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Reviewed
by:
Norman
Paul Kliman
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This is a great way to learn some very sophisticated guitar.
The book and video put Rafael's highly developed style within our reach.
The material is definitely for experienced players as it includes only
Rafael's compositions (no basic rhythms). Each piece can be learned for
performance, to pick up falsetas, or for analysis of modern approaches.
The price may seem a bit steep to some, but
the material contains a great amount of exciting ideas displayed in a
well designed format. You could easily spend as much on two private lessons,
and even non-players will enjoy seeing and hearing Rafael's performances.
The video comes with a large 130-page book including the
transcriptions and an index to the video indicating the location of each
falseta in minutes and seconds. There is also an introductory text, a
glossary of terms and symbols, biographical information, and Rafael's
many comments throughout the video. All of this appears in English, Spanish,
French, and German. The video and audio quality are good, and there are
close-ups of certain difficult moments. We see each piece played at performance
speed, then Rafael goes over each part more slowly, offering advice on
certain situations and techniques. In the performance sections, text appears
on the screen to indicate each transcription. ("falseta 1," "ending,"
etc.)
There are ten pieces here taken from several of his recordings:
- an excellent fandango de Huelva, with a theme and
four passages
- one tango that includes a theme and four long passages
- three different bulerías totaling 128 compases (the
first two are in A, in standard tuning and the third in EADGAD)
- a beautiful piece based on the garrotín in DGDGBE
tuning
- a long fantasía in rondeña tuning that includes sevillanas,
siguiriyas, and verdiales
- a taranta
- a soleá and
- a rumba that opens and closes the video, but is neither
transcribed nor played slowly.
The music is transcribed in standard and tablature. The
latter indicates only the fret numbers on the appropriate line, lacking
such details as time values and ligados (slurs). I found this to be a
bit Spartan for my taste, but the standard notation is generally accurate
and clearly laid out. Fingering and techniques are very well indicated
by clear symbols. Some examples are arpegios, rasgueados, barring,
glissando, arrastre (rake), golpe (tap), capirotazo
(tap and strum), and rhythmic and normal muting. The brief introductory
text limits itself to the meaning of the symbols, and offers little information
on the execution of techniques. One bulería uses an unusual tuning of
EADGAD, low to high, and it is transcribed according to the fingering
on a normally tuned guitar. This means that, in this altered tuning, an
A fretted at the twelfth fret, second string is written as a B. Logically,
the tab is correctly noted. The authors mention that this is designed
to facilitate the reading of the score, since you only have to retune
and read the transcription as if you were playing in normal tuning. But
this also means that the notation does not make musical sense. Although
there are several pieces that use altered tunings, this solution is limited
to the one bulería. Grace notes are used throughout, as opposed to full
notation of left-hand adornments, but with the video tape all becomes
clear. In the fandango, the tangos, and the bulerías, the rhythmic strumming
between falsetas that constitutes the base of the playing style is neither
transcribed nor reviewed slowly. This amounts to a small amount of the
total, and is by no means a setback. However, it is another reason why
this material is not suitable for beginners.
His vision of flamenco guitar is a combination of several
things: thorough understanding of the many facets and long history of
the flamenco guitar, very highly developed technique, deep knowledge of
musical principles and how they are applied to the guitar, and a wide
musical vocabulary. Rafael uses some very unorthodox chords and harmonies
that some traditionalists will find shocking, but he rarely falls into
excess with these modern devices. He also adds some unusual techniques
like fast lines using the campanela technique (cross-picking), which involves
substituting the fretted notes in a scale with open-string equivalents.
He uses this in a very intelligent way, in order to get from point A to
point B quickly and cleanly, rather than relying upon it for shock effect.
To a certain extent, he seems to use this technique instead of picado,
which is hardly found here. This in itself is a refreshing change, and
the unusual situations he creates with the cross-picking make for some
very intriguing guitar work. Rafael has built upon the skeletal form of
each style and fleshed it out in new and exciting ways, but make no mistake:
these compositions are absolutely coherent and never rely on novelty for
its own sake. The music is beautiful and very technical; at the same time
sensual and virtuosic. As with most players of his generation, the influence
of Paco de Lucía is inevitable, but
Rafael's music also has to do with Tárrega,
Javier Molina, and Niño
Ricardo. His playing is solidly flamenco, and he adorns this approach
with highly refined technique, chording, and compositional skills, a synthesis
of twentieth-century guitar.
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The
music, track by track |
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On the fandango, tangos, bulerías, and rumba Rafael is
accompanied by two percussionists that contribute with knuckle-rapping
and clapping. Rafael plays his intricate arrangements with amazing ease
and beautiful tone, and each piece seems to have been filmed in a single
take.
- The fandango that opens the series of toques is dedicated
to Miguel de Vega Cruz "Niño Miguel", the
promising young player from Huelva. The music is very catchy and Rafael's
playing is brilliant. He uses many techniques, including cross-picking,
harmonized thumbed lines, all kinds of arpeggios, and tremolo.
See the transcription of this fandango
- The tango that follows is simply incredible. A decidedly
Eastern air impregnates the theme, reflected in the title Tunisia.
It is interesting to compare this and other pieces with the original
recordings. Rafael recorded this tango on his album Mi
Tiempo using double bass, drums, cello, violin, a second guitar,
palmas, and a dancer. In this video version he has reduced the arrangement
to one guitar and two palmeros. What was originally ethereal sophistication
is presented here in a much more direct way. It exudes the earthy essence
of driving flamenco, and Rafael's surprising techniques and harmonies
are very well employed. I much prefer this version to the original recording,
and in my opinion it is one of the best instrumental tangos ever recorded.
- Three bulerías follow this. The first, Puerto
Camaronero from Rafael's second album (imaginatively titled Flamenco),
places Rafael's incredible technique at a breakneck bulería speed, making
it all the more amazing. Echoes of Piñonate,
by Paco de Lucía are heard. The second,
Rebelde from his recent Alcázar
de Cristal, includes some very modern-sounding parts that will
surprise more than one aficionado. The third bulería, titled Agüita
Clara and from Mi Tiempo, uses the
odd tuning of EADGAD. Again, the stripped down arrangement is much more
flamenco and seems to inspire the increased presence in his playing.
- The next piece is based on the melody of the garrotín
and is very classical-sounding. The title is De
la Vera, and is heard on Mi Tiempo
almost exactly note-for-note as it appears here, in DGDGBE tuning. The
piece is much slower and more melancholic than a normal garrotín, and
the lush harmonies are set in contrast with some quick left-hand adornments
and bursts of picado. This is a very beautiful piece of music that would
make an excellent addition to a guitarist's concert repertoire.
- A "fantasía" follows, which uses rondeña tuning (DADF#BE)
and includes fragments of sevillanas, siguiriyas, and verdiales in a
composition of 134 measures.
- The taranta starts off with a long section of rasgueados
(strumming) applied to a series of bittersweet chords, creating a texture
that is highly suited to this style. In this piece only a few parts
are commented on and played more slowly.
- A very modern-sounding soleá concludes the transcriptions
with some very unusual harmonies and rhythmic approaches. Rafael offers
a new reading of nearly every situation imaginable in this style of
toque por soleá. The end of this arrangement is different from the recorded
version, titled A Canales from Mi
tiempo.
As you can see, this material is for experienced players.
Rafael's playing represents the acme of the venerable Andalusian guitar
tradition. His playing is beautiful and precise, but at the same time
very technical and full of surprises. The well designed book and video
make it possible for experienced players to enter the complex world of
modern flamenco guitar through the masterful compositions of one of the
world's greatest guitarists.
Norman
Kliman
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