'Encuentros'. Le flamenco á la question

Fernando González-Caballos Martínez
París-Seville, June 2002-March 2003

In April and June 2002 Fondation Royaumont, a French institution based at a 8th century Cistercian abbey thirty miles north of Paris, launched an experimental program under the title 'Musiques orales et improvisées'. Under the watchful eye of Frederic Deval - who previously managed the Audivis label's flamenco collection - we were privileged enough to witness the birth of a unique project: 'Encuentros' (Encounters), a creative musical conversation between Esperanza Fernández and Jean-Marc Padovani. The University of Seville, the University of Paris VIII and Seville's Teatro Central all collaborate in the project.

Esperanza Fernández with Padovani's band in Madrid's
Círculo de Bellas Artes (photo: Daniel Muñoz)

The cantaora from Triana (Seville province) and the French saxophonist have been working on this project for months, a project built on mutual interest and dialogue between musicians who come from diverse backgrounds. During their three stays at the medieval abbey, Esperanza Fernández, Jean-Marc Padovani and the musicians from his band have carved out a repertoire which, when it was finally taken to the stage in Seville on March 13th 2003 as part of the 'Jazz Viene del Sur' season, was baptized 'Improvised Oral Music'.

So where did the idea for the project come from? Frederic Deval, who took charge of the program, explains that "the idea matured gradually with the passing of time." As he himself recalls "many moons have passed since that first flamenco recital where Pepe el de la Matrona brought me to my knees, and I fell head over heels in love with this music." Along the way there have been other projects, like the flamenco collection on the French label Auvidis, "which gave me the opportunity to go deeper into this scene that was totally alien to me. That's how I got to know the places, the faces which have forged the history of this amazing musical genre… and their music which has been left behind as a legacy. But my love of flamenco didn't fade, quite the opposite - it grew and grew until one day I started working with the Royaumont Foundation, and I toyed with the idea of setting up a laboratory of oral improvised music. I didn't want anyone to get wind of my preferences, nor to influence the way the idea unfolded, so I decided to set up the program without including flamenco. Two years further down the line, with the project now in full-swing, I decided to open the door to what I consider one of the most thrilling and deeply emotive types of music in the world."

Esperanza Fernández in 'Encuentros' (photo: Daniel Muñoz)

Flashback. The second floor of the abbey; rehearsal. Here we find Esperanza Fernández (vocals), Jean-Marc Padovani (saxophone), Soufian Negra (lute), Daniel Casimir (trombone), Ramón López (percussion), Frédéric Puguet (bass clarinet) and Frédéric Monino (bass). "No, no, no… you're out of time. Listen closely… you see? You came in late. Anyway it was really good; I can tell you're more tuned in to flamenco than you were in April," the cantaora quips. But Padovani, who's been working for several days with his musicians, wants to surprise her with an instrumental number titled '¿Por qué no?' (Why not?). "Ole, ole… what's going on here? I wasn't expecting that." But Esperanza isn't all compliments… "Is that the key the tune was in? I don't think it was. Let's see, give me a high octave… No way, no way, that's way too high." "OK, OK, I'll change the scores to that key and we'll try it again tomorrow," replies Padovani. The sessions transpire between peals of laughter and tense, stressful moments. For the Sevillana there's only one thing that matters: that the different palos are played in the right time signatures. "We can't go to Seville like this. I'm sorry but that's how it is, with bulerías like this one we'll be pelted with tomatoes."