Flamenco in Jerez March 2009
On the February 27th 2009 I departed from Gatwick for a week in Jerez in Southern Spain to study the Flamenco guitar and enjoy the annual Jerez Flamenco Festival. It seemed a good idea at the time for an article for the Guitar Club Magazine but when I sat down to write it I soon became aware that if I wasn’t careful it could read like a retro travel itinerary – so where to start……? I decided that the only place to start was with two questions -why Flamenco and why Jerez?
Why Flamenco? I stumbled into playing Flamenco guitar all most by accident whilst visiting Pablo Requina’s guitar workshop in Lewis in May 2006 having resumed playing the guitar about 6 months previously, after hardly touching the instrument for 38 years. I was first drawn to the guitar when, in 1962, I saw Julian Bream in concert on a very blurry Black & White TV set. I was hooked and purchased a Classical guitar and set about teaching myself from a book. I somehow gravitated to folk music and developed the rudiments of a right hand technique which Pablo picked up on 44 years later as I amused myself trying out various guitars in his workshop. He asked if I had ever thought about playing Flamenco guitar and my response was that whilst I enjoy listening to Flamenco along with most other types of guitar music including classical, it had never occurred to me to try and play it. With a little encouragement from Pablo, I left his workshop armed with Camps Flamenco guitar, the name and phone number of a Flamenco guitar teacher (Jose Leon based in Shoreham), and high hopes and expectation. The journey had begun.
To most people, Flamenco is the traditional folk music of Spain perceived perhaps in the same way that Morris Dancing is perceived as the traditional folk music of England? I was soon to discover that that is where the similarity stops as I was drawn into the world of the Solea, Siguiriya, Tiento, Alegrias, Buleria, Malaguena Rumba etc. all of which are just some of the 60 plus styles of Flamenco that exist and all with their own complex rhythms and nuances. All human emotion can be expressed through Flamenco which gives great scope for interpretation by the performers in song, dance and guitar and the fact that it is learned by observation and tradition rather than written notation, also adds to it’s creativity. Indeed a good Flamenco guitarist will never play the same piece the same way twice. For me, the musical discovery of Flamenco goes hand in hand with the cultural discovery of it’s origins which stretch back to the 8th century when Spain was ruled by the Moors and was a melting pot of diverse cultures including those of India, Greece, and the Middle East, both Jewish and Egyptian. A later influence was the music of South America which was bought back to Spain by the Conquistadors. All of these influences can be heard across the musical spectrum of what has come to be called ‘Flamenco’ which has evolved into its present form from the 15th century after Spain was re-conquered by the Christians and the music driven underground to become the music of the Gypsies, finally emerge in it’s present form in the later part of the nineteenth century. Flamenco originated as a means of expression in song and dance and the guitar was a late addition and even today, when the guitar is played as an accompaniment to the singer or the dancer, they dictate when the guitar adds to their performance. The Flamenco guitar has also evolved as a solo instrument due in part to the influence of the classical guitar, and the virtuosity of the great Flamenco guitarists such as Paco De Lucia, Sabacus, Paco Pena etc. (I can recommend an excellent book by Robin Totton titled ‘Song of the Outcasts’ published by Amadeus Press if you would like to read more about Flamenco’s origins and cultural history)
So much for ‘Why Flamenco’, now ‘Why Jerez’? Flamenco is the music of Andalusia and Jerez sits at its heart and is recognized as a centre of excellence for Flamenco. It is a very old city of narrow, cobbled streets and open squares which is very ‘non-touristy so a few words of Spanish can be very useful. The evening of my arrival found me comfortably ensconced in the Hotel Chancilleria, a family run hotel located in what was the old gypsy quarter of Jerez and owned and run by Antonio, a native of Jerez with his English born wife and son Jody. The wine flowed until the early hours (which established the pattern for the week!) as I got to know the other participants of the guitar course who were Steve, an artist from the Silly Isles (and his wife Alison who wanted to learn Flamenco dance); John, a research scientist; Matt, an experienced Flamenco guitarist and also one of our teachers and Maureen, also wanting to learn Flamenco dance.
My visit coincided with the main annual Flamenco festival and I was privileged to see four great Flamenco artists, Juan Diego, Gerado Nunez, Javier Baron, and Fuensanta who each bought their own interpretation to Flamenco including Flamenco/Rock and Flamenco/Jazz fusion as well as traditional dance. The highlight for me was Juan Diego with his troop of singers and dancers that included electric and acoustic guitars - impossible to describe but riveting to watch and an illustration of how Flamenco continues to evolve! Juan was my teacher when I made my first visit to Jerez in 2008 and is one of the top Flamenco guitarists in Jerez. He performed to a packed house in the Teatro Villamarta (the main Theatre in Jerez) playing his own music and I was also lucky enough to see Juan again a few nights later when he turned up unannounced at a local pena in the early hours and gave an impromptu performance. Imagine my delight when he recognised me from the small stage and waved and I had the opportunity to say hello when he finished his set.
The week was ‘full on, with 3 hours of teaching per day, split into 2 sessions. The morning session was held at La Chiqui de Jerez, a top Flamenco school in Jerez with a young Flamenco maestro called Javier Ibanez who taught us the Tiento and Solea por Buleria which are two very lyrical Flamenco forms. Javier also performed in the Festival. In the afternoon we had individual lessons with Mat Sullivan, a professional Flamenco guitarist who happens to be English and a fluent Spanish speaker, who taught musical theory and Flamenco technique.
To summarise – a great week which also included an afternoon visit to Vejer , a visit to the Bodega las Apostales ( a top sherry house) and a trip to Sevilla to the Flamenco Dance Museum. I look forward to more of the same in 2010 and if anyone would like to join me details can be found on the Camino Holidays web site:www.caminoholidays.co.uk
Ray Reddick
April 2009
Yoga Retreat on the Costa de la Luz
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