Country – Spain
Series – Rhythms of Emotion
Year – 2010
James Sparshatt
El duende
£500.00 – £1,950.00
El duende 2010
In the early hours in the Triana district of Seville, a flamenco palmera loses herself to the rhythm. As the tacones beat the floor, the vocalist calls out a lament and the palmera builds on the pulse that will draw the Duende (the spirit) to them. When at its most raw the summoning of the duende allows the performers and audience alike to form a mesmerised bond – all external thought and influence lost in the communal moment.
Andalusian flamenco was born in the Gitano or Gypsy communities of southern Spain. It involves a combination of cante (song), baile (dance), and toque (the art of guitar playing).
Flamenco transmits the deepest emotions of life and love from passion to anger and sadness; from joy to pain and fear. La pasión, la ira, la tristeza, la alegria, el dolor and el miedo through body language and facial expression.
At its best the intensity of the music takes both performer and audience alike on an emotional journey in which they become one with the Duende or spirit of life. Every scintilla is invested in the song and the beat such that the world around them for a short interlude becomes meaningless.
Sevilla
Andalucia
Spain
“Flamenco is the means through which man reaches God without the intervention or saints or angels,” Luis Antonio de Vega.
James Sparshatt‘s black and white portraits are a search for a connection with a world of emotions. His photographs from the streets of Havana, the milongas of Buenos Aires, the jazz clubs of New Orleans and bars of Andalucia capture the spirit of music in populations wher it is the very lifeblood and expression of life.
His fine art photographs are available as beautiful, traditional silver gelatin prints, as delicious palladium platinum prints produced by 31 Studio – The Platinum Print Room – recognised masters of this printing art form and in a larger format on archival Hahnemuhle rag paper. Each paper has been chosen for its outstanding quality to satisfy both discerning collectors and first time buyers looking for a beautiful image for their home.
