El Burdo -> RE: History of flamenco (Apr. 24 2018 14:26:46)
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I've just re-read The Art of Flamenco by Donn Pohren so decided, as I was on a roll (The Flamencos of Cadiz Bay, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Homage to Catalonia etc) to buy 'Lives and Legends of Flamenco' by Sn. Pohren. Although it is really a long list of protagonists, it is nonetheless quite a fascinating read (at least in the first 100 or so pages I have read up to now) covering a lot from Silverio Franconetti and El Mellizo for example, up to 1964. There is also significant enlargement and extension up to 1988. Apart from personal individual histories, he offers his insights on Andaluz and Gitano cante, solo and accompanist guitarists, dance, the influence of particular cultural backgrounds on Flamenco as a whole, some opinions on the historical developments and migrations leading to the genre as a whole and he also points out where things are not known. Mists of time and all that.* For me, I have stopped looking for definitive stations of the flamenco cross and just to accept that historical records are partial and not able to adequately explain events; but a definite impression can be formed by these commentaries (even though Pohren has a clear and sometimes amusingly arrogant view on what commercialism and improving quality of life has had on el arte, that many will share) and by reading the verses in Spanish (and Cálo) and English. Love, God, Blood and Death. These days I think it's mostly about whether it's possible to get a better interest bearing account or if my hair is looking good in the back. So far, I think it's a good book and worth finding. Maybe not adequate for an academic research source though. * he does refer quite a lot to a book 'Arte y Artistas Flamenco' by Fernando el de Triana which might be a more direct source. I haven't read it but it was re-issued in 2010.
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