Enrique Morente

Infobox musical artist

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Name = Enrique Morente
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Enrique Morente Cotelo
Alias =
Born = 1942
Granada, Andalusia, Spain
Died =
Origin =
Genre = Flamenco,
Occupation = Singer, songwriter,
Years_active = 1960s- to present
Label =
Associated_acts =
URL = http://www.enriquemorente.com
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Enrique Morente Cotelo, known as Enrique Morente, born in Granada, 1942 is a flamenco singer and controversial figure in contemporary flamenco. After his orthodox beginnings, he plunged into experimentalism, writing new melodies for "cante" (flamenco singing) and jamming with musicians of all styles, without renouncing his roots in traditional flamenco singing, which he keeps on cultivating. [ [http://www.macande.com/en/artistas/enriquemorente.html| Enrique Morente in macande.com] ] cite web
last = D'Averc
first = Alexandre
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = A desire and a quest for everything. Enrique Morente, cantaor. Interview
work =
publisher = www.flamenco-world.com
date =
url = http://www.flamenco-world.com/artists/morente/morente09062006.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2006-12-02 ] In spite of severe criticism from the most "purist" amongst the critics and public, Álvarez Caballero, Ángel: "Enrique Morente", "La discografía ideal del flamenco", Planeta, Barcelona, 1995 ISBN 84-08-01602-4] "It hasn't been easy. First came the accusations of corruption of the music, of treachery in his struggle to disfigure what was already perfectly coded. When some albums and some categorical evidence of his knowledge of the classical approach laid these malicious comments bare, then came the most twisted condemnations. That the pace of the compás waned (just get a metronome and see for yourself), that he didn't really make you feel (are there really many true aficionados whose hair doesn't stand on end listening to his caña ‘Eso no lo manda la ley’, ‘La aurora de Nueva York’ or ‘Generalife’, to name three markedly different examples) and that kind of thing."] , he is probably the most influential contemporary flamenco singer, who not only innovates, but could also be said to create tradition: some of his "cantes" have been performed by other singers such as Camarón de la Isla, Mayte Martín, Carmen Linares, Miguel Poveda, Segundo Falcón and Arcángel.

Biography

Beginnings

Enrique Morente, born in the traditional quarter of Albaicín in Granada, started to sing as a "seise" (a member of a group of children who sing, dance and play castanets on certain religious festivals) He started to feel attracted to flamenco singing as a child, and had the opportunity to learn at family gatherings and to listen to established figures from Granada like Cobitos, the family of the "Habichuelas", or Aurelio Sellés (Aurelio de Cádiz):

"The cante begins inside you when you listen to the villager’s singing, to people in their birthplace. Groups of people that meet in a tavern and start singing, and then you listen to them and start singing as well: you learn that at family parties where everybody sings and everybody drinks, and everybody dances and... Apart from that, it turns out that, of course, you need a technique, you need a school, you need to learn. In order to achieve this, what you need... the main help you can get is to have a liking for it; and then the skill to know who to learn from, and from what sources, where to find the good. Then you are on."Quoted at [http://www.enriquemorente.com| www.enriquemorente.com] ]

However, this appreciation for the popular side of flamenco does not mean that he considers flamenco as just "an art of the people". A flamenco artist, for him, needs technique and dedication:

"It is us, the professional artists of flamenco, who have to make cante flamenco, and nobody else, Flamenco, like any other art, is an art of professionals, although there are many people who peer at us, with a look as if to say: What interesting little creatures! or maybe: Oh! What music the people are playing! and so on. And people often think that maybe you have to have fingers swollen from picking potatoes to be able to play the guitar with feeling. Look, picking potatoes is every bit as worthy as playing a guitar. But I can tell you that a man -with fine, sensitive fingers is not going to be able to make a go of picking potatoes: and I can also tell you that a man with fingers swollen from picking potatoes is not going to be able to play a guitar because he hasn't got the manual dexterity and he hasn't got the dedication. This is a profession like any other which you have to dedicate yourself to completely. It is an art of professionals." [Quoted in [http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/artists/artist_page.php?id=318| Enrique Morente. Biography. World Music Central] ]

Still in his teens, Morente went to live in Madrid to start a professional career as a singer. There he was able to meet some old masters like Pepe de la Matrona and Bernardo el de los Lobitos, and learned as much as he could from them. Pepe de la Matrona took special interest in teaching the young singer: "This interest was raised not so much by Enrique Morente’s intonation, by his registers or by his melismatic as by his attitude towards things, his respect and his learning capacity." In Madrid, he started singing at "peñas flamencas" (clubs for flamenco fans). In 1964, he signed a contract with the Ballet de Marienma, with which he performs at the Spanish Pavilion in the New York World Fair and at the Spanish Embassy in Washington. Later he took part in a flamenco festival at Teatro de los Alcázares de los Reyes Cristianos, sharing the bill with Juan Talega, Fernanda and Bernarda de Utrera, Gaspar de Utrera, Tomás Torre and Antonio Mairena. During that year and the following one, he also toured Europe and Japan with different flamenco dance companies, and was employed at several "tablaos" (flamenco venues) in Madrid, such as Las Cueva de Nemesio, Zambra and El Café de Chinitas.

First recordings

Morente made his first recording, "Cante flamenco" in 1967 with guitarist Félix de Utrera. The recording received a special mention award from the Cátedra de Flamencología, and was followed by "Cantes antiguos del flamenco" (1969), with guitarist Niño Ricardo. His first recordings were strictly orthodox and showed deep knowledge of traditional flamenco, a rare quality for singers of his generation.. During this period he also made his first contact with guitarist Manolo Sanlúcar, with whom he would cooperate on several occasions. Sanlúcar accompanied him in his concert in Ateneo de Madrid, the first occasion in which a flamenco singer performed in that prestigious cultural institution.

His next record, "Homenaje flamenco a Miguel Hernández" ("Flamenco Homage to Miguel Hernández", 1971), initiated his frequent use of lyrics by outstanding poets. Later on, he would record flamenco songs with lyrics by Federico García Lorca, John of the Cross, Lope de Vega, Al-Mutamid, Antonio Machado and Manuel Machado, Jorge Guillén, and others. Soon later, an illegal live recording was published in Holland.

"The thing that most calls your attention in his first productions is how much care he devotes to the lyrics of his "cantes". This is probably the first step in his future career as as an innovator in flamenco. The poems by Miguel Hernández, for example, became immortal in his impressive 'Nana de la Cebolla' or 'El Niño Yuntero'. With the attitude he showed, in these poems, against the francoist regime, he became the favourite flamenco singer for the left-wing opposition in the country, as well as one of the first innovators." ["Lo que llama la atención en sus primeras producciones es el cuidado que dedica a las letras de sus cantes. Esta sea probablemente el primer paso de su futura trayectoria como innovador en el flamenco. Las poesías de Miguel Hernández, por ejemplo, se hicieron inmortales en su tan impresionante “Nana de la cebolla” o en “El niño yuntero”. La posición, que con estos versos tomaba frente al régimen franquista, pronto le convirtieron en un cantaor preferido por la oposición izquierdista en el país y en uno de los primeros innovadores."cite web
last = Steingress
first = Gerhard
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Dimensión simbólica y significado musical latente en las últimas obras de Enrique Morente
work =
publisher = www.deflamenco.com
date =
url = http://www.deflamenco.com/especiales/morente/index.jsp
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2006-12-06]

In 1971 and 1972 he toured Mexico with guitarist Parrilla de Jerez and dancer Ana Parrilla, a tour which included his presentation at the Auditorium of the Universidad de las Américas, and performed at the Lincoln Centre (where he would return in 1973) and at the Spanish Institute in New York. In 1972 he was also awarded the "Premio Nacional del Cante" (National Award for Flamenco Singing) by the Cátedra de Flamencología in Jerez.

Alternating tradition and innovation

He came back to orthodox flamenco singing with his recording "Homenaje a Don Antonio Chacón" ("Homage to Antonio Chacón", [1977)), which obtained the National Award for best folk music album, granted by the Ministry of Culture. In this recording, Morente vindicated the figure of singer Antonio Chacón the creator of the "granaína" and a fundamental figure of flamenco in the first decades of the 20th century, who had been, nevertheless, relegated by the views of the 1950s-1970s flamencology, as a representative of the non-Gypsy flamenco which that generation considered impure. However, in an alternation between tradition and innovation typical of Morente, the recording was immediately followed, in 1978, by "Despegando" ("Taking off"), this time in an innovative mood: the title itself is, in fact, a declaration of intentions.

In 1981 he toured a new show, "Andalucía hoy" ("Andalusia Today"), which he would later performed at the Olympia Theatre in Paris. In 1982, some of his recordings were chosen by flamencologist José Blas Vega to take part in the flamenco anthology "Magna Antología del Cante" (a complete collection of traditional styles of cante) to ilustrate songs such as the tarantas from Almería, several types of cartageneras, the fandangos by Frasquito Yerbabuena, and all the malagueñas and granaínas created by Antonio Chacón.

In 1990 in another comeback to orthodoxy, he recorded "Morente-Sabicas", with guitarist Sabicas, who was already in his eighties. In the following year, he created and recorded a flamenco mass, a type of creation that already had some precedents, like the one recorded by Antonio Mairena, Luis Caballero, and Naranjito de Triana in 1968. However Morente's mass is totally different from any previous examples. Whereas earlier flamenco masses basically tried to use traditional flamenco singing for the liturgy, Morente's does not even have a liturgic purpose, and mixes flamenco with other genres like Gregorian chant. About this mass, in one of his touches of humour, Morente said:

"At a given point, I thought I could dedicate it to Pope Clement, the one of "El Palmar de Troya", but then I remembered that he had canonized Franco, Primo de Rivera, Carrero Blanco and all those guys and, while on the one hand I thought it was funnier, on the other hand I thought the joke could be interpreted in a strange way and I didn't do it, though I was about to do it. But the record was made with a sincerity and a true intention, no matter the results, and I thought it was like ruining it a bit because of the joke.. and that was too much!" ["En un momento dado pensé dedicárela al Papa Clemente, eldel Palmar de Troya, pero luego me acordé de que el tío había canonizado a Franco y Primo de Rivera y a Carrero Blanco y a todos estos, y aunque por una parte me hacía todavía más gracia, por otra pensé que podía interpretarse la broma de una forma extraña y ya no lo hice, aunque estuve a punto de hacerlo. Pero el disco estaba hecho con una sinceridad y con una intención de verdad, independientemente de lo que luego fuean los resultados, y me parecía estropearlo un poco por la broma… y ¡hasta ahí podíamos llegar!" Quoted in Álvarez Caballero, Ángel: "Misa flamenca", "La discografía ideal del flamenco", Planeta, Barcelona, 1995 ISBN 84-08-01602-4]

Latest works

In 1995 he appeared singing a siguiriya in Carlos Saura's film "Flamenco" and recorded his most controversial recording: "Omega", together with punk rock group Lagartija Nick, with the participation of guitarists like Tomatito, Vicente Amigo, Juan Manuel Cañizares or Miguel Ángel Cortés and percussionists like Tino di Geraldo. Flamenco and punk rock are mingled with recreations of songs by Leonard Cohen, and lyrics by Federico García Lorca's book "Poeta en Nueva York" ("A Poet in New York"), together with traditional flamenco lyrics.

(2001) saw the publishing of a very much sought for record by Morente, "Enrique Morente en la Casa Museo de García Lorca de Fuentevaqueros", a collection of songs based on the poetry of Federico García Lorca. The recording had been made in studio in Madrid, in 1990, and it had been commissioned by the Diputación de Granada (a government institution). Only a limited edition was made and the copies were sent as gift to particular persons. In the second hand marked, those copies reached 25,000 pesetas (150 euros). [cite web
last = Manrique
first = Diego
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = El disco perdido de Enrique Morente
work =
publisher = www.flamencopasion.com
date =
url = http://www.flamencopasion.com/discos_Libros.htm
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accessdate = 2006-12-01 ]

Another interesting release of Morente, "El Pequeño Reloj", saw the light in 2003. Whereas the second half of the CD a more or less random collection of songs, the first half of the record comprises a surprising series of songs which are broken in two parts: in the first part of the song, Morente's voice is superimposed on top of old 78 r.p.m recordings of old masters of the flamenco guitar like Ramón Montoya, Sabicas or Manolo de Huelva, while the second part is a modern development of the same palo, with the side guitar of the young and innovative guitarist Niño Josele.

Although he does not know musical notation he has composed music for theatre plays, films and television, such as the work "Las Arrecogidas del Beaterio de Santa María Egipcíaca", the music for "Oedipus the King" with José Luis Gómez.

He has tried the mixture between flamenco and classical music in works like "Fantasía de cante jondo para voz y orquesta" (Cante jondo Fantasy (music) for voice and orchestra] , together with pianist Antonio Robledo, guitarists Juan Habichuela and Gerardo Núñez and Madrid Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Luis Izquierdo, 1986) or with "Allegro Soleá", which he presented at Seville's Flamenco Biennal in 1990. Along the lines of the mixture of flamenco with other types of music, he collaborated in the show "Macama Jonda" by José Heredia Maya, together with the Tetuan Andalusian Orchestra and Abdessadeq Cheqara, or with the Bulgarian Voices choir Angelite. In his recording "Omega", already mentioned, he mixed flamenco singing with punk rock, music by Leornard Cohen, and lyrics by Federico García Lorca. In the show "África-Cuba-Cai" he mixed flamenco with music from Senegal, and Cuba ("Cai" is the way Cádiz is pronounced in Andalusian Spanish). The show also underlinks the historic links between Cuban and flamenco music: "That's always been close to flamenco, since way back, because the ships in Cádiz went to Cuba, some came and others stayed over there, we've always had that." [cite web
last = Martínez Pariente
first = Sonia
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Interview with Enrique Morente
work =
publisher = www.deflamenco.com
date =
url = http://www.deflamenco.com/entrevistas/enriquemorente/indexi.jsp
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2006-12-02 ] . It is difficult to think of any kind of music which has not interested Morente. After one of his concerts with Cheqara Orkesta of Tetuan, he declared: "…if I had to put out a CD for every culture I mixed with I'd be putting out about 7 or 8 CDs a year. It wouldn't be bad - if I got paid for it by the record company then I could build myself a home." [cite web
last = Muñoz
first = Daniel
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Interview with Enrique Morente
work =
publisher = www.flamenco-world.com
date =
url = http://flamenco-world.com/artists/morente/morente.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2006-12-01 ]

Owing to his innovative approach, he has been widely criticized by the more extremely traditionalist sectors of the flamenco critic and public: "Needless to say, all this cost Morente a real torment, since flamenco is still a very closed world, in which the slightest attempt for novelty is taken as a deadly sin of heresy." "Todo esto costó a Morente, ocioso es decirlo, un verdadero calvario, pues el flamenco es todavía un mundo muy cerrado en el que cualquier leve conato de novedad se toma como pecado mortal de herejía." Quoted in ÁLVAREZ CABALLERO, Ángel: "La discografía ideal del flamenco", Planeta, Barcelona, 1995 ISBN 84-08-01602-4] . Although Morente's work is now widely recognized by most critics, and has inspired many singers of the young generation like Mayte Martín or Arcángel, there is still a section of traditionalist critics and public that still disparage his work:

"Aficionados were scratching their heads after the show, trying to figure out exactly, which forms--if any--Morente was working in much of the time. 'Remember the old days when you could actually recognize what flamenco forms were being performed?'"cite web
last = Molarsky
first = Mona
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Review for Enrique Morente & Tomatito. Carnegie Hall's Zankel Auditorium, New York City, USA
work =
publisher = www.deflamenco.com
date = February, 2005
url = http://www.deflamenco.com/actuaciones/festivalusa/index6i.jsp
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2006-12-02 ]

Ethic bias is often not alien to these criticisms. A good number of flamenco critics and public were introduced into flamenco at the time of the "reappraisal period" led by singers like Antonio Mairena and critics like González Climent or Ricardo Molina, in whose views, pure flamenco singing would be a patrimony of Gypsies, which non-Gypsies could only try to imitate in vain without ever reaching its essence. In the same review quoted above we can read: "And once you have experienced truly great Gypsy singing of this sort, the erudition of an artist like Morente pales like a candle flame next to a blazing torch." This views on Morente,though very common in the seventies and eighties, have almost died down. The controversy between tradition and innovation, Gypsy and non-Gypsy singing and other topics, so common twenty years ago, is now relatively confined to a limited section of the public, while most flamenco fans and critics acknowledge Morente's deep artistic intelligence and commitment:

"This comes from the man who never sings the same way twice, who tirelessly seeks that new inflection, that unheard-of scale, the change of tone that best matches the desired feeling and intentions at a given moment. The easy option would be the other one. To do what Enrique does you need extreme intellectual abilities and extreme emotional commitment. He takes the perfectly-laid, common foundations, defined by tradition, and on them builds with all the conceivable potential of flamenco." [cite web
last = D'Averc
first = Alexandre
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = A desire and a quest for everything. Enrique Morente, cantaor. Interview.
work =
publisher = www.flamenco-world.com
date =
url = http://www.flamenco-world.com/artists/morente/morente09062006.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2006-12-02 ]

Awards

First prize at the contest Málaga Cantaora (1967)
Premio Nacional de Cante (Flamenco Singing National Award) granted by Cátedra de Flamencología y Estudios Folklóricos Andaluces de Jerez de la Frontera (1972)
National Award for best folk recording, awarded by the Ministry of Culture (1978)
En 1989 es nombrado Socio de Honor del Club de Música y Jazz San Juan Evangelista
Honorary Membership of the San Juan Evangelista Jazz and Music Club (1989)
Premio Nacional de Música (Music National Award), Ministry of Culture, awarded to a flamenco singer for the first time (1994)
Golden medal of the "Cátedra de Flamencología de Jerez de la Frontera (1995)
Compás del Cante (1995)
“Galardón de Honor de los Premios de la Música”, awarded by the Ministry of Culture (1998)
Pastora Pavón ("Niña de los Peines") Award, awarded by the autonomous government of Andalusia (2004)
Medal of Andalusia, awarded by the autonomous government of Andalusia (2005)
National Critics award for best DVD and best flamenco singing record for "Morente sueña la Alhambra" (2006)
National Award of Music for best flamenco recording for "Morente sueña la Alhambra" (2006)
Morato de Oro, awarded by Peña El Morato (2006)
Best flamenco recording, Deflamenco.com Awards (2006)

Films

Flamenco. Directed by Carlos Saura (1995)
Morente sueña La Alhambra. Directed by José Sánchez-Montes (2005)
Iberia. Directed by Carlos Saura (2005)

Recordings

"Cante Flamenco" (1967)
"Cantes Antiguos del Flamenco" (1969)
"Homenaje Flamenco a Miguel Hernández" (1971)
"Morente en Vivo", Díscolo, (1981), illegal recording live
"Se Hace Camino al Andar" (1975)
"Homenaje a Don Antonio Chacón" (1977)
"Despegando" (1977)
"Sacromonte" (1982)
"Cruz y Luna" (1983)
"Enrique Morente en la Casa Museo de Federico García Lorca de Fuentevaqueros" (1990); Republished (2001)
"Esencias Flamencas" (1988)
"Morente - Sabicas" (1990)
"Misa Flamenca" (1991)
"Negra, si Tú Supieras" (1992)
"Allegro Soleá y Fan-tasía del Cante Jondo" (1995)
"Omega" (1996)
"Morente – Lorca" (1998)
"El Pequeño Reloj" (2003)
"Morente Sueña la Alhambra" (2005)

References

External links

In English or bilingual

cite web
title = Enrique Morente's official website
publisher = www.enriquemorente.com
url = http://www.enriquemorente.com
date =

cite web
title = Biography, records, audio clips, and comments
publisher = www.flamenco-world.com
url = https://www.flamenco-world.com/tienda/autor/enrique-morente/72/
date =

cite web
title = Biography, recordings and clips
publisher = www.esflamenco.com
url = http://www.esflamenco.com/bio/en10338.html
date =

cite web
title = Biography
publisher = World Music Central
url = http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/artists/artist_page.php?id=318
date =

cite web
last = Muñoz
first = Daniel
title = Interview (includes video with Cheqara Orchestra)
publisher = www.flamenco-world.com
url = http://flamenco-world.com/artists/morente/morente.htm
date = 2000

cite web
last = Olivo
first = Candela
title = The Cante of Apollo. Review of concert at Festival de Guitarra de Córdoba
publisher = www.flamenco-world.com
url = http://flamenco-world.com/magazine/about/cordoba/2002/morente.htm
date = 2002-07-11

cite web
last = Calado
first = Silvia
title = Interview with Enrique Morente
publisher = www.flamenco-word.com
date = February 2005
url = http://www.flamenco-world.com/artists/morente/morente22022006.htm
accessdate = 2006-12-02

cite web
last = Calado
first = Silvia
title = Feeling. Review of Morente's concert at London Flamenco Festival,
publisher = www.flamenco-word.com
date = February 2005
url = http://www.flamenco-world.com/magazine/about/londres2006/resenas/17022006/17022006ing.htm.htm
accessdate = 2006-12-02

cite web
last = Calado
first = Silvia
title = Flamencopunkrock. Enrique Morente & Sonic Youth. Review of concert at Heineken Greenspace Valencia
publisher = www.flamenco-word.com
date = 2005-10-28
url = http://www.flamenco-world.com/magazine/about/morente_sonic_youth/morente31102005.htm
accessdate = 2006-12-02

cite web
last = Jiménez Navarro
first = Sonia
title = 1st Festival Flamenco de Italia. Reviews
publisher = www.deflamenco.com
date = September 2005
url = http://www.deflamenco.com/actuaciones/roma/indexi.jsp
accessdate = 2006-12-02

cite web
last = Manjavacas
first = Rafael
title = 1st Festival Flamenco de Italia. Reviews
publisher = www.deflamenco.com
date =
url = http://www.deflamenco.com/noticias/verArticuloi.jsp?codigo=FLA%7C1288
accessdate = 2006-12-02

cite web
last = Moraga
first = Manuel
title = Review of concert in Festival Flamenco Cajamadrid 2006
publisher = www.deflamenco.com
url = http://www.deflamenco.com/actuaciones/xivfestival/index3i.jsp
accessdate = 2006-12-01

cite web
last = Moraga
first = Manuel
title = Flamencopunkrock. Enrique Morente & Sonic Youth. Review of concert at Heineken Greenspace Valencia
publisher = www.deflamenco.com
date = February 2005
url = http://www.deflamenco.com/actuaciones/xiiifestival/index4i.jsp
accessdate = 2006-12-01

cite web
last = Zatania
first = Estela
title = Review of concert at Festival de las Minas
publisher = www.deflamenco.com
date =
url= http://www.deflamenco.com/actuaciones/cantedelasminas2004/5i.jsp
accessdate = 2006-12-01

In Spanish

cite web
last = Belausteguigoitia
first = Santiago
title = "Nuestro arte nos hace independientes", afirma el cantaor Enrique Morente. El artista recibe el Premio Pastora Pavón, Niña de los Peines
publisher = www.elpais.com
date =
url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/andalucia/arte/nos/hace/independientes/afirma/cantaor/Enrique/Morente/elpepiautand/20040120elpand_25/Tes/
accessdate = 2006-12-05

cite web
last = Ortiz Nuevo
first = José Luis
title = Resúmenes de las intervenciones en el seminario flamenco, un arte popular moderno. Conversaciones. Conversación de José Luis Ortiz Nuevo con Enrique Morente.
publisher = www.unia.es
date =
url = http://www.unia.es/artpen/ezine/ezine08/nov04_5.html
accessdate = 2006-12-04

cite web
last = Vargas
first = Paco
title = Flamenco: Un antes y un después de Enrique Morente
publisher = www.lafactoriaweb.com
date =
url = http://www.lafactoriaweb.com/articulos/vargas10.htm
accessdate = 2006-12-04

Further reading

cite book
last = Gutiérrez
first = Balbino
title = Enrique Morente. La voz libre.
publisher = SGAE
date = 2006
location = Madrid
pages = 702
url =
doi =
id =