Enrique Morente

Enrique Morente

Enrique Morente Cotelo (25 December 1942 – 13 December 2010), known as Enrique Morente, was a flamenco singer (in Spanish, cantaor) and a controversial figure within the world of contemporary flamenco. After his orthodox beginnings, he plunged into experimentalism, writing new melodies for cante (flamenco singing) and jamming with musicians of all styles, without renouncing his roots in traditional flamenco singing, which he kept on cultivating. In spite of severe criticism from the most "purist" amongst the critics and public, "It hasn't been easy. First came the accusations of corruption of the music, of treachery in his struggle to disfigure what was already perfectly coded. When some albums and some categorical evidence of his knowledge of the classical approach laid these malicious comments bare, then came the most twisted condemnations. That the pace of the compás waned (just get a metronome and see for yourself), that he didn't really make you feel (are there really many true aficionados whose hair doesn't stand on end listening to his caña ‘Eso no lo manda la ley’, ‘La aurora de Nueva York’ or ‘Generalife’, to name three markedly different examples) and that kind of thing." he was perhaps the most influential contemporary flamenco singer, who not only innovated, but it could also be said that he created tradition: some of his cantes have been performed by other singers such as Camarón de la Isla, Mayte Martín, Carmen Linares, Miguel Poveda, Segundo Falcón and Arcángel. He also is the father of flamenco singer Estrella Morente. The posthumously published volume of Leonard Cohen’s poems, The Flame, includes “Homage to Morente.” (pp. 30-31)

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