Enrique Morente "La Belleza de la Creación" Thirteenth Festival Flamenco Caja de Madrid Friday, February 18th, 2005. Teatro Albéniz     THIRTEENTH FESTIVAL FLAMENCO. ALL REVIEWS & Photos

Coverage of the Thirteenth Festival Flamenco Caja de Madrid is sponsored by Arte Fyl Dance Shoes

Calzados de Arte Fyl: art for the Art Professionals know

MORENTE “ADRIÁ”

Text: Manuel Moraga

With Morente you never know what to expect. His knowledge, his way of applying it to the possibilities and his professionalism always guarantee satisfactory results. The unknown element comes from his ability to surprise, and creativity is the key.

The world of flamenco is narrow for some, and full of possibilities for others. Morente is of the second type...where others see a finish line, the man from Granada perceives a starting point. That is more or less what creativity is all about.

He began the recital as most people would usually end: with bulerías. And he finished (the official program) with what would normally have been a beginning: martinetes y tonás. The set was put together to emphasize the realism of flamenco life. The opening bulerías were without guitar accompaniment and Morente and friends were standing in a small circle taking turns with the verses, just as might occur (or might have occurred years ago) on any street-corner or in any tavern in a flamenco neighborhood. With the closing round of ‘tonás’, the same structure was employed with a background drone while the singers took turns. On stage, in addition to the standard chairs, a table for knuckling out compás and reinforcing the idea of realism.

After the opening bulerías gambit, which managed to establish a good rapport with the audience, Morente took on ‘caña’ and ‘mirabrás’. These are two forms which the singer has lately chosen to warm up with and which he uses to pace himself in a certain sense. With mirabrás he felt out the lines and made himself comfortable. On to soleá with a lovely assortment of styles resolved efficiently and bringing some really interesting moments.

One of Morente’s weaknesses are the so-called Levante styles. Here he served up an emotional potpourri that began with taranta, ended with cartagenera and along the way stopped off at related forms like fandangos de Lucena and the malagueña of La Trini. Morente used the rhythm to hold everything together, subtly marking the freer forms and blurring the compás of the more rhythmic ones. The result was of great beauty.

A beauty which grew with the alegrías and siguiriyas where Morente felt at ease and reached the best moments of the evening. Cabales, tangos, bulerías, martinetes y tonás (interpreted in the chorus arrangement) and lastly, a beautiful bulerías composition with lyrics by Nicolás Guillén which the singer highlighted as a hymn to intercultural communication. An extensive recital which is but a small sample of the Granada man’s knowledge of cante.

Knowledge infused with creativity. Above all, derived from the singer’s natural artistic curiosity. But also because his faculties are not what they used to be (time goes by for all of us) and he has had to find formulas that let him manage these difficulties. In Morente it’s not so much the old flash any more as it is the beauty of the whole. His work is carefully and intellectually crafted, based on formal analysis and investigation. And in this tireless quest, any element becomes expressive material: from the texture of his voice to the variety of sound from the handclaps, not to mention the choral work and rhythmic experiments.

Nowadays you could ask master-chef and artiste Ferrán Adriá to cook up a beef stew and it would surely come out well, but his strength resides in the possibility of creating, for example, gelatin that stands up to high temperatures. Morente must be measured by his capacity to create new realities. And creativity is art’s most difficult challenge.

Photos: Rafael Manjavacas

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