Manuel Morao

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Manuel Morao

Manuel Moreno Jiménez (* 1929 in Jerez de la Frontera ), known by his stage name Manuel Morao , is a Spanish flamenco guitarist.

Life

Manuel Morao's family is one of those Gitano families in the social fabric of Jerez who shaped musical life there. The father was a singer, the mother, who called herself Maora , danced. In both the maternal and paternal families there were few who did not sing or indulge in dancing. Manuel was the first to turn to the guitar; according to his own statement due to a coincidence. As a boy of six he was cocky and broke his arms. The father said that he was too weak to work in the fields - the gitanos' usual livelihood at that time - and did he not want to learn to play the guitar? At first without much enthusiasm he, Manuel, played the small used guitar that his father had bought for him. After a while he acquired the rhythms of the pieces that were played at festivals in the circle of friends, and when he was about seven he began to play as well as he could at these festivals.

As he enjoyed the guitar, Manuel's playing improved. The family asked Javier Molina to hear the boy. Molina thought he had talent and gave him lessons until he finally reached artistic maturity and looked for his own style. Morao said he was guided by Manuel Gómez Vélez , Ramón Montoya , Niño Ricardo and Melchor de Marchena , among others .

At the age of 12 he already played with artists such as Pastora Pavón , Pastora Imperio and Antonio Mairena . He went on trips with Manolo Caracol , Lola Flores and Concha Piquer . In the 1950s he became the first guitarist at the National Ballet of Antonio Gades and toured the world with this dancer.

In 1965 he won first prize for guitar accompaniment at the Cordoba competition . In 1969 the Cátedra de Flamencología de Jerez awarded him the national prize for guitar playing.

In the 1980s he founded the Gitanos de Jerez agency to promote young artists. Artists such as La Macanita and Juan Moneo benefited from it . Numerous CDs by Gitano artists have been produced. In 1985 and 1986 he traveled to the USA and performed at Carnegie Hall , among others .

In 2001 he received the Premio Compás del Cante from the Cruzcampo Foundation .

Today Manuel Morao is considered the patriarch of the musical family clan. His younger brother Juan Moreno Jiménez (1935–2002) did the same later, but without reaching the artistic perfection of the older man. His son Moraíto Chico and his nephew Diego continue the family tradition.

Artistic creation

Characteristic of his guitar playing, says Morao of himself, is his understanding of rhythm, which differs from that of others. He used upbeats more often than other to add variety to the rhythm. He is interested in the guitar as an accompaniment to song and dance; in this role he strives for perfection. However, he is pessimistic about the outlook:

"Como el cante también está desvirtuao, pues la guitarra también se está desvirtuando en el accompañamiento."

"Just as the singing impoverishes artistically, so will the accompanying guitar playing."

- Manuel Morao

The singer and guitarist Pedro Peña Fernández , himself an excellent accompanist on the guitar, counts Manuel Morao among the handful of leading accompanist guitarists of his era. He accompanied the singer Terremoto on most of his appearances.

His discography includes more than sixty works in different formats, as records or CDs. He appeared in nine films and 35 television shows, most notably in 1967 in Rito y Geografía del Cante .

Despite his successes in Córdoba and Jerez, he does not attach great importance to prices. Competitions are generally manipulated; in Cordoba it was already clear that he would receive the award. He was specifically asked to take part in the competition so that he could be awarded the prize.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ángel Álvarez Caballero: El toque flamenco . Alianza Editorial, Madrid 2003, ISBN 978-84-206-2944-5 , p. 73 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Ángel Álvarez Caballero: El toque flamenco . S. 74 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Antonio Núñez: Manuel Morao. In: El arte de Vivir el Flamenco. January 26, 2008, accessed November 22, 2015 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ Chair
  5. ↑ a b Ángel Álvarez Caballero: El toque flamenco . S. 75 .
  6. ↑ according to Álvarez Caballero; according to Nuñez, his nephew
  7. ↑ span .: Contratiempos
  8. ↑ Ángel Álvarez Caballero: El toque flamenco . S. 208 .
  9. ↑ Ángel Álvarez Caballero: El cante flamenco . Alianza Editorial, Madrid 2004, ISBN 978-84-206-4325-0 , p. 307 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Morao, Manuel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Moreno Jiménez, Manuel (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION spanish flamenco guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Jerez de la Frontera