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A Flamenco Guitar Recital

samuelmooremusic.co.uk

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BIOGRAPHY

“Fantastic!” - BBC Radio 3

“Masterful” - Kenny Burrell

Samuel Moore is the flamenco concert recitalist and composer who learnt his craft as a one-to-one student of the internationally acclaimed guitarist Juan Martín. He has performed across Europe and North America and been interviewed on BBC Radio 3. He helped compose the score for the Hollywood film ‘Lost in London’ directed by Woody Harrelson.

In addition to his busy tour schedule, Samuel is the Course Leader of Flamenco Guitar at the Instituto de Cervantes and has taught flamenco master classes at: Cambridge University, Leeds University, International Guitar Foundation events and at Juan Martín’s flamenco guitar summer school in Ronda (Spain).

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HISTORY

Born in the late 80’s to a loving family in England, Samuel Moore enjoyed diverse musical traditions from an early age. He started to play the guitar at the age of fourteen and his tutors quickly recognised his natural talent. His early musical experiences were varied, from: performing with the Rossall School chapel choir, to working with local jazz ensembles and developing an extensive solo repertoire. During a holiday in Andalucía in 2005, Samuel discovered flamenco for the first time. It was this experience that sparked his lifelong love of the art form. Later, he started to have lessons with UK based practitioners, as well as attending workshops with eminent guitarists, including Paco Peña. During this period Samuel also met Vicente Amigo, whose music inspired him to explore further the flamenco tradition.

Samuel began performing professionally in 2008. A solo tour in France shortly followed, as well as a solo tour of the east coast of America. During his US tour, Samuel had the privilege to meet some of the world’s finest jazz musicians, including: Cassandra Wilson and Herlin Riley. These experiences re-kindled his love for jazz and later resulted in him studying a BA honors degree in Jazz Composition at Leeds College of Music.

Alongside his solo tours, Samuel worked for the Gil Evans family for three years, transcribing and reconstructing four orchestral works: Loie, Lotus Land, Greensleeves and Moon and Sand. The reconstructed scores were subsequently published by the Gil Evans Estate and are now performed by jazz orchestras worldwide. The legendary jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell later described Samuel’s work as “Masterful!”

In 2012 Samuel was appointed Course Leader of Flamenco Guitar at the Instituto de Cervantes (the Spanish government’s international institution for Spanish language and culture). He quickly developed an extensive course program for the institute, which has now run for five consecutive years. He also wrote and published a number of books, including: a tutorial on how to play flamenco: Flamenco Guitar and an academic work on flamenco’s history: An Introduction to Flamenco. He also founded the Leeds International Flamenco Festival, which ran from 2013 to 2017. Due to this event, Samuel met some the world’s finest flamenco performers, including the internationally acclaimed guitarist Juan Martín. In 2015 Juan agreed for Samuel to become his one-to-one student. Samuel and Juan subsequently developed a long lasting friendship. To this day, the two regularly teach flamenco guitar courses together in both the UK and Spain and Samuel continues to see Juan for one-to-one lessons.

Working with Juan Martín acted as a catalyst for Samuel’s creative abilities and consequently 2015 and 2016 saw a dramatic expansion of his creative projects and solo tour schedule. During this time Samuel initiated and performed in a number of collaborative projects, including: Poeta, Guitar The Heart of Spain and Flamenco Puro. He was also invited to: teach a guest lecture at Cambridge University, perform and be interviewed on BBC Radio 3 and compose part of the score for the Hollywood film ‘Lost in London’ directed by Woody Harrelson. Samuel now looks forward to the future as he continues to grow his musical repertoire and tour schedule.

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THE ROOTS OF FLAMENCO

Flamenco is a music and dance tradition that originated in Andalucía, a region of Sothern Spain divided into eight provinces: Sevilla, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Granada, Huelva, Jaen and Almeria. Flamenco’s development is a direct result of the many cultures and communities that passed through and settled in Andalucía over the past 3000 years. These include: Jews, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, Moors and Gypsys (Gitanos). Each brought their own: art, music, literature and dance traditions and over the centuries these conjoined. This, together with Latin American influences from the New World and pre-existing Andalucían folk traditions ultimately helped to lay the foundation upon which flamenco was later built.

No one knows exactly when flamenco first came into being as it emerged as the voice of ordinary people from marginalised communities. It was born out of necessity as an expression of all life’s moods: joy, sorrow, passion and despair. Singing was commonly accompanied by hand clapping and the percussive use of work tools, such as the taping of the blacksmiths hammer. It is often said that Gitanos first gave voice to flamenco, but ultimately this is imposable to prove.

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Although, originally a vocal tradition, flamenco evolved and by the 19th century it possessed three principal performance components: singing (cante), guitar playing (toque), and dance (baile). Alongside this, a multi-layered clapping technique (palmas) also developed. Flamenco’s ability to draw on and reflect universal emotions helped it gain national recognition by the end of 19th century. Eminent Spanish intellectuals, such as the poet Federico Garcia Lorca, later helped expand its audiences internationally. This process accelerated in the mid to late 20th century due to recording technology and tourism. By the 21st century, flamenco had become a global phenomenon.

While dance is probably the most widely publicised aspect of modern flamenco and undoubtedly the component most would associate the tradition with, the voice remains flamenco’s central element (cante flamenco). Traditionally, the role of the guitar was purely to accompany. However, over the past century the instrument has evolved greatly and is now also a respected solo instrument. This transition is largely due to innovations brought about by master flamenco guitarists: Ramón Montoya (1880-1949), Niño Ricardo (1904-1972), Sabicas (1912-1990) and Paco de Lucia (1947-2014).

HOW FLAMENCO WORKS

In his seminal work Flamencologia, Anselmo González Climent described flamenco as an ‘intuitive metaphysics’, an embodiment of the fundamentals of human expression, a musical manifestation of what Miguel de Unamuno described as ‘the tragic sense of life’. In this description, Climent perfectly encapsulates the essence of live flamenco: the primal cry of the singer, the dramatic movements of the dancer, the passion of the guitarist, the depth of artistic expression, and above all, the audience’s experience of being transported to another world. In short, flamenco possesses an earthiness and primal draw that is absent from many other artistic forms, as well as taping into feelings and emotions that are universal. Because of this, it is able to connect with audiences across the globe. However, most are unfamiliar with how this uniquely compelling art form actually works.

The word compás is the key in understanding flamenco. It would be fair to describe compás as the common language and heartbeat of flamenco that allows successful communication between the singer (cantaor or cantaora), dancer (bailaora or bailaor) and guitarist (tocaor). Compás specifically refers to rhythm. When a flamenco performer says ‘I’m now going to perform a soleá’, they aren’t referring to a pre-composed work entitled soleá, but rather a rhythmic cycle with specific subject themes that acts as a framework for spontaneous interpretation. Although flamenco possesses many rhythmic cycles (palos), such as: soleá, bulerías and tangos, each has its own unique: compás, harmonic language, subject matter, and history. Under no circumstances can the compás of a specific palo be altered or changed. In much the same way it would be unthinkable for a classical soloist to miss a beat in a waltz, it is inconceivable for a flamenco practitioner to lose compás. Without compás, flamenco would cease to work.

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PROGRAMME—FIRST SET

In today’s solo recital Samuel Moore will perform a programme of solo guitar works showcasing many of the palos that shape the flamenco tradition. From fiery dance pieces such as the bulerías, to introspective laments such as soleá and Arabic musical forms such as zambra, you are about to embark on a unique musical journey through Andalucía’s beautiful landscape, culture and history.

Tarantas originates from the province of Almeria in eastern Andalucía and is always played rhythmically free (toque libre). It is a palo that can be sung or played as an atmospheric guitar solo, but not danced. Its unique and dark sound is largely due to the creative use of dissonance (discordant notes) particularly on the F# chord: a recurring theme throughout.

Zapadiado, literally meaning ‘taped with the shoe’ is the general term for footwork in flamenco dance. It is also the name of a specific dance form, traditionally a virtuoso solo for male dancers at fast tempos. Zapadiado can also be played as a dazzling guitar solo with memorable melodic passages and a strong 2/4 rhythm (two beats to the bar).

Farruca is thought to have originated from Northern Spain and was probably introduced to Andalucía by Asturian and Galician travelers often referred to as farrucas. It has a strong 4/4 rhythm (four beats to the bar) with a prominent accent on beat one and a lighter accent on beat three. Though farruca can be sung, it rarely is. Traditionally it was a male only dance, but today it is common for both women and men to dance it.

Siguiriyas is widely believed to be one of the oldest song forms in the flamenco tradition. The Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca once described it as being pure enough to perform in a place of worship without upsetting divinity. It is a profound and emotional palo traditionally sung with guitar accompaniment. It adheres to slow twelve beat rhythmic structure: (8) 9 (10) 11 (12) 1 2 (3) 4 5 (6) 7 and its subject mater tends to be of: tragedy, great loss and suffering.

Malagiñas / Verdiales encapsulates two flamenco palos in one. We start with malagueña, a palo originating from Málaga caricaturised by strong melodies and a profound and solemn feel. The malagueña is commonly played rhythmically free (toque libre). However, part way through the malagueña will move to a strong 3/4 rhythm (three beets to the bar) and thus become verdiales. Verdiales is one of the lighter flamenco song forms originating from Almagía close to Málaga. It is derived from the fandango and is sometimes referred to as fandangos de Málaga. Bulerías is the most flexible, fiery and Gypsy sounding of all the flamenco palos. It is generally performed at fast tempos and adheres to a strict 12/4 rhythmic structure (twelve-beats to the bar) with prominent accents: (12) 1 2 (3) 4 5 (6) 7 (8) 9 (10) 11. Its fiery nature makes it perfect for concluding the first half of today’s programme.

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PROGRAMME—SECOND SET

Zambra: During the era of Muslim Spain (711-1492 A.D.) Arabic culture dramatically influenced Andalucían society. This later fed though into flamenco and Zambra is the best example of this. Zambra is a beautifully evocative palo that draws on Arabic scales and alternate guitar tunings to emulate the sound of the Oud (the Arabic guitar).

Guajiras is a form of Cuban music that became absorbed into the flamenco tradition in the 20th century. It is an upbeat dance typically performed in major keys. Its twelve-beat rhythmic structure is the same as that of the bulerías: (12) 1 2 (3) 4 5 (6) 7 (8) 9 (10) 11

Tientos y Tangos encapsulates two flamenco palos in one composition. Tientos is a slow song form with a 4/4 rhythmic structure (four beets to the bar). It originally developed as an expressive variation to tangos. Tientos’ themes tend to be about: lost love, imprisonment and longing for freedom. It is common for the tientos to speed up towards the end and thus move into tangos (a more up-beat palo). Despite the name similarities, the flamenco tangos is in no way related to the Argentinian tango.

Alegrías, literally meaning joy or happiness, is one of the most cheerful sounding flamenco palos. It adheres to a strict twelve beat rhythmic structure: 1 2 (3) 4 5 (6) 7 (8) 9 (10) 11 (12) and is believed to have been brought to Cadiz by soldiers during the War of Independence (1808-1814). It is a strictly structured dance and often ends with a transition to bulerías.

Soleá: Soleá or soleares is believed to originate from the 16th century cant soleades, meaning solitude or loneliness. As the name would suggest, the subject mater of soleá tends to be about great loss and suffering. Its rhythmic structure is the same as that of the alegrías: 1 2 (3) 4 5 (6) 7 (8) 9 (10) 11 (12). However, soleá is generally played slower and has a less rigid compositional structure. Like alegrías, soleá is sometimes concluded with a transition to bulerías.

Rumba: Like the guajiras, rumba is a Cuban form that became absorbed into the flamenco tradition in the 20th century. Despite it being a recent addition to the flamenco repertoire, rumba is one of the best-known palos amongst modern audiences. This is largely due to its popularisation by music groups such as the Gypsy Kings. However, the true flamenco rumba pre-dates these modern manifestations.

Fandango: While fandango’s musical roots can be traced back to the time of Muslim Spain (711-1492 A.D.), folk influences from northern Spain, such as jots: a pared dance from Aragon, are also significant. During the 19th century fandangos was absorbed into flamenco and gained many regional variations, most notably Huelva: Fandangos de Huelva.

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Flamenco Dancer (page 3)—Valentina Lozano VelascoPhotography & Design—Chloé Grayson

© Samuel Moore. All rights reserved.