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Posts: 1821
Joined: Jul. 26 2009
From: The land down under
Sabicas farruca Danced
I am a big fan of this guitarist but this style of dance is a bit much for me. I thought i would share the link as it is something different. I would like to hear what others think?
With the exception of the falseta at 1:38 he's ruining the entire mood of the piece with a bunch of fancy footwork. It would maybe come across different if you could hear the guitar better, but I think it's just too much.
I accompany a choreography for a dance class with a Sabicas Farruca as well. Not nearly as crazy of course, but I feel the same way about it. It's a solo and should be enjoyed as such - for a good choreography simply playing compás with 1-2 falsetas is enough.
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Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things
Sound of the steps was a bit metallic, but I kind of like it. I have a preference for extended footwork anyway. That is a hardcore guitarrist by the way. I wanted to find his bulerias again on youtube, but i think he has deleted it?
This is just silly nonsense that has nothing whatever to do with the essence of Farruca. Unfortunately, Farruca is the most misunderstood and misinterpreted palo in all of flamenco. It is rarely played the right way on guitar, though interestingly it is more often danced the right way, but not always. I think the problem with solo guitar renditions of Farruca stems from the fact that Farruca has such a strong marked compas that it seems it should go faster than it really should. But really it should be played slower than you will almost always hear it played. The adjectives that come to mind to describe Farruca would be: Stately, Regal, Majestic, Elegant, and with Grandeur. You will not often hear it played that way as a guitar solo, most of which contain nothing of those qualities. By and large guitar accompaniment of Farruca dance is played pretty much the way it should be, probably because a good dancer dancing a Farruca would not tolerate any other kind of accompaniment, which would simply be incongruous with the nobility of a well-danced Farruca, and difficult to dance to as well. A typical guitar accompaniment would make for an excellent and proper guitar solo of Farruca. Sabicas' Farruca - or any concert style solo of Farruca - makes for a very poor accompaniment, lacking in the necessary pulse for the dance. Below is a video of the great bailaor Antonio Gades. Nobody did a Farruca better. Contrast this with the original video.
RE: Sabicas farruca Danced (in reply to Ramon Amira)
quote:
Below is a video of the great bailaor Antonio Gades. Nobody did a Farruca better. Contrast this with the original video.
Amazing!!!
Farruca is easier to accompany for non spaniards, because it is in 4 time. It is one of the very very few i have done with dancers, and i remember no matter what i tried to do, nothing sounded better than the simple compas played strongly and with precision. You just have to play very simple accompaniment for this to show.
Posts: 1025
Joined: Oct. 14 2009
From: New York City
RE: Sabicas farruca Danced (in reply to stratos13)
quote:
You just have to play very simple accompaniment for this to show.
Exactly. Fancy concert style falsetas don't work as accompaniment to Farruca – they diminish the strong, marked compas that simpler (simple as opposed to complex) falsetas serve to enhance. Incidentally, in the video, three guitars to accompany this strikes me as at least one and probably two too many. It starts to do the same thing – too much complexity where simplicity is called for. In this case they especially didn't need three guitarists when one of them was Emilio de Diego. Even though one of the others, Juan Maya, was a terrific guitarist, Emilio de Diego played with tremendous feeling and understanding, one of the best flamenco guitarists I have ever heard. Just listen to his playing in the video below, also accompanying Antonio Gades. Unfortunately this is a clip from a movie, so you get to see the spectacle of Ann Margaret dancing "flamenco" by wiggling her hips around a lot. Hysterically funny. But in any case listen to the guitar.
Posts: 1821
Joined: Jul. 26 2009
From: The land down under
RE: Sabicas farruca Danced (in reply to Ramon Amira)
quote:
Nobody did a Farruca better. Contrast this with the original video.
That's a big call. It is a strong interpretation though. I get the feeling that the sabicas farruca is supposed to be a bit of fun. Very hard to compare it with the serious intent of Antonio Gades dance style.
Regarding the original video, I don't think marking tremelo with footwork is a good idea but it was fun to watch someone giving it a go.
Hi Prominent Critic You seem to be a very knowledgeable sort of guy. Can you shed any light on a comment that came to me 2nd hand, that Farruca isn't really Flamenco? Val
Thanks Val, but I sure wouldn't want to say what is flamenco and what isn't. Discussions/arguments about that have been going on for very many years, and none of it can ever really be resolved. The speculation is that Farruca originated in the Galicia region, which is in Northern Spain. The lyrics of the traditional Farruca cante include the phrase "Una Farruca in Galicia" so that certainly lends credence to its origin in the North, but there is no definitive proof of that, whereas it is not disputed that flamenco originated in Andalusia. Therefore some would say that anything not originating in Andalusia is not flamenco. Some also say that about Guajiras. Others say Sevillanas is not flamenco, despite its Andalusian origin. I personally think that all three have been incorporated into flamenco long enough that they have become an integral part of flamenco. But don't quote me!
RE: Sabicas farruca Danced (in reply to Ramon Amira)
quote:
Sabicas' Farruca - [...] - makes for a very poor accompaniment
I must disagree here. Sabicas Farrucas have the absolute best falsetas for accompanying, when used correctly. They're played differently as a solo, but played rhythmically exact they're absolutly perfect. I can play 7 minutes straight of Sabicas falsetas por Farruca, most of which work extremely well with footwork. I've rarely heard of a better source for accompanyment falsetas
Speaking about flamenco references, Santiago Lara said "...and then there’s the interest for the accompanying group. I know very well that the farruca by Sabicas is the essence...", he said this for a good reason.
The farruca piece "Punta y Tacon" is a direct reference to dance steps, it's not a coincidence, either.
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Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things
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