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SPECIAL BIENAL DE FLAMENCO DE SEVILLA 2008 Text: Gonzalo Montaño Peña Guitar, music director and author: Manolo Sanlúcar; Second guitar: David Carmona; Cante: Carmen Grilo and David Pino; Percussion: Tete Peña and Agustín Diassera; Chorus and palmas: Sandra Carrasco and Macarena de la Torre. The Lope de Vega theater had a full house to pay tribute to the music of the maestro from Sanlúcar, who in turn was honoring Baldomero Romero Ressendi, the painter who was the inspiration for all the compositions played, and which the guitarist interspersed with philosophical explanations about music, painting and life. It was a recital that didn’t quite grab the audience, since the man was not as strong as expected.
He started out explaining that where he’d really like to do the concert would be the living-room of his house as he dislikes artificial show-windows. The first piece he played was “Los Condenados”, a tango he composed as a challenge to himself in which the guitarist’s broad fingers travelled the neck of the guitar like a painter’s hands giving life to the painting of the same name. The stage is empty, with only the figure of the guitarist in the middle to recreate the taranta called “Los Condenados” that evokes the thoughts of an old bullfighter joyously remembering the youthful excitement of wanting to become a bullfighter. Here, Sanlúcar’s touch is not like on other occasions, perhaps his hands aren’t warmed up yet (although I doubt it, knowing what a perfectionist he is), perhaps this superficial show-window won’t let the inspiration flow the way he would like, whatever it is, the fact of the matter is the sound just isn’t coming out like it should. Young second guitarist David Carmona returns with Carmen Grilo, and bulería compás sounds in major key. Carmen’s voice is pretty, but doesn’t trigger ‘oles’. And the maestro digs deeply for the roots because according to him, sometimes when you’re looking for the future you forget what’s right inside you. It is perhaps in the soleá where the guitarist’s emotions show the most, the defiance in the face of the Virgin Mary in the painting “La Piedad”, and which the guitar imitates with harmonic beats. “I have no one to assuage this pain of mine” (‘Yo no tengo quién me consuele esta pena mía’). Again, the voice is on-tune, correct and pleasant, but says little. This brings us to one of the most original compositions of the recital. We’re talking about “Papa Negro”, a piece Sanlúcar explained is inspired in a painting that represents the father of the Bienvenida family, and is composed of South American rhythms mixed with a five eighths beat like a sevillanas drum. You can tell the guitarist is getting warmed up, he feels each note that comes out of the instrument as if it were part of his very being, and he’s feeling good. In his musical quest he pulls up “El Majareta y el Serio”, inspired in the painter’s two self-portraits, and the musician borrows rhythms from a Brazilian samba The recital ends with “La Danza de los Pavos” based on the painting of the same name, in compás of bulerías with beautiful melodies. The entire audience stands up, mostly as an ovation, to pay tribute to the musician who marked a before and after in flamenco guitar.
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