Thirteenth Festival Flamenco Caja Madrid 2005 – Enrique Morente 'La Belleza de la Creación'

MORENTE “ADRIÁ”

Al cante: Enrique Morente, a la guitarra Manuel Parrilla, palmas
y voces Antonio Carbonell, angel Gabarre y Pepe Luis Carmona.

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

Enrique
Morente's CDs in Offer