Miguel Ochando, flamenco guitarist. Interview
“Young people have to remember
that there
are old-time guitarists who were also good and
who had musical entity and technique”
Silvia Calado, October 2007
Miguel
Ochando goes against the grain. When many flamencos
do their utmost to look to the future, the Granada-born
guitarist journeys to the past in ‘Memoria’.
The album brings back Ramón Montoya, Niño
Ricardo, Sabicas, Mario Escudero and Esteban Sanlúcar
to the present. And although he just did it out of curiosity,
his record is now a vindication, a way of saying that
the art is in the present. Pablo Picasso once judged that
“in art there’s neither past nor future”.
Miguel Ochando.
Premiere of 'Memoria' in Antequera
(Photo Málaga en Flamenco 2007)
How does the idea come about
of paying tribute to the toque maestros?
I’d had the idea for some time,
because I’ve always had the curiosity to study the
old-time guitarists. Montoya, Sabicas, Niño Ricardo...
It’s something that’s done very little. And
I did so meaning for it not to be lost, to remember the
maestros.
In music such as classical, the
repertoire is constantly reinterpreted. Do flamenco guitarists
feel obliged to compose?
Yeah, a little. That’s the thing.
I wanted to do something different to what’s being
done nowadays. But it’s not an obligation. My tribute
comes out of personal curiosity.
What criteria do you follow to
choose the pieces?
Looking for sheet music, above all. I’d
already been doing most of the songs for some time. It
wasn’t a matter of consciously seeking the repertoire,
but rather it’s come up over time.
What does each of those maestros
mean to you?
Ramón
Montoya was the first soloist there was. I think all
the guitar that’s known nowadays comes from there.
Sabicas
was a follower of Montoya’s school, but with a more
modern technique. I consider Niño
Ricardo, for example, a little more flamenco than
the others. Esteban
Sanlúcar, who was a guitar virtuoso tending
more towards classical, is also there. And Mario Escudero
belonged to Sabicas and Montoya’s school, a very
good musician and composer, above all.
How have you focused the interpretation?
I’ve been more or less true to
the score. Then what’s happened is that I’ve
given it my way of interpreting it, of seeing it. But
musically, it’s more or less the same as what they
used to do.
What’s your added value?
I think it’s more or less played
with today’s technique. And I also think it has
a different sound due to the technical means there are
at present.
The recording was done at Gerardo
Núñez’s studio...
Yeah, the eight guitar songs were recorded
there. Piazzolla’s and Morente’s were done
in Granada. It was a recording really at ease. Gerardo
and I are good friends.
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Miguel Ochando (Cover
from CD 'Memoria'
by Miguel Ochando) |
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Can this album be understood
as an alert to young guitarists?
I haven’t done it with that idea,
but it is a way for them to notice that there’s
a series of old-time guitarists who were also good and
who have musical entity and technique. Young people have
to remember that those people exist.
Do you think they’re forgotten?
People who start playing the guitar nowadays
take notice directly, for example, of the stuff by Vicente
Amigo. Well, it’s really good learning, a good
base.
There are two songs which get
away from that concept; the versions of ‘Lo que
vendrá’ by Astor Piazzolla and ‘La
reina del blús’ by Carlos Cano...
I came across the sheet music of the
song by Astor Piazzolla by chance. I started to bring
it out and I liked the idea of doing something different.
He’s a great musician. And I felt like changing
it. And the collaboration by Enrique
Morente had been promised to me some time ago. We’ve
done the song by Carlos Cano ‘La reina del blús’
and Enrique has shaped it up his way. Enrique proposed
it to me. We didn’t really know what to do with
it. And sticking in traditional cante didn’t seem
to fit very well. And... well, we’ll see if the
album is a little more successful with his name on it.
People might buy it for Morente, even if they don’t
like guitar. Ha ha ha.
Your artistic career is really
tied to Morente...
I’ve worked with him quite a bit
live and on some recordings. We have a good friendship.
What do you think Morente’s
cante represents?
Well, he’s one of the revolutionaries
of this century, an artist who’s going to go down
in flamenco history. What can I say? He’s a phenomenon.
We all know it.
Have you found any trace of flamenco
in Piazzolla?
There isn’t a lot of flamenco,
but I liked the guitar arrangements. Emilio Maya and I
had already done it in a show. I thought it was good to
stick it in. And there’s a little message to purists,
to censorship.
You now combine accompaniment
for cante with solo toque. How do you tackle both facets?
Accompanying cante is what I’ve
done the most. I haven’t really been a soloist for
very long. And I like playing solo more. You don’t
have to put up with anybody; you do what you like. But
it’s more self-sacrificing; it requires more hours
of study. To accompany cante, you learn four falsetas...
Let’s say it’s a little easier for me.
Do you also have a repertoire
of your own compositions?
Yeah, for the next album. But I still
have a bit of a doubt. I don’t know if I should
keep on going along these lines, depending on how things
go with this album. I intend to go on with the maestros,
but focusing on a single guitarist. Perhaps Niño
Ricardo. I like him and not many recordings by him
have been done. And he’s a guitarist you can really
take advantage of musically. He has a lot of stuff which
just isn’t known and it’s really good. It
isn’t a sure thing, but I have it in mind.
How do you size up today’s
toque scene?
The scene is really good. There are a
lot of young people who eat up the guitar and many followers
everywhere. But people first want to play today’s
stuff and they’re forgetting a little about what’s
behind it; the base.
Do you necessarily have to go
through accompaniment?
I don’t think it’s necessary.
It’s something that helps, but it’s not a
must.
Speaking of the base... There’s
a text in the album booklet recalling your early days
as a guitarist. How do your remember that period?
Really fondly. I was a kid; I started
at the age of eight or nine. And I had a lot of hopes
and a lot of dreams: playing in theaters some day, recording
an album... And it’s all coming true. It was a time
of a lot of study, of missing out on games a bit, of studying
hard. But it’s been worthwhile; now it’s starting
to bear its fruit.
“On this album the little epic
is recalled of a frightened ten-year-old boy going down
the slope of Chapiz every night, which connects Sacromonte
to Paseo de los Tristes, at the foot of the Alhambra...”
Cover photo: Ronise Brusco
