Customer Reviews

Flamenco Guitar Music of Montoya & Ricardo

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I contributed the cover photograph* and some of the booklet notes for this album, so I refrain from comment on the quality of the playing or the recordings. But here is some additional info that I hope will be of interest.

Ramón Montoya and Niño Ricardo were two giants of flamenco, and Paco's earliest influences. Paco remembers being taken by his father to see Montoya, and what a tremendous impression the concert made on him; Paco must have been very young indeed, for Montoya died in 1949. Ricardo was of course also a major influence on Paco de Lucía.

Paco and I did some of the transcriptions for this album together. At that time, neither Montoya's nor Ricardo's recordings were easily available, and Ricardo's still aren't, although both have now appeared in the Chant du Monde Grands Figures du Flamenco series. The bulk of Montoya's solo recordings were made in Paris in 1936.

You may or may not be familiar with the flamenco concept of compás. What this amounts to is that danceable flamenco forms have to fit into a fixed traditional rhythmic structure, so that a dancer and a guitarist can improvise together, and each will know within certain limits what the other one will do.

What is strange is that although in his recordings with singers Montoya's compás was immaculate, in his solo recordings (of which there aren't many) it was not infrequently all over the place. Various theories (such as pure absent-mindedness) have been advanced to account for this, none entirely convincing.

The reason I mention all this, is that for this recording, rather than copy Montoya's originals slavishly, Paco adjusted these pieces to put them back into compás.

The total time is 55'04".

This album has now been combined with Azahara to form the double album Flamenco Guitar, and is also available in surround sound (along with the Misa Flamenca) on Surround Yourself with Paco Peña.

*For those interested in such matters, it was taken in 1982 at an old inn, the Posada del Potro in Córdoba, while Paco was preparing to shoot a Spanish Television program about him. Tokina 28-80mm zoom.

I have had the pleasure to hear Paco in concert on a number of occasions, and have always enjoyed the emotion as well as technical skill that he brings from/to the guitar. This album is an excellent representation of his style and abilities. The music is very accessable for all level of listeners. In other words, you don't have to be "really into" flamanco to be swept away by it. I have an other CD by Paco and really enjoy it, but it is not as accessable as this one. This CD should be part of the collecion for any lover of the guitar.

beautiful songs. paco pena, although not as fast as say sabicas, has excellent technique and feeling. really brings these songs to life. i respect his wanting to carry the torch of traditional flamenco forward to the next generation.

Paco Pena's music is a fine tribute to two giants of the art of flamenco guitar playing. Ramon Montoya and Nino Ricardo each had different styles that Paco captures here while playing with the sensitive, musical genius that has been a hallmark of his remarkable career. Of all the top players today, Paco alone has remained faithful to the traditions of flamenco by avoiding the lure of the fusion craze that has today established its own branch of flamenco music. Although Montoya and Ricardo are the standard by which top players were measured, it is a shame that Sabicas, perhaps the best player of them all, never seems to get a mention as one of flamenco's all-time greats. Sabicas' absence from Spain during the Franco years may be the reason why he was not as influential of guitarists of his generation as he surely should be. Nevertheless, this CD by Paco shows the wonderful art of flamenco guitar playing at its very finest.

Excellent collection of guitar music. The musicians on this CD are terrific. They play with verve and skill.
Will definitely buy more of their music.

Any fool who listens to this carefully can tell that Paco Pena's technique is astonishing. But to really appreciate the artistry and beauty of the music you need some good hifi equipment.

I have had this recording for 10 years and have listened to it on a wide range of equipment over those years. What I can hear now is wonderful: The full bite of the transient attack of the strings, the intermodulation of the harmonics, and the decay and ambient resonance of the chords. While this sounds technical, think about it: this is part of what makes Flamenco so beautiful, not simply the melody, but the mix of sounds coming from different aspects of the instrument and the environment.

And so if you are into hifi, I strongly recommend you get this recording to see what your equipment can do, and what it reveals in the music.

Flamenco is an interesting challenge for speakers. I remember when I was a kid hearing a demo of three prototypes of the Ohm Walsh cone speakers. They used a recording of Flamenco guitar for the demo. It was a remarkable performance from the speakers. But a person with a well-selected setup can get even better sound at a reasonable price these days than I heard back then.

Just remember that the point of hifi is further the enjoyment of the music. And that is what you can do with the recording: discover the beauty of Flamenco.