Flamenco-world offers an exclusive fragment of the audiovisual recording
'Victor Monge Serranito, en concierto 2002'

Serranito makes a DVD of a flamenco guitar concert which recalls his best compositions

The guitarist explains the how and why of the six pieces included in the recital

Flamenco-world.com

Granada, Jerez, Triana, Cazorla, Federico García Lorca... The guitar of Víctor Monge Serranito takes inspiration from a river, in a verse, an alleyway, a feeling. And the proof is in the recital recorded by the Madrid guitarist, 'Victor Monge Serranito en concierto 2002' to be distributed in DVD and VHS. In this work Serranito brings together a selection of his best compositions, most notably 'Llora la farruca', the tangos 'Por la vera el Genil' or the seguiriya 'Romance para un poeta'. The maestro is accompanied on the audiovisual recording by the guitarists Miguel Rivera and Julián Vaquero Morán, who also plays the bass, as well as by his son Víctor Monge on percussion.

The concert, recorded on stage by RGB, includes six themes whose sheet music will be included in both standard notation and tablature in the form of a book: the farruca 'Llora la farruca', the soleá 'Paseando por Triana', the bulerías 'Calle de la sangre', the taranta 'Cazorla', the tangos 'Por la vera del Genil' and the seguiriya 'Romance para un poeta'. Víctor Monge Serranito comments on each of these compositions.

Serranito and group

Por la vera el Genil "is made up of characteristic tangos from Granada, that charming city full of ART, art which flows down the Genil until it meets the Guadalquivir, the moment which inspired this piece. Starting out with a continuous strum from the backup guitars and the sound of hands thumping on a drum, a mysterious ambience is established so that the lead guitar, with the introduction, gives a feeling of the union of the two rivers, an introduction which ends with a faster run to make way for the central theme".

Romance para un poeta "is a piece dedicated to the great poet Federico García Lorca. It's not actually any flamenco style but nevertheless it has a flamenco character. I tune the guitar to rondeña tuning, that is, with the sixth sting in D and the third in F sharp, a tuning created for this very style by Ramón Montoya a long time ago. This tuning makes for great depth of sound with the open strings and I take advantage of this to develop first the seguiriya; afterwards a bit of Lorca's popular theme 'Romance del Pastor'; and in the end the same seguiriya theme, but now to bulerías, brusquely interrupted, just as the famous poet's life was interrupted."

Cazorla "is a taranta inspired by the place where the Guadalquivir river begins. At first, anyone who knows flamenco will miss this unusual and very beautiful style which is the taranta, but it's that my inspiration was to begin this piece with the mystery of life which I manage to represent with the bass sounds; and the sound of the water at the river's source via the arpeggios. Step by step with these elements I develop the sound of this profound style creating an appropriate ambience and evoking the sound of water tasting of the mines. For the ending I improvise to the rhythm of tangos, the joy brought by the water to nearly all our beloved Andalucía".

Víctor Monge, Serranito

Calle de la Sangre "is a bulería, and to speak of bulería is to speak of Jerez. I think that Jerez is a bulería in itself, it's a way of walking, of greeting, of gracious laughing, always with some palmas and an 'olé' for good measure. When the fun gets drawn out, so do the palmas and it's almost a sure thing that means everything ends up with the rhythm of bulerías. Ever since I was very small, I've been a great admirer of that city's art and artists. I think that even the least worthy is, at some point, as good as the best. When I learned to play this form I did it paying a lot of attention and listening, above all, to the Moraos of Jerez, who as far as I'm concerned have been great guitar-players and have propagated that characteristic sound. And for that I am grateful. I would also like to thank that great maestro from Jerez, Rafael Águila, who taught so many of today's guitarists telling them to "look at that guitarist from Madrid" referring to me. That's why the bulerías I recorded with my son Víctor is calle 'Calle de la sangre', a street in Jerez where many artists live and have lived, people I want to thank for everything they've taught me".

Llora la farruca. "It's been nearly forty years since I wrote this farruca, a style which, as its title indicates and according to what I've read in several books, is of Galician origin. 'Llora la farruca' could be taken to represent the longing a Galician girl felt for her 'farruco' who, emigrated to other lands passing through Andalucía, leaving a specific character and form of musical expression. Flamenco people took to it and turned it into something else, especially in the realm of dancing. I remember for example Los Pelaos who made it into a great creation; and in the guitar, the maestro Sabicas, all of whom inspired me to create my personality in this style. Formerly, nearly all the styles had a characteristic tonality. Farruca was always played in A minor position, but I did mine in D minor position, thus changing the tradition of the era. Nowadays this wouldn't have any importance considering how knowledge of the instrument has improved, and the very favorable changes that have taken place in flamenco guitar".

Paseando por Triana. "People wondered about the title of this soleá... Many years ago I was strolling through Triana for the first time with my friend El Perlo de Triana, through that lovely neighborhood with his history of cante grande just as he himself would say in a poem dedicated to his mother, La Perla de Triana. Everyone knows that a large number of styles of the best flamenco artists of all time came out of this area. That's why it was a great privilege for me, during that little walk, to hear the notes of a guitar playing por soleá from a balcony. Imagine how overcome I was to discover that that sound was from my first recording, made when I was only a boy. That filled me with joy and spurred on my dream of some day becoming an important guitarist".

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