and guitar. Within Flamenco there are strong and subtle differences from the deep song of 'cante jondo' to the strident bulerías of 'fiesta flamenca'. Non-gypsies are referred to as 'payos' by the clan and while there are outsiders that can keep up with the 'gitano' masters, when it comes to the volatile strumming of bulerías, the gypsies leave everyone behind.
If some of the singing is a bit too heavy on the ear, especially the characteristic Arabic 'quejío' cry at the beginning, you must first understand that this is the heart felt sorrow of a persecuted people and that message has been enshrined in its 'cante jondo'. It is an unwritten document in the ancient storytelling tradition. What you are listening to is not some specifically scuplted chart topper. Have a historical perspective and everything changes.
If the singing of Camarón, José Mercé or Estrella Morente doesn't move you then maybe flamenco dance will inspire you. It was Barcelona-born gypsy Carmen Amaya, who made the dance internationally famous when the world was still black and white and colour had yet to be invented. She may never be surpassed. Individual dancers and troupes now tour the world and Spain and continuously perform to heads of state.
The best dancer I have seen is unquestionably Farruquito in Seville and Barcelona. No crowd reaction comes close, and if you are ever lucky enough to see Flamenco in the South, especially in Seville, then to hear the audience clapping Flamenco as an encore is the most uplifting emotion I have ever experienced in a theatre. Feeling is believing, in this case. It unseats the house every time. There is something special about the primitive beat and elegant lines that are both feminine and masculine at once.
Lorca fed into this emotion and his play 'La Casa de Benarda Alba' is a masterful work that resonates with Andalusia's deep song.
Flamenco began life in 'los cafés de flamenco', of which only one or two still survive in old Seville. There, they won a paying audience and the music gradually gained a structure and discipline.
The guitar takes a lifetime to perfect and plectrums are forbidden, as the technique is too complex for their use. Paco de Lucía is the undisputed king and the greatest innovator in the genre. I was blessed with the rare opportunity to see him perform with his group in the Seville during 'Bienal de Flamenco' and no concert has ever come close to the rapture of that experience. Flamenco on the guitar, flute, piano and the most amazing dancer: Joaquín Grillo. That night the foundations of the elegant Maestranza theatre shook and everyone trembled. No theatre audience before or since has outpoured so much admiration, less a revolution was starting up.
Living in Seville meant a regular supply of Flamenco wafting out from bars and playing in theatres and street fiestas. Seville, like the rest of Andalucía has identity, and that is marked quite clearly by the soundtrack of Flamenco that is played in every city, town and hamlet. Close your eyes and you will know where you are. Few places make the same impression and that is the true pull and power of Andalucía.
I now live in Girona and there is no music here like there is in the South. I miss it intensely. 'To leave the South is to leave the fiesta,' I wrote that in my book. It is something I knew then, and my experience has only confirmed that belief.
Handel called architecture 'frozen music', so that will have to do for now, I suppose.
Madrid is surprisingly world HQ for the art form but the South is its homeland and the gypsies are the celebrated masters of its dance, song and guitar. Within Flamenco there are strong and subtle differences from the deep song of 'cante jondo' to the strident bulerías of 'fiesta flamenca'. Non-gypsies are referred to as 'payos' by the clan and while there are outsiders that can keep up with the 'gitano' masters, when it comes to the volatile strumming of bulerías, the gypsies leave everyone behind.
If some of the singing is a bit too heavy on the ear, especially the characteristic Arabic 'quejío' cry at the beginning, you must first understand that this is the heart felt sorrow of a persecuted people and that message has been enshrined in its 'cante jondo'. It is an unwritten document in the ancient storytelling tradition. What you are listening to is not some specifically scuplted chart topper. Have a historical perspective and everything changes.
If the singing of Camarón, José Mercé or Estrella Morente doesn't move you then maybe flamenco dance will inspire you. It was Barcelona-born gypsy Carmen Amaya, who made the dance internationally famous when the world was still black and white and colour had yet to be invented. She may never be surpassed. Individual dancers and troupes now tour the world and Spain and continuously perform to heads of state.
The best dancer I have seen is unquestionably Farruquito in Seville and Barcelona. No crowd reaction comes close, and if you are ever lucky enough to see Flamenco in the South, especially in Seville, then to hear the audience clapping Flamenco as an encore is the most uplifting emotion I have ever experienced in a theatre. Feeling is believing, in this case. It unseats the house every time. There is something special about the primitive beat and elegant lines that are both feminine and masculine at once.
Lorca fed into this emotion and his play 'La Casa de Benarda Alba' is a masterful work that resonates with Andalusia's deep song.
Flamenco began life in 'los cafés de flamenco', of which only one or two still survive in old Seville. There, they won a paying audience and the music gradually gained a structure and discipline.
The guitar takes a lifetime to perfect and plectrums are forbidden, as the technique is too complex for their use. Paco de Lucía is the undisputed king and the greatest innovator in the genre. I was blessed with the rare opportunity to see him perform with his group in the Seville during 'Bienal de Flamenco' and no concert has ever come close to the rapture of that experience. Flamenco on the guitar, flute, piano and the most amazing dancer: Joaquín Grillo. That night the foundations of the elegant Maestranza theatre shook and everyone trembled. No theatre audience before or since has outpoured so much admiration, less a revolution was starting up.
Living in Seville meant a regular supply of Flamenco wafting out from bars and playing in theatres and street fiestas. Seville, like the rest of Andalucía has identity, and that is marked quite clearly by the soundtrack of Flamenco that is played in every city, town and hamlet. Close your eyes and you will know where you are. Few places make the same impression and that is the true pull and power of Andalucía.
I now live in Girona and there is no music here like there is in the South. I miss it intensely. 'To leave the South is to leave the fiesta,' I wrote that in my book. It is something I knew then, and my experience has only confirmed that belief.
Handel called architecture 'frozen music', so that will have to do for now, I suppose.
