Oliver -> Recommendations - Cante records (Jun. 21 2016 11:36:31)
Hey and good afternoon!
At the moment i'm reading "The wind cried" by Paul Hecht and i enjoy it very much. Because of that i feel the need of exploring (especially old, "pre-Camarón") cante more than i did until now.
Now i'm looking for some good - if possible, still available - cante record recommendations which are capable of giving a beginner on flamenco guitar (i started taking lessons two years ago) an idea of what cante accompaniment means and to give a basic idea of how cante accompaniment works.
I know there are lots of records, but i would like to ask the question like this:
Which ten - old school preferred - records are a must have for getting the basic idea? Newer record recommendations are also welcome.
Thank you in advance for your appreciated opinions!
I would recommend starting with cante that you personally like. Maybe youtube is better than CDs?
I think 'The wind cried' is from the 50/60s era?
Maybe try Antonio Mairena with Manuel Morao
Fernanda y Bernarda de Utrera with Juan Maya
La Perla with Cepero
Terremoto with Manuel Morao
Antonio Mairena with Melchor de Marchena
To keep it simple, rather than trying to understand everything in a broad ‘basic’ way, I suggest studying one specific cante recording first. Then expand from there. Find one cante that you really like. Enjoy it without thinking about the mechanics. Then try to understand how that guitarist is choosing to accompany. Once you understand then you’ll have a point of reference to study another cante in the same palo and gradually build understanding of the different ways to accompany.
The basic idea is- listen to the singer, mark the compas of the palo, change tone following his lead, open/close where appropriate. But without specifics it may not mean much.
Solea is a good place to start, if you like, these threads might help-
At the moment i'm reading "The wind cried" by Paul Hecht and i enjoy it very much. Because of that i feel the need of exploring (especially old, "pre-Camarón") cante more than i did until now.
As far as exploring "pre-Camaron" cantaores, I think you should try several and determine which you really like and delve into them deeper. You asked for examples. Let me mention just three. There are many others, but these three would be a good beginning. First is the incomparable La Nina de los Peines. Second would be Fosforito. And third would be El Chocolate.
Again, there are many others, but I would advise against a "scatter-gun" approach. I would suggest you first try those three and go from there. Good luck in your quest.
