Paco Peña

Paco Peña
flamenco dance company
A Compás!
to the rhythm
Paco Peña
flamenco dance company
A Compás!
to the rhythm

A Compás!
to the rhythm
From the early days in which I decided to launch my company I set out to bring onto the
stage a true rendition of what the Art of Flamenco represents: a spontaneous collaboration
between artists of different disciplines, i.e. musicians, dancers and singers who inspire oneanother
to reach as far as possible into their artistic endeavors so as to create a unique
and unrepeatable experience every time; a performance that is new and surprising to
themselves as much as it is to any audience present.
Flamenco is not written down but passed on from generation to generation, so it continues
to allow for new ideas to come into it. It holds an intense appeal that is timeless and not
easy to clearly define. Both the tragic cry of the seguiriya in the lone voice of the flamenco
singer and the explosion of happiness of the bulería rhythm find mysterious paths into
people’s sensitivities all over the world; as do the sensuality and passion of the dance and
the unique texture of the flamenco guitar sound.
Over the years I have tried in my shows to deal with various challenging concepts, from the
deceivingly simple notion of highlighting the essential significance of the flamenco song,
(not given due recognition for many previous years), as was the case with my Flamenco
Puro show, to what was described by the press as a ground-breaking drama, Musa Gitana
which told the story of the legendary, turn-of-the 20th . Century artist from Córdoba, Julio
Romero de Torres, with his complex observation of life and society and his personal,
traumatic passions.
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NI 5093
Flamenco Guitar Music of
Ramón Montoya and Niño Ricardo
Paco Peña, guitar
NI 5116
Azahara
Paco Peña, guitar
NI 5196
Encuentro
Paco Peña and Eduardo Falú
NI5602/3
Arte y Pasión
Paco Peña Live in Concert with his
Flamenco Company
Also Available by Paco Peña
Full details from the Nimbus Records website
www.wyastone.co.uk
© 2008 Wyastone Estate Limited
P 2008 Wyastone Estate Limited
7
NI 5288
Paco Peña’s
Misa Flamenca
Singers
La Susi
Rafael Montilla “El Chaparro“
Dieguito
Antonio Suarez “Guadiana”
Guitars
Paco Peña
Tito, José & Diego Losada
Percussion - César Victoriano
Choir - Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Chorus
Laszlo Heltay, director

All music on these tracks represents the totality of the
show A Compas! by Paco Peña.
Arranged by Paco Peña, Paco Arriaga, Rafael Montilla and Company
Original live recording by Mario García
Produced by Elvira Peña
Produced, Edited and Mastered at Manatee Audio
The Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company is managed worldwide
by MPM-London
Lighting: Elena Peña
Photographs: Elaine Mayson, Levent Yyldyz, Elvira Peña
6
More recently, I have been privileged to enjoy the collaboration of the renowned theatre
director Jude Kelly in what proved to be, with her great ideas, a spectacular show, Voces y
Ecos, which took the audience on a kind of journey through the history of flamenco and
the most significant moments in its development. That show also enjoyed the very personal
and creative choreography of Fernando Romero, who also helped me in putting together
the ensemble pieces of my next show. I am grateful to him, as I am also to my friend Diego
Alvarez “El Negro” for his help with the percussion elements in the show.
The new presentation, A Compás ! wants to transmit to the audience the compelling nature
of a range of flamenco rhythms, from the almost ‘tribal’, trance-inducing quality of the
alboreá to the razor - sharp complexity of the bulería. Each dancer is responsible for their
own solo choreography. But in general, one of the aims of the show is to isolate at some
moment each artist, from all disciplines; to throw (as it were) him or her onto the naked
reality of a given rhythmic structure (or compás) and, there, having to deal with it in their
own personal way, immersing themselves into the feeling of the rhythm and contributing
their own creative input, they must end up projecting a compelling pulse that every one
can feel and identify with. Or put in different words, they must try and get everybody ‘into
the rhythm’, induce the feeling of a compás into the whole experience.
Flamenco rhythms are vital; the compás is like a primal pulse, like the rhythm of the earth...
and everyone must get to feel its power! I hope this live recording of the show gets close
to that reality.
Paco Peña
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www.pacopena.com

Paco Peña
flamenco dance company
A Compás!
to the rhythm
Devised by Paco Peña
Guitarists
Paco Peña, Paco Arriaga,
Rafael Montilla
Singers
Inmaculada Rivero
José Angel Carmona
Dancers
Angel Muñoz
Charo Espino
Ramón Martínez
Percussion
Nacho López
Percussion adviser
Diego Alvarez ‘El Negro’
DISC ONE
1 Alboreá The Company 9.42
2 La Guitarra Solista Paco Peña 6.15
3 Palillos Rítmicos
(a) Zorongo Paco Peña, Charo Espino 4.17
(b) Mantilla y Peina Paco Peña, Charo Espino 4.31
Paco Arriaga, Rafael Montilla
Palmas: Nacho and Ramón
4 Martinete y Caña Angel Muñoz,
Charo Espino & Company 13.41
5 Alegrías Ramón Martínez
& Company 15.08
Total playing time 53.34
DISC TWO
1 Suite Guitarra y Baile
Homenaje a Montoya y Sabicas
(a) Farruca Angel Muñoz Paco Peña 7.49
(b) Rondeña Ramón Martínez, Paco Peña 6.06
(c) Zapateado en Re Angel Muñoz, Paco Peña, Rafael Montilla 4.26
(d) Zapateado Angel Muñoz, Ramón Martínez 4.59
Paco Arriaga, Paco Peña
Rafael Montilla, Nacho López
2 Cantiñas Charo Espino & Company 8.51
3 Soleá Angel Muñoz & Company 11.12
4 Explorando el Compás The Company 5.06
5 Ritmo Nuevo The Company 8.41
Total playing time 57.10
4 5

Nimbus
PACO PEÑA • A COMPÁS!
PACO PEÑA FLAMENCO DANCE COMPANY
NI 7721/2
Paco Peña
flamenco dance company
A Compás!
to the rhythm
Devised by Paco Peña
Guitarists
Paco Peña
Paco Arriaga
Rafael Montilla
Singers
Inmaculada Rivero
José Angel Carmona
Dancers
Angel Muñoz
Charo Espino
Ramón Martínez
Percussion
Nacho López
DISC ONE
1 Alboreá 9.42
2 La Guitarra Solista 6.15
3 Palillos Rítmicos
- Zorongo 4.17
- Mantilla y Peina 4.31
4 Martinete y Caña 13.41
5 Alegrías 15.08
DISC TWO
1 Suite Guitarra y Baile
Homenaje a Montoya y Sabicas
- Farruca 7.49
- Rondeña 6.06
- Zapateado en Re 4.26
- Zapateado 4.59
2 Cantiñas 8.51
3 Soleá 11.12
4 Explorando el Compás 5.06
5 Ritmo Nuevo 8.41
Total playing time 1 hour 51 mins
Made in the UK by Nimbus Records
P 2008 Wyastone Estate Limited
© 2008 Wyastone Estate Limited
http://www.wyastone.co.uk
“A Compas! is one of his best:
serious but seriously entertaining.”
(Sunday Telegraph, London)
“If you only ever see flamenco once
in your life, make it this!”
(Independent on Sunday, London)
“...by the uplifting Finale you’re
scarcely aware that you’ve been
given a whole education in
flamenco form and feeling.”
(The Guardian, London)
Nimbus
PACO PEÑA • A COMPÁS!
PACO PEÑA FLAMENCO DANCE COMPANY
NI 7721/2