El Corazón Del Flamenco: Captured Within Music And Dance ~ Adelaide Guitar Festival 2022 Review

[MUSIC/Guitar/Dance ~ INT] Her Majesty’s Theatre, Thu 21 Jul. This performance was in two parts by two different artists/ensembles. First up José Maria Gallardo Del Rey introducing us to the Spanish guitar. In fact it began as something of a history lesson, with the first couple of pieces coming from the early Baroque period – the dawn of the age of the Spanish Guitar (the beginning of the age of written music for that matter), then from one of his compositions to Albinez’ very popular piece Sevilla (José being from Seville) and back to some modern Spanish guitar. José’s performance was note perfect and crystal clear. Just a single guitar, a single microphone and the sound was a million dollars! With flying fingers and intense concentration the fretboard is clearly José’s very familiar playground. Very evident was a great respect for the history, the tradition, his instrument and the audience. Setting the stage perfectly for Part 2! Then it was time for an immersive Flamenco experience, with Arte Kanela, all the way from Melbourne. Firstly it was Richard, solo on guitar, then joined by Joe on percussion and once they’d got us warmed up – it was time for the dancers, firstly Chantelle and then Johnny too. What a sparkling gig! There was not a word spoken to the audience in their entire performance, but not once did we feel left out. Rather, the audience shared the joy of the ensemble’s performance and interactions. The set had a great dynamic; building up, pulling back and then bringing us to the brink on several occasions – with a number of little reprises as well. And while the guitar and percussion were complete in themselves, the dancing, clapping and foot percussion were simply astounding to behold, Chantelle and Johnny had us all spellbound. But at the same time it was an ensemble performance and they played joyfully with and off each other, with enough fluidity to include improvisation where desired. It was an uplifting experience and literally a standing ovation performance. A great demonstration of another aspect of the six little nylon strings and shaped wood that is a guitar! 4.5 stars Clayton Werner #ClotheslineMag #AdelGuitarFest