Return to Flamenco

So, as some of you may know, I’ve been heavily immersed in Cantopop (Leslie Cheung, mostly) and whatever you want to call the music Anthony Wong does for the past year.  This is partly what has been driving my desire to learn Cantonese.  Believe me, to be foolish enough to decide to teach yourself Cantonese with no native speakers around and, more importantly, to stick with it for a year, requires some mighty strong motivation.  If I didn’t love something dearly that requires learning that language, I seriously doubt I would be able to learn it with all the other demands on my time.  One of my passions that definitely fell by the wayside was flamenco.  It was bad enough that my body demanded I retire from dancing flamenco, but my all-consuming immersion in all things Leslie Cheung (and now Anthony Wong, too) meant that there was precious little time to indulge in serious “outside” pursuits.  Flamenco music, especially the modern variety (which is the kind I like best) requires serious dedication.  This is not easy-listening flamenco.  Compared to the traditional stuff, this is as difficult to listen to as a lot of modern classical music.  The guitarists have blown open the harmonic structure of the traditional melodies (which is all flamenco has, really, since it is a totally aural tradition that a few hardy souls have tried to notate--and failed) so that the listener is left with a post-modern self-referential system that, unless you know the traditional melodies like the back of you hand, makes no sense whatsoever.  They are also doing strange things with some of the traditional rhythms.  The core rhythms are there, though they are often “unstated”.  Like with the melody, unless you know the traditional rhythmic structure (which is part of what defines a given song style), you cannot make head nor tails out of what the hell these guys (very few girls involved in the avant-garde stuff, sorry to say) are really doing.  Sometimes I’m clapping along, trying out various rhythmic structures to identify what is behind what I’m hearing.  Sometimes, I’m pretty shocked at what I discover.  Some of these numbers are in orbit around Pluto and only another professional modern flamenco can get all of the implication of what is happening.  At times, I just have to throw up my hands and acknowledge that I just don’t have the goods to get it all.  Like I said, this stuff is tough.

So why am I doing this at all, you think to ask?  My former flamenco teacher gave me a call the other day.  She’s teaching a course at Duke University and wants me to come in and guest lecture on flamenco fusion or something to that effect.  I, of course, said yes.  How could I refuse the opportunity to get in front of a bunch of unsuspecting undergraduates and share something I love this much?  So, for the past 2 weeks, I have been pulling out my flamenco music collection and reacquainting myself with this music.  I had forgotten what an extensive collection of modern flamenco recordings I actually have, not to mention true examples of fusion.  After what I listened to this past week, I’ve decided to chuck the fusion stuff and concentrate on the really hard modern flamenco, which is where all of the best artists are at these days.  This is the current state of flamenco as formulated and performed by the best.  This is also something their prof isn’t going to teach them.  She can’t abide the stuff and doesn’t understand or like it.  So, for better or worse, I’m going to give a 75 min class on modern flamenco: What is it and what happened that this is the current state of flamenco.

Of course, as I listen to more music and digest it, it will be interesting to see if I stay with this concept, or if I develop something even better.  That is the great thing about working without a net or any supporting scholarship (this stuff is too new to have been written about by the “academy”):  I get to make it up as I go along and adjust my theories as additional information appears or the fruit of further reflection takes shape.  The thing about undergraduates is, they’ll take anything I say as the gospel truth.  I love wielding this much power.  I really do.**** About the video

Sad to say, the more experimental music doesn't get performed live.  This wasn't the performance I wanted to share, but I am limited by what performers do live and what manages to get posted on YouTube.

Enrique Morente, singer and Eva Yerbabuena, dancer.  His text is from Lorca's play Yerma (not something that was turned into flamenco song before Morente came along).  Although the music doesn't sound too radical, he is singing bamberas por tangos.  For flamenco purists, this is akin to heresy!  Like I said, you have to know this tradition to get when somebody is transgressing it and what that means.  (Don't worry if you're not all worked up over this, only flamenco insiders really care, anyway.)  But it is a great example of modern flamenco.  Morente is the most avant garde singer in flamenco and has yielded incredible influence on the current generation of young singers.  Yerbabuena is the acknowledge master of female flamenco dance in Spain today. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S11gz7Ilpi0