This past Sunday, the New York Marathon—Guitar Marathon, that is—tested New Yorkers’ endurance at sitting through hours of classical guitar. The 92nd Street Y’s artistic director, David Spelman, arranged the event, the 3rd biannual one, with Spanish guitar legend Pepe Romero. I asked Spelman before the show whether it would be the best one yet. “What will be different,” he said, “is it’s a little more tight, thematically. The first was just guitar and the overall chronology of guitar through time on Earth. This one is the history of the classical guitar in Spain.” But besides some of the world’s top strummers playing classics out of Iberia, there were three new compositions, commissioned specifically for the event, all expanding the definition of flamenco guitar.
The first of these exploded from the weird-looking contraption that is Dominic Frasca’s 10-string guitar. Several of the frets were fitted with their own tiny caposto to give them the proper tuning for this piece. His performance was technically mind-blowing, beginning with a rapid ostinato (repeated rhythmic pattern) played only with his right hand, and developing to include contrapuntal lines carried by his left hand; the effect was so complex that WNYC’s John Schaefer, acting as host, had to clarify afterward that there was no looping—just the one line of notes. Frasca’s admiration for Phillip Glass and Steven Reich was apparent in the sustained, textural tones he created. And like so many of these minimalists’ works, Frasca’s piece did not develop a classic melodic theme or progress through different moods.
But there’s little that’s classical about Frasca, who played barefoot, seated on a milk crate, his iBook open in front of him helping him create the unique surround-sound he was after (and not, as he’d joshed, “to watch porn”). With his shaved head, black leather pants and muscle shirt, Frasca looked every bit the bad boy who’s been in and out of multiple graduate programs and owns a club called The Monkey.
The second new composition, and the one that moved me the most, was by rock-and-roller Bryce Dressner, of the Clogs and The Nationals. Searching for a way to express mourning for a beloved teacher, Dressner was inspired to draw on the emotional power in flamenco. For this performance of “Memorial,” he borrowed the Clogs’ lanky violist, Padma Newsome, and Bang on a Can All-Star percussionist David Cossin. Despite the experimental feel of “Memorial,” it had cohesiveness and a sense of structure. I particularly appreciated Cossin’s percussion, which made use of unconventional instruments—tiny, suspended gongs and bells, and a large, gourd-like drum—in an admirably controlled and reserved style. The tiny pounds on the various gongs tightly coordinated their pitches with the somber notes sustained by the guitar and viola.
The third original piece was by Gyan Riley, a fresh-faced young guitarist who, unlike the other two composers, centers his career primarily in performing classical repertoire with his Falla Guitar Trio and World Guitar Ensemble. Gyan’s pop is Terry Riley, famous minimalist composer and master of Indian musical forms. “I’ve been listening to Indian music since I was a toddler,” Gyan disclosed to me. Certain tunings and techniques were based on an Indian instrument with a loose bass string, easy to bend into the deep ‘waaa-waaa’ sounds that Riley mimicked with his guitar.
Since flamenco grew out of North Indian musical styles that morphed as they migrated up trade routes to Spain, I asked Riley whether he approached flamenco through the Indian themes familiar from his Dad’s work. “All Indian music is modeled after voice.” he explained. “I can pretend I’m a singer when playing.” This sentiment fit perfectly into the occasion, as cante—the singing—is the very heart of flamenco traditions; and the guitarists, percussionists and dancers all must follow the voice.
In this celebration of 450 years of Spanish guitar, these three originals added to that tradition. Looking forward to 451!
