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Ramon Amira -> RE: Grisha blows their minds in Texas (Jun. 29 2010 20:26:52)
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quote:
Ramon, out of curiosity, how would you have written this review?
Hi Ramparts –
That's a fair question. First –I would not consider that I was writing for, as Bill mentioned, "a small audience of flamenco aficionados," or, as you mentioned, "signaling to other aficionados." I always tried to comment on specific aspects of technique where that seemed appropriate, and then add a few explanatory words to help the neophyte understand a bit more about flamenco. For example, I recall in some of my reviews using the word "falsetas," followed immediately by parentheses (variations). I recall sentences something like a reference to rasgueado, followed by "a rapid strumming of the strings." That way both the aficionado and non understood what I was referring to.
With respect to individual palos, the number one obligation of the critic is to be specific. He must comment on the pieces that have been played. Otherwise you get, as I feel was the case here, a general review more or less to the effect that "he was good," etc. But how and where was he good? And why? He might have written something along these general lines – "His Soleares well revealed the deep melancholy of this form." Any lines to that general effect, and analogous lines referring to other palos, would be immediately understood by a neophyte, would help the reader understand why the critic thought the artist was good, and would be informative to the reader with respect to gaining a little insight into flamenco by learning the way that the various palos express emotion, and yet would not in any way be "signaling to aficionados."
Ramon
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