MANUEL VALENCIA, INTIMATE
We are at the opening of the intimate concerts of Espacio Expoflamenco In Jerez. Perhaps one way to describe guitarist Manuel Valencia's recital is to place oneself in the middle of the river—sometimes rushing, sometimes calm—of which he is a part. This is how one can glimpse the banks that emerge from his extraordinary playing. The opening soleá, Puerta del Tiempo (Gateway of Time), is a clear declaration of intent regarding this premise. Manuel Valencia Medrano draws from the wellsprings of the Jerez school, from which he takes that airy depth so difficult to execute in its original cadence. His use of the distinctive alzapúa technique in these parts—adding the index finger to the thumb—is combined with rounded strums and arpeggios, which he performs with personality and taste. But the performer is not content with this exposition and proposes melodic arcs in keeping with his time. Tradition with a certain openness to the contemporary. And yet, with great respect, as if he didn't want to shake the vessel of his heritage too much. With Carlos Merino on percussion, he performs the zapateado "El árbol de las palabras" (The Tree of Words), also from his work "Las tr3s orillas" (The Three Shores), which he came to present. Manuel anticipates the entrance and exit of the dance, the toe and heel supported by the binary polyrhythm that in Jerez is bordered on a certain cadence, akin to the rhythms more characteristic of the amalgamation. After his performance, he releases some of the initial tension. Perhaps "Velo de flor" (Veil of Flower), a minera (a type of flamenco song) culminating in fandangos, is the most poetic passage of the concert. Manuel evokes the stillness of a yeast that emerges pompously from the depths of the oak barrel to the surface of the wine. The wood and the sound, that is, they flow here with tremolos and staccato flourishes, describing the passage from darkness to light. "Manuel Valencia drinks from the wellsprings of the Jerez school, from which he takes that airy depth so difficult to execute in its original cadence." A particular use of the pick in these parts – adding the index finger to the thumb – which is combined with round strums and arpeggios that he picks up with personality and taste."
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