CM Records
Indialucía : (SP/IND/POL,2005)***°°
First of all I must say I found their introduction to the flamenco origins, extremely interesting.
They explained the emigration of thousands of Indians from the Punjab and Pakistan region. In Persia they split, and just one part went via Palestine, Northern Africa to Spain to a region known where many religions and groups lived in a perfect blend for an extremely long period, and how only in the 19th Century the musical forms very quickly evolved to what we now know as flamenco. It is explained how in India in 2000 bC musical theory was established, and how this influenced the establishment of important schools in Persia around the 9th century. It explains how this theoretical fundament had a further development under Muslim influence in the 13th century. It was Amir Khushro, a minister of the sultan, who introduced amongst other things sitar and tabla. Also a likely explanation is given of how the emigration started.
"One of the 11th Century Persian epics reads that King Behram Gour (420-438) asked an Indian rajah, Shankal to send musicians to his court in order to cheer up sad Persians. The rajah sent him 10,000 musicians of both sexes, able to play stringed instruments, sing and dance. However, they did not want to devote themselves to agriculture and after some time they were banished from Persia and went farther west."
Of course they adapted other elements on their way before finding places to settle down. Flamenco was in some way also a mentality of the free minded. That's how the Spanish conquerors came to confuse it with the Flemish nature of free living, singing and enjoying themselves during Breughelian times, which in those days was the opposite of the Spanish nature. In the beginning the singing itself was the main core, accompanied by rhythms and eventually anything else. I've also noticed how much the Korean song of the suffering free mind, the pans'ori, which is accompanied by clapping rhythms with almost emotional off-beats, together with kind of ole's by the public, have much in common with the flamenco styled singing. The flamenco guitar was only introduced later. I heard how one Turkish musician in Southern Greece might have introduced a different oud style that was exactly like the flamenco guitar style, so perhaps also there we can trace some welcome adaptation and origin.
One can find of course similarities in flamenco with Indian music. In both styles rhythm is extremely important. The 12 beat rhythm as one of the oldest rhythms in Indian music exist also in flamenco. While the disciplined Indian raga starts and ends with the recognisable beat with some stretched improvisation, flamenco puts in some extra rhythmical surprises. It also explaines how seguiryias, bulerías, tarantas, soleares or tangos are based upon the ragas bhairavi, bhairav or basant mukhari, and how the melismata and portamento used in Indian music are very close to flamenco but in a more complicated way, and with a wider range. Similarities with the flamenco dance, can be found in the kathak style from the north of India. But I heard also how there exist also certain Moorish styles that might even have more similarities. It does not really matter where each detail originally comes from, but when musicians who have practical and skilled experience recognise the similarities with their own roots of education, there's a chance that the meeting place becomes magical. Just one or two tracks are still lifted out fragments of ideas. All recorded tracks are based upon ideas and discoveries of similarities which are explored to form a combination of both styles, preferable a vivid blend.
The first track, "Raag & ole", is a real highlight, showing the combinations of rhythmical interpretations in such a perfect blend, with a jazz flavour in the middle. The second, calmer and very moody track, "Nagpur" is completed with a chamber orchestra. Here the Indian 'dhun' is taken in combination with the Andalusian 'sevillanas'. "Herencia Hindu" composed by Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan is based upon the element that both flamenco and Hindustani classical music, have a fundament of 12 beats, is a shortened track which is faded out. "Taliquete" is an only-rhythm track in bulérias mode with foot work and additional tabla with Indian vocals rhythms (forgot the name of this technique). Also included is an old Indian/Pakistani song, "Mohabbat Ka Khazana", in Quawwali style, a style which sounds very flamenco-like. It is a very joyful and cheerful Indian track with different touches. "Gujari todi" is a raga. On "Kyabathe" they found another perfect melted style of Indian with flamenco. It is a bulérias where sitar and flamenco guitar are in duet, with some vocal enthusiasm. "Indialucia"'s first part is a flamenco guitar piece in zambra style. This is a flamenco form which is deeply rooted in an oriental influence, originating from a Moorish influence, from the time when oud was played before the guitar existed. I still wonder why so little flamenco artists never thought about trying to reestablish the oud, rediscovering its origins in Medieval Europe and Middle East. Also such an investigation could bring new lights. This zambra theme is taken over to a second part with guitar, tabla and sitar mostly. It becomes another perfect blend with great dynamic evolution, with the flamenco guitar taking over the raga style in duet with the sitar. This continues in "Amanecer", an Indian vocal improvisation, which in this case can easily be compared to flamenco.
The recordings were made between 1999 and 2004 mostly in India and Spain, but also some of it in Germany and Poland. It was the result of various ideas from different participators. It seems to be one of the rarest and most serious investigations in search for the perfect blend between the two musical worlds by exploring their similarities in roots. Very good !!
Polish page of Rafael Cortez with some audio of flamenco CD and this one :
