Enrique Morente y Tomatito. Festival Flamenco Ciutat Vella 09

16th FESTIVAL FLAMENCO CIUTAT VELLA

Morente y Tomatito
19 de mayo
Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB)

Text: Manuel Moraga
Photos: Ana Palma

Special 16tt FESTIVAL FLAMENCO CIUTAT VELLA, program, reviews, photos, videos…

There go thirty years…

Thirty years.  No more, no less.  Marriages don’t even last that long any more.  The only comparable reference is a mortgage.  And all that time – which seems eternal when it comes to a mortgage – that’s how long the Taller de Músics has been working for the cause of music.  It started out as a teaching center, but the baby grew up, and Taller de Músics has gone on to produce records, represent artists and organize festivals such as this Ciutat Vella which has just been inaugurated with Morente and Tomatito.

This year comic relief was provided by a marionette called Lola, who, according to her, was born around 1948.  She introduced the stars of the evening: Enrique Morente and Tomatito, with the percussion of Lucky Losada.  The man from Granada started with alegrías, with a voice that was in good form, although still a bit cold.  Tomatito was discreetly in the background.  The recital continued with bulerías in which Morente sang verses of his poets, and in that narrative reconstruction, Tomate took on more importance and encouraged Enrique at every moment.

And all the while, the hall of the CCCB was packed to the rafters.  When the singer got into cabales, he voice had reached its full richness, and singer and guitarist grew together on stage.  The Almería guitarist picked up the tempo, not so much for the atypical speed that Morente uses for cabales, but to accommodate his well-developed technique.  And it came off well, Morente got going with malagueña where in the opening line he already sounded good.  He did the styles of La Trini and Chacón, and to end, he passed through Lucena, finishing up in Lorca’s Granada.  This was when we missed the choral work Morente usually brings.

Maragall’s soleá

We knew he’d get into soleá sooner or later, and the time came.  First, he took a moment to talk to the audience and explain he had come to do classic flamenco.  Once again he argued there is only one flamenco, “and then we all come along and mess things up a little, but just a little”.  Morente is Morente.  But on this occasion, he also wanted to dedicate a soleá to Pascual Maragall, ex president of the Catalonian government, and ex mayor of Barcelona.  Of course he was very diplomatic about it, and respected protocol…Morente is an old hand at this.

And it was here, in the soleá, that we were able to enjoy the night’s best moments, at least in my opinion.  Tomatito was wonderful as well, sounding so flamenco, so intense.  Morente thought so as well, and gave Tomatito the only “ole” of the evening.  These were moments of high art on stage.  The sound of classic soleá, slow and focused as a fine bullfighter, and Morente allowed himself a little Caracol imitation.  Without a doubt, the best, although there was a slight lack of coordination between guitar and cante in the ending.

To round out the official repertoire, the singer interpreted siguiriya, a form he usually manages well.  But we’ve seen him better on other occasions.  It had the feeling of an obligation, and at this stage of the performance, it’s a demanding cante.  Tomatito on the other hand, was right on the ball, every step of the way.  In the encore, a round of fandangos, and, at the audience’s insistence, some tangos in which a chorus seemed to be missing, and there was a certain lack of communication between cante and guitar.

A classic recital that offered two artists who had never before performed together in Barcelona, despite their long respective careers.  Thirty years had to go by for the Taller de Músics to organize this encounter as a sort of birthday party…and how time flies!