The music
Paco de Lucía tribute
Who Paco de Lucía was, why guitarists pay tribute to him, and how the Falla, Lorca and Corea names fit the programme of this Palau concert.
Reserve a seat at the Palau ↗Quick answer
Paco de Lucía (1947–2014) was a flamenco guitarist from Algeciras who became one of the first to move into classical and jazz. The Palau concert is billed as a tribute to him, and the organiser names Manuel de Falla, Federico García Lorca, Chick Corea and de Lucía among the sources of its programme. Programmes can vary by date.
The guitarist
Francisco Gustavo Sánchez Gómez was born on 21 December 1947 in Algeciras, in the province of Cádiz, and took the stage name Paco de Lucía to honour his Portuguese mother, Lúcia Gomes. He played in public on a radio station at the age of 11. Wikipedia describes him as a virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer and record producer, and as one of the first flamenco guitarists to branch into classical and jazz. He died on 25 February 2014.
What made him matter
De Lucía was noted for fast, fluent picados, or fingerstyle runs, which he set against rasgueados and quieter playing, and for adding jazz-influenced chords to flamenco. He recorded ten albums with the singer Camarón de la Isla in the 1970s, which Wikipedia calls some of the most important in flamenco history. His 1979 collaboration with John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell as The Guitar Trio carried his name to wider audiences. That history is why guitar trios and tributes make sense in his name.
Chick Corea and the cajón
In 1990, de Lucía recorded the album Zyryab with the jazz pianist Chick Corea and the guitarist Manolo Sanlúcar. Wikipedia also credits his sextet with bringing the Peruvian cajón into flamenco, working with the percussionist Rubem Dantas, and says it became an essential percussion tool in contemporary flamenco. So a percussionist beside the guitarists, as on this bill, follows a path de Lucía helped to open.
Falla and Lorca
Manuel de Falla, born in Cádiz in 1876, was one of Spain's most important composers of the first half of the 20th century. He conceived the 1922 Concurso de Cante Jondo in Granada, a festival of flamenco arts that the poet Federico García Lorca strongly supported. De Lucía recorded an album of Falla's music in 1978, and the discography Wikipedia lists includes a 1965 collaborative album of García Lorca songs for guitar. Both names fit a guitar tribute with a Spanish programme.
The Palau and the guitar
The Palau has a guitar history of its own. Wikipedia records that Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez had its first performance there on 9 November 1940, played by the guitarist Regino Sainz de la Maza with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Barcelona. De Lucía later performed and recorded that concerto himself, in 1991, though he had not been fluent at reading notation. The hall where a guitar concerto was first heard is a fitting place for a guitar tribute.
What the tribute may include
The organiser names Manuel de Falla, Federico García Lorca, Chick Corea and Paco de Lucía as the authors of the works the evening draws on. It does not publish a set list, and programmes can vary. Treat the names as a guide to the style, a blend of Spanish classical guitar and flamenco, and not a promise of any particular piece. The booking page is the only dependable programme for your date, so look there before you commit.
How to listen
A flamenco guitarist uses a guitar similar to a classical one, but with lower action and a livelier, grittier sound, according to Wikipedia. Listen for the contrast between rapid picado runs and the strum of rasgueado, and for how the guitarists hand the melody between them. The dancers and the percussionist add rhythm. If you can, play a few de Lucía recordings beforehand so that the names on the bill sound familiar.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Paco de Lucía?
A Spanish flamenco guitarist and composer from Algeciras, born in 1947 and died in 2014, who was among the first flamenco guitarists to move into classical and jazz.
Will they play his famous pieces?
The organiser does not publish a set list and says nothing fixed. Do not count on a particular piece.
What did the Palau hear first in 1940?
Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, played by Regino Sainz de la Maza, according to Wikipedia, on 9 November 1940.
Why is Chick Corea named?
De Lucía recorded Zyryab with Chick Corea in 1990, and the organiser names Corea among the sources of the programme.
Sources