Nights in the Gardens of Spain - traditional flamenco songs
Arcángel (singer)
Miguel Ángel Cortés (guitar)
I've never attended a concert of pure flamenco song before. Flamenco shows, yes, with dance, song and guitar combined, but this was a new experience, and I'm still not completely sure whether I enjoyed it or not. It was certainly very focused; we were in a medium-sized church, and it was an acoustic concert, with a voice that only carried through its pitch, rather than through volume, and an unamplified guitar that is naturally a very quiet instrument, so the listening is an intense experience.
Arcángel has one of those high, bright, slightly hoarse tenor voices, less gravelly than some of his colleagues, and the kind of timbre that in the characteristic melismas of flamenco song recall very distinctly the Arabic influences on that music. He has an excellent dynamic range, and when the voice drops low and soft, he draws you right in, with a real sense of intimacy. The music flows back and forward between singer and guitarist, each coming forward in turn. Cortés is as proficient as one would expect from performers at this level, rhythmically subtle, deft and precise.
Yet I missed the dance element, not because of the 'spectacle' aspect, but because I find that for me, it translates the song. My Spanish is virtually non-existent, and the nature of the cante jondo technique is such that it's very difficult to understand the text in any event. Without the visual element, the whole experience becomes singularly abstract, and I had the constant and irritating impression that I was missing something - which I probably was. An interesting evening, therefore, but not one I'm sure I'd repeat too readily.
[Next: 24th August]
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