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Paco de Lucía, rehealsal. Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla 2010 (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

Paco de Lucía takes the top position by far in the TOP 10 FLAMENCO-WORLD.COM 2011 in the year’s record sales with his return ‘En vivo. Conciertos España 2010’. A return, following six years without an album, which could suppose a salutary lesson for the entire genre. Another boost has been flamenco’s declaration as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the reason for the record-book anthology released by EMI Music located in the second slot. The vitality of flamenco guitar is captured in the third spot reached by young guitarist Antonio Rey with his second solo album, ‘Colores del fuego’. And a different proposal revolving around instrumental flamenco is in fourth place: ‘Las pequeñas cosas’ by Josemi Carmona.

The recovery of sound vestiges of the genre also keeps on arousing enthusiasts’ interest. The recording - previously unreleased - of the flamenco fiesta which took place at El Lebrijano’s wedding in 1964, with La Niña de los Peines, Antonio Mairena and Pepe Pinto, among others, reaches the halfway point in the ranking. And in the same way, coming in seventh is ‘Archivo del cante flamenco Vergara’, re-released in a case which is a replica of the original edition in 1968. Coming in-between is Carmen Linares with the live retrospective ‘Remembranzas’, recorded at the Teatro de la Maestranza to commemorate the Lifetime Achievement Award she was given by the Music Academy. Arcángel is in the eighth slot of the TOP 10 with his album ‘Quijote de los sueños’, a long-awaited return in which he takes charge of the production. The personal, veteran cante of El Cabrero can be felt in the ninth position with his ‘Pastor de nubes’. And the list is closed by Niña Pastori who, with this ‘La orilla de mi pelo’, has won the 2011 Flamenco Latin Grammy Award.

Josemi Carmona, 'Las pequeñas cosas' / Antonio Rey, 'Colores del fuego'

But not every trend in the year is summarized in the TOP 10. Knocking at the door of the list was the original soundtrack of the documentary film ‘Morente’, which contains his last cantes. Also appearing are the first discs by fresh voices like those of Jesús Corbacho with his album of current cante ‘Debajo del romero’ as well as that of Sandra Carrasco with an open proposal marked by producer Javier Limón. Standing out in cante is the proposal by Rafael Jiménez ‘Falo’, who discovers on ‘El cante en movimiento’ how new the old-time cantes are and their connections with folklore. At the other extreme is Pitingo with ‘Malecón Street’, recently released when this list has been put together, which is based on reinterpreting classics of Cuban song. Antonio Carmona shifts towards pop and latin on ‘De noche’. In guitar, there is a combination of catalogue recoveries like ‘Antología de Manolo Sanlúcar’ and new proposals such as ‘Manos libres’ by Carlos Piñana. And highlighting the instrumental is ‘Bipolar’ by the group Ultra High Flamenco as well as the approach towards flamenco of sitar player Anoushka Shankar with her album ‘Traveller’.

Arcángel, 'Quijote de los sueños' / Carmen Linares, 'Remembranzas / Jesús Corbacho, 'Debajo del romero' / UHF, 'Bipolar'

'Flamenco, Flamenco' by Carlos Saura. Miguel Poveda y Eva Yerbabuena

2011 has been a prolific year for flamenco on DVD. The FLAMENCO-WORLD.COM TOP 10 reflects abundant activity in digital audiovisuals, including Blu-ray. Musical films, documentaries, live shows and teaching methods share the list of the top sales. And if Paco de Lucía is the leader in the album ranking, Carlos Saura is the audiovisual heavyweight. The release on DVD and Blu-ray of the sequel of the already historical movie ‘Flamenco’, now with a new generation of artists, has delighted international enthusiasts. Second place is occupied by a study tool for baile, the zapateado method from the collection of Manuel Salado, who is also in the eighth slot with his lessons ‘La guitarra flamenca para principiantes’ (‘Flamenco Guitar for Beginners’). In third place are three titles on DVD and Blu-ray by the Antonio Gades Company, which releases four shows recorded in high definition at the Teatro Real in Madrid last spring: ‘Carmen’, ‘Fuenteovejuna’, ‘Bodas de sangre’ and ‘Suite flamenca’.

The documentary about Israel Galván’s creative processes is in the fourth slot. Fifth place returns to educational material, with the disc about accompanying cante ‘Tratado de acompañamiento al cante: soleá’ by David Leiva. Enrique Morente was depicted in the musical documentary ‘Morente’, which is in the sixth slot. The film took on an unexpected extra value when the Granada-born cantaor passed away before it premiered, containing some of his last cantes. A documentary about ‘La saga de los Lucía’ (‘The Lucía Family’) is number seven on the list. And also having that complexion is the film about the box drum ‘Los caminos del cajón’ which, in the ninth slot, summarizes the path of the percussion instrument of Peruvian origin and its incorporation into flamenco music through its leading performers. The TOP 10 is sealed by Cañizares as guest musician of the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Simon Rattle, in the ‘Europa Koncert 2011’ from the Teatro Real in Madrid, strengthening not just the connection between classical music and flamenco, but also the genre’s universalist nature.

Frame from DVD 'Israel Galván'

A reflection for 2012

And it didn’t come in the end. After such a great stir in the media, Spain still doesn’t have a legal framework which regulates the downloading of music on the Internet. So music - and therefore, flamenco - continues to suffer the devastation of digital piracy. Thus, with the market broken, neither multinationals nor independent companies risk publishing young talents, creators tire of giving away their work, the genre’s sound treasures become unavailable forever… since music, unlike any other consumer product, falls in value to the point of being free on the Internet. Without understanding why, we keep on wondering what future our music will have and our musicians, composers, technicians, designers, lyricists, photographers, distributors, shopkeepers… In this sated society which understands that everything belongs to it and that certain efforts don’t deserve to be rewarded, what future will flamenco have? For the time being, it lies in the hands of enthusiasts with ethics who, in the name of the entire genre, we thank for their commitment and their love for flamenco.