Manitas de Plata, "Inspired Guitarrista" By Vincent Sheean His real name is Ricardo Ballardo, but this has long

since been forgotten. Sobri quets are a Gypsy custom, and most often they are names bestowed by the people r ather than invented by the artist. Nowadays Manilas de Plata, "Silver Hands" mig ht as well have no other name. He is a true Spanish Gypsy, now living near Aries , where there has been for many centuries a Gypsy encampment. He plays chiefly i n the south of France, where these recordings were made, and has never shown any desire to travel overseas. Manitas has every technical resource known to the guitar. There are times when i t seems hardly conceivable that any ten fingers could evoke such an orchestra of plucked strings. In years gone by, in the Gypsy cafes of Spain, especially before the revolution and civil war, I listened with appreciation, affection and, sometimes, awe to a number of celebrated flamenco guitarists. But in that kind of music I have never heard the equal of the man with the hands of silver. The essence of flamenco music is the air of improvisation, even though the gener al lines of any one piece may have been performed innumerable times. A dancer st eps forward into the middle of the circle and does her (or his) bit of bravura; then, when the theme changes, a singer takes up his almost wordless lament; in a nother theme a different dancer advances to the center; at times the guitarist a lone performs while all the rest of the cuadro flamenco-the entire group of perf ormers-clap hands, cry "Ole!" or other encouragements, and interpolate all sorts of remarks generally of an admiring nature. But when some dancer, singer or guitarist surpasses all others, a greater emphas is is placed upon that artist-more time for solo work, more opportunity for brav ura. Such a solo artist, such a diamond among lesser jewels, is the inspired gui tarrista Manitas de Plata. An artist like Manitas, knowing no formal music at all, has played the guitar si nce childhood and has, through sheer absorption, learned from the instrument eve rything it has to teach. That is the Gypsy way, that is Manitas' way-he lives in his music as the fish lives in the sea: it is another element, another language , which through his genius we are privileged to hear even when many of its myste ries are beyond easy comprehension. Recording Manitas de Plata By E. Alan Silver I FIRST heard of Manitas de Plata in 1955. My friend and Colleague, Marc Aubort, had just returned from his vacation in southern France. He had attended the Gyp sy Festival of Les Saintes Maries de la Mer and with a spring- wound tape record er had recorded highlights of the affair for his own pleasure. Among them were p erformances of a young Gypsy guitarist, Manitas de Plata, whose playing had so f ascinated Marc that he had spent the rest of his vacation getting acquainted wit h the guitarist and recording more of his art. Marc decided to write Manitas for permission to release a record of some of the material he had taped. Letter after letter went out addressed to "Mr. Manitas de Plata, Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, France." All were unanswered. Since he was unable to get in touch with the artist, the matter was dropped. In the fall of 1961 a Time magazine article reported that Manitas had become the rage of the Riviera, but that he steadfastly refused to record. My interest was

again aroused- and then came an astonishing coincidence! Several weeks after the Times article appeared, I attended an exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art and was strongly attracted to some outstanding photo graphs of Gypsies, bullfighting and water-scene abstractions by a French photogr apher, Lucien Clergue. While looking at the photographs I heard someone remark i n a pleasantly French- accented voice that he had been "so close to the bull tha t the blood spattered my shirt." I approached the gentleman in sunglasses and in quired if he was the photographer. He was, and I blurted out that I would like t o buy some of his photographs. At the same time I asked him if he had ever come across the Gypsy guitarist, Manitas de Plata. Clergue was visibly startled. He t old me that Manitas was a close personal friend and asked me if I, too, knew him . No, I said, but I had heard tapes of his playing. We talked for a while about Clergue's photographs and then returned to the geniu s of Manitas de Plata. "What were the chances of recording this amazing artist?" Up to now, Clergue told me, all recording offers-and there had been many-had bee n refused by Manitas, who feared that he might be cheated. Clergue said he was w eary of this excuse and would be willing personally to vouch for a recording con tract between Manitas and Connoisseur Society, Inc. He felt it was overwhelmingl y important to expose this man's art to the world. In the end, Manitas agreed. We thought it would be best to bring Manitas to New York to record. The guitaris t's response was rather frustrating: He was willing to come if he did not have t o travel by boat or plane! In other words, if we wanted to record Manitas de Pla ta we would have to take our three-quarters of a ton of recording equipment to s outhern France. We arrived in the city of Aries. Lucien Clergue's home is there, only a short di stance from Montpellier where Manitas lives during the winter. We found that a m edieval chapel, adjoining the Jules Cesar hotel, was available, with acoustics a bout as perfect as one could wish. While our machinery was being assembled and t ested, Lucien Clergue held several evenings of flamenco music at his home. In th is way engineers and musicians became acquainted, a very important factor in rec ording music so intimate and spontaneous. The recording began at 8 P.M. one evening and, except for a brief break to eat, lasted until 4 A.M. Realizing the need for musical communication between artist and responsive listener, we had invited a number of Gypsies and some friends of Clergue's. Clergue's lovely wife provided a French version of "hero sandwiches" and a huge tub of sangria, a famous Gypsy wine punch. Interestingly enough, none of the performing Gypsies touched a drop of this favorite drink until the sessi on was over. Although we now had enough material, Manitas thought he had more to offer us and we agreed to record again the next night. As before, the session started at 8 P .M., and the inspiration appeared to be limitless. But by 12:30 everyone seemed a bit tired and we asked Manitas if there was anything else he cared to play bef ore we took down the equipment. After a moment of silence Manitas motioned to me to sit in front of him and said he would play one more number, a levantes*. It would contain everything he knew about flamenco. It was perhaps the finest perfo rmance of the two nights. Indeed, we were all too moved to greet it with the usu al shouts. Then Clergue suggested a saeta* by the singer Jose Reyes. He had save d the suggestion till the end of the session because the saeta is so demanding e motionally. Any singer who puts his entire heart and soul into a saeta is incapa ble of singing anything else the same night. Reyes sang, and with that unforgett able saeta the sessions ended. *Ed. Note: You will find both the levantes and the saeta on Side 4 of the album.

For the technically minded: The performances were recorded on American-built Ampex tape recorders. Model 350 -2. Two machines were employed using half-inch tape and specially built two-trac k heads. The tape speed of the master was 30" per second. Fifty rolls of new Sco tch low-noise tape were brought from New York. Four microphones-all Sony C-37A-w ere used for all the recording except for the saeta when only two were used. All the selections recorded were done in one "take"-in other words, there were no r epeat performances-and those presented in this album are uncut and unedited. SIDE1 BANDS 1-3 Alegrias clsicas The alegrias is one of the most popular of the flamenco forms and one of the gay est. The Spanish word alegria means joy or cheer. Interestingly, the rhythmic pa ttern of the alegrias is identical with that of the somber soleares from which i t developed. Its brighter character is due to its more lively tempo and to the f act that it is in major while the soleares is in minor. Experts say that in orde r to see the alegrias danced authentically one must see it performed by the care free Gaditanos, the residents of Spain's ancient city of Cadiz (called by the Ph oenicians Gadir), which has been noted for its dancers since Roman times. Seguiriyas The intensely pessimistic seguiriyas is a vehicle for the expression of the trag ic aspects of life. It is the form frequently chosen by singers of cante jondo t o reveal their deepest emotions. The irregular meter of the seguiriyas makes it one of the most complex of the flamenco rhythms. Nevertheless, like all flamenco cantes which are also dances, the seguiriyas adheres to a strict rhythmic patte rn (compas). The martillo accents (tapping on the guitar near the bridge) which are heard here imitate the dancer's footwork. Tarruca The Gypsies found this folk dance from Galicia in northwest Spain much to their liking because of the bravura opportunities it offered. For the male dancer it i ncludes rapid-fire footwork (zapateado) and exciting turns terminating in an abr upt stop, which will cause the cuadro flamenco to shout "Bien parado!" ("Well st opped!"). Spectacular leaps are followed by the calda (fall) as the dancer throw s himself to the floor and after another brief pause resumes his spirited activi ty. Sometimes in performing the farruca the dancer will offer a stylized interpr etation of the bull- fighter's techniques and stances. One does not need much im agination to visualize all this while listening to Manitas de Plata's exciting r endition. SIDE 2 BANDS 1-3 Jota The jota is another folk dance from the north of Spain which appealed to the Gyp sies because of its vigorous and energetic movements. Some scholars believe that one can still hear in the jota the clash of swords and that the dance was intro duced into Spain by Moorish or Berber soldiers. In more recent times, it has bee n performed by peasants in the provinces of Aragon and Navarre as a courtship da nce. Generally danced by a group of couples, the jota calls for skillfully execu ted pirouettes and speedy footwork. With a sudden break in the rhythm, the dance

rs come to an abrupt halt, adopt a characteristic facial expression and remain i mmobile for a couple of seconds before continuing their dance. This break (despl ante), also noted in the farruca, is a common feature of flamenco as well as Ara bic dancing. Malagueas flamencas Malagueas are a regional variety of another major flamenco form, the fandangos. T hey belong to the Andalusian province of Mlaga which lies along the Mediterranean . They are languorous and melancholy in character and are played or sung, but no t danced, and therefore do not have a strict rhythmic pattern. Soleares gitanas Because the soleares are the source of several other flamenco forms, they have b een called "the mother of song." Solea (plural, soleares) is a Gypsy corruption of the Spanish soledad which means loneliness. The soleares are stark and tragic , the song of the forsaken. They belong to the group of flamenco cantes which ha ve developed from old religious chants and therefore retain an "Eastern" charact er. Their rhythmic pattern of twelve beats with shifting accents is one of the m ost fascinating in flamenco. Here again we hear the martillo accents imitating t he dancer. SIDE 3 BANDS 1-3 Granadinas Another variety of the fandangos, the granadinas are, as their name implies, son gs from the province of Granada, the area of Andalusia which the Moors held long er than any other-for almost eight centuries, until 1492. Consequently, the Moor ish flavor of the granadinas is paramount. They have a free rhythm because they can be played or sung, but not danced. Tarantas The tarantas, still another form derived from the fandangos, are particularly as sociated with the province of Murcia in southeastern Spain. It is, vocally, one of the most beautiful of the flamenco cantes and, since it is sung, there is no set rhythm to impede the freedom of the vocal line. The "Eastern" character of t he tarantas is very pronounced. Oriental features include the use of enharmonism (notes are divided and subdivided into intervals smaller than the semitone of t he Western scale); the use of portamento-i.e., gliding of the voice from one not e to the next through a series of minute intermediate pitches; and obsessive rep etition of a note over and over again, generally accompanied by appoggiaturas fr om above and below the note. Those familiar with synagogical chant will immediat ely recognize that this cante is closely related to it. Others will be impressed by the foreignness of its sound. The singer (cantaor) begins with an extended vocal passage on the word Ay! This melismatic device is one common to Hebraic, Byzantine and Gregorian chant. There follows a short guitar passage and then the first of three verses, or coplas. T he coplas are separated by more extended guitar passages known as falsetas, whic h are elaborations or variations on the cante. The tarantas generally deal with the familiar flamenco themes of misfortune, despair and death. The verses record ed here are no exception. Bulerias The bulerias, another example of the gay flamenco forms, developed from the aleg rias and have the same basic rhythmic pattern as the latter, but with different

accentuation. The bulerias are played in a faster tempo and are performed with m ore abandon than the alegrias; they are wilder, gayer and more gitano than the p arent form. The term bulerias is derived from the Spanish burlar which means to mock, scoff, burlesque. The bulerias are particularly associated with the sherry -producing center of Jerez de la Frontera where it is believed they originated. SIDE 4 BANDS 1-3 Saeta The saeta is one of the cante jondo forms which are sung without accompaniment. The word means arrow (of song that is directed to the heavens). The saeta is mos t closely associated with the religious processions during Holy Week in Spain. I t is an unforgettable experience to hear a saeta pierce the silence as a hushed crowd watches the statues from the local church or cathedral being reverently ca rried through the streets. The most prominent cantaors of the locality place the mselves along the route of the procession and, as the statues approach, describe in saetas the sufferings of Christ, the Crucifixion and the sorrows of the Bles sed Virgin. Levantes The regions of Murcia and Alicante in southeastern Spain are known as El Levante . The various flamenco forms indigenous to this area, such as the one recorded h ere and the tarantas already described, have an Oriental, fatalistic character. In his account of the recording sessions Alan Silver describes the rendering of the levantes, which Manitas de Plata said sums up all he knows about flamenco. I t may be noted that some of the passages in this piece are played by the left ha nd alone, producing a dark tonal effect of extraordinary beauty. Tarantas y bulerias The vigorous and zestful rhythms of the bulerias are somewhat subdued here by th e melancholy tarantas cante. Exciting counterrhythms and countermelodies produce a dramatic effect. Once again the martillo taps are heard. SIDE 5 Moritas Moras The title of this cante is "Little Moorish Girls." It is an extended piece in th e Moorish style. As the first cantaor, Jose Reyes, intones the opening stanza, a member of the group calls out, "Eso es cante moro!" ("That's Moorish singing!") . At the end of the stanza the guitar plays a falseta and then the second cantao r, Manero Ballardo, intones his song. The two cantaors sing alternately of the s ame subjects - unrequited love, the perfidy of women and the despair of the reje cted. SIDE 6 BANDS 1-3 Tarantas In this guitar solo we have another opportunity to hear the strange discords, ex otic harmonies and haunting melodies which make the tarantas one of the most bea utiful of the flamenco cantes. Here, too, one can enjoy the dramatic ligados (pa ssages played with the left hand) which display the dark tones of the guitar to greatest effect. Sevillanas

Palmadas, zapateados and the guitar create dazzling counterrhythms as the guitar ist raises his voice in the sevillanas. The sevillana is the song and the dance of Seville, Spain's gayest and most romantic city, considered by many the true h ome of flamenco. During the famous week-long feria in Seville, the populace dons the traditional Andalusian dress and dances the sevillanas in the streets until early dawn. Fandangos The fandangos, like the soleares, might also be called "the mother of cante" bec ause it is the parent of many other flamenco forms. It should be noted that the flamenco fandango is different from the dance-also known as the fandango-that wa s popular in 18th-century Spain and from the traditional fandango of northern Sp ain where it is danced by Galicians and Basques to the accompaniment of trombone s, tambourines and castanets. The Andalusian fandango was fused with Moorish ele ments and it became one of the somber, tragic cantes. It is no longer danced and therefore does not have a set rhythmic pattern. THE SINGERS Jos Reyes is a cousin of Manitas de Plata. He was born in 1930 at Nice and now re sides in Arles with his wife and eight children. He has been a metalworker but n ow sells carpets. Occasionally, he sings with Manitas de Plata in cabarets. Manero Ballardo is the son of Manitas de Plata. He was born in 1940 at Montpelli er where he still lives. He works as a builder and sings only for his friends an d family. He learned flamenco from his father and uncle.