I'm so lucky! Thanks to my eleven-year stay in the Conservatory of Córdoba and my friendship with david pine, and my visits to La Puente de PhosphoriteI was fortunate enough that life placed a great artist in my path, a true MASTER, a generous and wise man who took a liking to me and often allowed me to be a part of his life. We shared jury duties on many occasions, in the Cordoba NationalIn the Youth section, like that one in Posadas where we had to run away because they wanted to beat us up for leaving a prize unawarded. Long conversations, unforgettable experiences that flood my mind today upon receiving the sad news of his passing. Glory to Mr. Antonio Fernandez Diaz!
Fosforito was all personality, the essential quality of any self-respecting flamenco singer. He left his mark on the vast repertoire he cultivated and on a school of artists who, inspired by his genius, developed his style. that form of "cante male" Although it may sound terrible today, everyone with a clear head knows what it refers to.
"Antonio, what's this 'two for four' thing?" And he, surprised that I didn't know, told me: "That's what we called putting the capo on the second fret and in the key of a taranta. Of course! On the second fret, the capo on the second fret, 'for four,' the key of a taranta, which is like playing on the second fret, and two plus two... It stuck with me."
It was probably because of my background as a musicologist that Antonio always showed me such genuine affection. He loved to share, as did... Manolo Sanlucar, his scientific concerns about art flamenco From a technical point of view. This chord, that third, that accent—and I, asking more questions than a lost soul, bombarded him with doubts that he patiently tried to clarify.
I remember one day when, referring to a guitar tone, he said something that caught my attention: sing the taranta “from two to four”And I asked him, "Antonio, what's this 'two for four' thing?" And he, surprised that I didn't know, told me, "That's what we used to say when we put the capo on the second fret and played the taranta chord." Of course! On the second fret, the capo on the second fret, 'for four,' the taranta chord, which is like playing on the second fret, and two plus two… It stuck with me. I'd never heard that way of referring to chords. It was something old-timers used to say, people who had lived through a golden age of flamenco which, to our astonishment, we cannot even imagine today.
Antonio belonged to a generation of titans of flamenco that will never return. He was telling me how the anthology with Paco de LucíaThat gem on four LPs was recorded in four sittings, in 1971. Forty-eight canteIt was done in just a few recording sessions. Exactly the same as now, you know. Like I said, it belonged to the era of the giants of flamenco.
Rest in peace, our Fósforo. Thank you for everything.
