Diego del Morao does himself a great disservice at Flamenco Biennale with unprofessional stage presentation

Between 21 and 30 January 2011, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam will host the Flamenco Biennial, a music and dance festival centred around that mythical Spanish primal music that leaves no one untouched. A style of music, moreover, that developed parallel to the history of the Iberian Peninsula, where the culture of the Indian Roma gypsies met that of the Moors, Christians and Jews, where various population movements left their traces, where the Conquistadores and the Reconquista played a definitive role and made Spain what it is today: a melting pot of cultures and styles that developed into a unity over time and has captured the imagination since time immemorial.

Within this festival, there is a focus on the cante jondo, the pained and ecstatic singing that seems to come from the toes and seems to want to convey the whole suffering of humanity. A wonderful documentary was broadcast on TV about this last Sunday night, 'Good singing hurts'. Yet alongside this primal scream, mostly accompanied by rumbling heels and rasping guitars, there has also been room for innovations, albeit reluctantly. When guitarist Paco de Lucia released his LP One Summer Night in 1984, flamenco shook to its foundations. A fretless bass guitar was brought in, a sax complemented the rough vocals, a pivotal moment in flamenco was launched. The guitar great put the aficionados irrevocably prompted reflection on these innovations, a veritable schism threatened. The flamenco purowas proclaimed by way of De Lucia's opponent Paco Peña in which, en passant, innovations were consigned to the dustbin. Yet this grand master could not prevent more and more talented musicians from wishing to look over the fence of tradition.
The current edition of the Biennale also features this broad perspective. Rotterdam's Lantaren/Venster hosted the closing of the festival part there on Sunday evening. The defender of the flamenco style from Jerez, Moraíto Chico had to cancel due to illness and was replaced by his son Diego del Morao with a solo performance of over an hour. Although Del Morao had to fill in hastily, there was still much to be said about his performance. Diego del Morao is technically unlimited in his abilities and has a warm passion for jazz. This can be heard in the many and very interesting chord changes that do not undermine the flamenco style but rather enhance it. Rhythmically, too, he knows how to create unexpected turns and rise to great heights in them.
But his stage presence was an absolute disaster. He communicated only with those people in the audience who could speak Spanish, moreover, did not explain what he was playing but made lame jokes. Now what if a Dutch guitarist in Spain manifested himself like this? In addition, Del Morao's performance suffered from another typical guitarist ailment. The endless retuning and tuning of his guitar was at least as important as the music he would play - it was hardly even clear when he finished tuning and put in the new song. Or wait, still just touch up that one string a bit and then loos. The applause was not really received - it was as if this was a public rehearsal. This provincial and unprofessional behaviour has ruined many a guitar course at the Dutch conservatories, as this way of working was standard rather than the exception there too. Diego del Moreno this this greatly selling himself and his undoubted talent short. Due to the various open tunings he uses, his instrument gets out of tune - make sure there is a second instrument ready so the concert can continue.
What a presentation should look like was proved by our country-based Compasión, a fusion of flamenco and jazz. Guitarist John Fillmore, originally from England but trained at the Rotterdam conservatory in the 1980s, wrote the music played mostly together with saxophonist Steven Kamperman and clarinettist Paul Weiling. Percussionist Antal Steixner sat astride the cajón (literally a percussion box) and the cante jondo - not heartbreaking and scorching but refined - rose from the throat of singer Carlos Denia Moreno. Balancing between two styles, emotions did not run too high but the concert was refined and measured.
It is especially looking forward to the final concert on 30 January at Amsterdam's Muziekgebouw aan het IJ, where the Nieuw Ensemble will perform compositions by Sotelo and Ali-Zade. Flamenco and avant-garde classical come together here.
Lantaren/Venster, Rotterdam: Flamenco Biennale with Diego del Morao, guitar and Compasión, flamenco-jazz. Attended: Sunday evening 23 January