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La Maestranza was founded in the royal city of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain in May 1994 by José María Gallardo del Rey.
La Maestranza consists of skilled musicians schooled in the rich tradition of classical music, while being equally versed in jazz, tango, flamenco and contemporary music.
Flute, clarinet, viola, cello, double bass, voice, percussion and guitar are the pillars on which the acoustic architecture of this extraordinary chamber ensemble, directed by José María Gallardo del Rey is based.
The ensemble has a wide and varied repertoire of many different styles of music and it’s technique and interpretation is exceptional. La Maestranza’s music can also be defined as having a distinctly and uniquely Spanish atmosphere. This is captured through the imaginative compositions written for the septet by Gallardo del Rey.
The guitar truly embraces the richness of Spanish culture. It has the capacity for rhythmic precision and a vast potential for colours, textures and vivid expression. This precision and potential is beautifully realised in the hands of José María Gallardo del Rey and is central to the intent of La Maestranza.
Through Gallardo del Rey and his ensemble of fine musicians, La Maestranza is an exciting and vibrant example of both chamber and Spanish music, breathing energy, passion and great talent into it’s work.
Since the debut at the IX Bienal Internacional de Arte Flamenco in Seville in 1994, they are touring throughout the Middle East, China, Corea, Mexico, EEUU and Europe including performances on national television and radio, La Maestranza has been widely acclaimed by critics and audiences alike.
Flute: Ezequiel Cortabarría
Clarinet: Vicente Sabater
Viola: Eva Martín
Double bass: Germán Muñoz
Cello: Michal Dmochowski
Percussion: Roberto Vozmediano
Guitar and Musical Direction: José María Gallardo del Rey
Banderillas de Tiniebla is a testimony in which José María Gallardo del Rey pays homage to Flamenco Music. In his own words, “ my feelings for Flamenco music are those of love. This type of music that is conceived in the deepest part of the soul caresses my emotions constantly. The program of this concert is a standing invitation to attend the tribute that every artist likes to pay to the music he considers his own, that type of music that takes control of him and, from the depths of his soul, permeates every note he creates.”
Banderillas de Tiniebla is born out of the encounter between the academic training of the musician and his fascination by the magic of flamenco nights.
As their titles indicate, Santa Cruz (Fantasía para sexteto) and Concierto para Tres Noches de Primavera (Noche de Bulería, Madrugá and Noche de Feria) are clear examples of nostalgia for Seville. Santa Cruz is a transcendental promenade through this old district of Seville. Its three movements share the same longing for the tunes of the Andalucian Moors and Jews. Starting from a common theme, the music expands into Elegiac lento, Adagietto and Allegro con Aire.
Concierto para Tres Noches de Primavera, Concierto para Guitarra y Seis Instrumentos, is a concertant in which the cadences of the guitar invite dialogue with the rest of the instruments and step aside for each instrument to play solo. This piece is also moulded in a tripartite form with a taste of buleria (can be appreciated all through this piece), an aroma reminiscent of my hometown resembling the Semana Santa march, and shades from the sevillana, Noche de Feria.
José Luis Ortiz Nuevo wrote the lyrics of the “Canciones de la Vida”. These are song cycles composed for voice and sextet and meant as a dedicatory note to the majesty of Andalucian chant. They are six, each one of which is born from the seductive effect that each rhythm of flamenco has on me. From soleas, bulerias, tangos, tientos etc., all the way to slow sevillanas comprise my personal idea of how voice should concert with instruments.
The other Seville, the Seville of Lorca is represented in my work by two of his most unforgettable characters, Ignacio Sánchez Mejías (Banderillas de Tiniebla) and Silverio Franconetti (Obertura de Silverio), to whom the poet dedicated a lot of love and devotion through his poems. Thus my modest tribute to the poet on his birth centenary happens to reunite the three figures in Guadalquivir de las Estrellas.
Banderillas de Tiniebla (which also lent its name to the whole concert) is a work that is rich in mournful overtones. It opens with elegiac, which gradually gives way to a variety of rhythmic spaces, including petenera, and flows through to tones that are reminiscent of a bullfighter marching to his death.
Obertura de Silverio is the concert starter; it opens with a guitar solo that serves as a prelude to the instrumental build up that, in turn, gives way to the tango mode rhythmic section.
Finally, Gráfico de los Elementos is a suite in which Earth, Wind, Fire and Water are handled from different musical perspectives (mostly rhythmic). The guitar, enfolded by other instruments, acts as an acoustic melting pot in which different musical planes are forged. Timbric intonations and echoes of popular cadences can be appreciated all through this piece.- José María Gallardo del Rey.