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Cante: Juan Peña “El Lebrijano”. Guitar: Pedro
María Peña, Michel Laccarino. Violin: Alexis Lefevre,
Faical Kourrich. Saxo soprano, Turkish clarint, lera and midi: Nacho
Gil. Buzuki and glisentar: Mangu Díaz. Bass: Manuel Nieto.
Percussion: Tete Peña, Antonio Coronel. Chorus and palmas:
Rosario Amador, Ana González, Lucía Montoya, Morenito
de Coria.
Since the nineteen-sixties Juan Peña ‘el Lebrijano’
has been one of flamenco singing’s undisputed stars. Admirer
and protégé of maestro Antonio Mairena, and one of
the most noteworthy members of a noteworthy flamenco family, Lebrijano
left his mark on the festivals of the seventies with his strictly
traditional cante just at a time when Camarón de la Isla
was starting to explore other paths that would lead to greater popularity
for flamenco with the public at large. Juan Peña soon followed
this example with a series of musical experiments, particularly
Arabic music, to satiate his creative tendencies.
“Lágrimas de cera” is another manifestation
of that need. Taking off from the recording of the same name made
in 1999 and based on a Holy Week motif, Lebrijano has created this
original work for live performance with a dozen musicians, some
with exotic names playing exotic instruments, but also with the
quickly developing guitar of his young nephew Pedro Mª Peña
and other individuals devoted to traditional flamenco. True fusion,
done with affection, joy and the intelligent good taste of el Lebrijano.
This is another Juan Peña, he
of the fusion music and of impeccable musical taste which crosses
frontiers.
A magical ambience is established right from the start with an
austere stage-set, directional spotlights, candles, a huge cross
on the backdrop and the stage generously strewn with red carnations.
Throughout the recital the musicians sit in a semi-circle facing
the audience like a great world music ‘cuadro’. The
repertoire is varied and includes some purely flamenco touches such
as the rhythm of ‘romance’, specialty of the Peña
family, played on the sixth fret in A position, or waltz rhythm
as for the title song ‘Lágrimas de cera’, which
dreams of becoming bulerías but conserves a certain primitive
sound, a song in major key with irresistible Arabic airs, overlapping
voices with religious projection, echoes of Holy Week, a tanguillo
with ‘something more’, the Andalusí sound which
is never far from the surface and straight-ahead bulerías
with alboreá melodies.
Lebrijano no longer possesses the sheer technical facility of decades
ago when he was the darling of the great summer festivals and dominated
the fiesta endings with a half hour or more of bulerías cante
and baile. But his voice continues to be strong and his delivery
flamenco and dynamic. Flamenco runs through his veins, but this
is another Juan Peña, he of the fusion music and of impeccable
musical taste which crosses frontiers. The female chorus is administered
wisely, Tete Peña’s percussion is duly discreet and
as far as a life-long flamenco fan can tell, the various musicians
with instruments not usually associated with flamenco, are magnificent.
The half-full Maestranza responded enthusiastically with shouts
of “Juan you’re the tops!”, “Long live blonde
gypsies!”, “Long live Lebrija!” After the inevitable
curtain call the members of the group scooped up the red carnations
and tossed them out to the audience thus closing out this pseudo-religious
musical rite.
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