[tanolonco]

jtucker--just a brief comment so this thread does not get hijacked. in many ways any country could viewed as either pathetic or glorious--it really depends on whose eyes are viewing and whose hand holds the pen. i am not sure from what country you hail but the united states has a lot of provinicialism--red state/blue state; south vs. north, urban/non-urban, black/white....the list could go on. i am sure most countries have some sort of this going on.

this morning i picked up to re-read dorien ross' book, "returning to a" (the title is in reference to going from the a chord to b flat and returning to the a chord). ms. ross, who i believe is a practicing psychotherapist in n.y.c., writes in such way that she does not need to invoke the magic word, duende, yet you feel it in the book. the book in question in this thread had the opposite effect.

[jtucker]

tano,

Thanks for your insights. I agree that each country has its good and bad, especially our United States. I was merely commenting that a book I was reading really expounded that sense of tragedy in a nation of such great people.
I'm looking forward to reading both books, per recommendations and criticisms of all. Could that be the very definition of that magic word? It needs to be invoked, felt and understood. Any attempts to explain and define really suck the magic out of it?

I had no intention of hijacking anything, especially as a newcomer here...hopefully you all didn't get that idea. I was merely trying to participate in the conversation that was happening at the time.

Peace...

[tanolonco]

jtucker, per the hijack comment, it was the veering off the topic about duende and onto blue vs red states, etc. that i did not want to focus on and therefore be guilty of hijacking.

[Michelob]

What a difficult term to define, really. At the risk of being a bit obsessive, i would use one of my favorite videos on the Tube, to describe what Duende means to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCSE3b-6dyo

[Tony Hyman]

I must confess when this thread started out I didnt have a clue what the heck everyone was talking about .I thought duende was some sort of buzzie
political "issm" or other .But after reading up on the matter and listening and looking at Micheals video I get to understand a little more about spontanious
living art where the Artists and Audience are all capitivated in a spiritual dimension which defies scientific explanation .To me its almost what the Gospel Singers and Congregation do or the Songs of the Red Indians when they cry out to Nature.Its also that soul which the tribes in my country naturally summon when they sing and harmonise while doing work or some other meaningful event.

[tanolonco]

to me what people refer to as "duende" really means that they are performing in such a way that they have tapped very deep within themselves and convey those feelings in such a way that we are moved to that emotion. here are some songs, musical pieces, etc. and the way the are performed that can stir very profound feelings within us--it a way it is soul to soul communication.

here would be a good example think of janis joplin doing ball and chain from the cheap thrills album--this really conveys a tortured soul singing of her torture and conveying that emotion. then think of hannah montana doing the same piece and somehow i doubt the same emotion would come through. same music, same lyrics, but what is missing is....that thing we call duende--her soul and our soul have not connected.

[NFalla]

"Duende" can't be experienced 2nd-hand.
You're only experiencing an illusion of what it's about.
Or to put it another way.................you're fooling yourself if you think it can be experienced that way!!!
It can't be felt through books or videos.
It's a "Personal" experience...............you have to do it, be it, and feel it..............if you try to grasp it and explain it................you've only made that more elusive.
IT can't be explained and written about.

[Michelob]

Originally Posted by NFalla

"Duende" can't be experienced 2nd-hand.
You're only experiencing an illusion of what it's about.
Or to put it another way.................you're fooling yourself if you think it can be experienced that way!!!
It can't be felt through books or videos.
It's a "Personal" experience...............you have to do it, be it, and feel it..............if you try to grasp it and explain it................you've only made that more elusive.
IT can't be explained and written about.

It's ironic, NFalla, but you are the first thing (person) that comes to my mind when i think of "duende" perhaps for you were the first person i discussed this with. Hence, i respectfully submit to your view, with one proviso... i think that video i posted illustrates a state of being, musically and socially, and does so in such piercing-through-your-heart way, that when i first stumbled upon it i remember uttering instinctively... "that's duende man..."

ciao

[Dave Tate]

Anyone care to describe the difference between a flamenco musician having "duende" and a blues (or whatever) musician having "soul"?

They seem to be two versions the same basic principle - a hard-to-describe "deep feeling" of the music being played, something a musician "just has", something that can't be taught. It may come from personal experience, pain, etc., but not from a book.

~Dave

[NFalla]

Yes.........the video is definitely heart-felt..........and has a lot of emotion........
but i think that's only scratching the surface of what is meant by "duende"..............duende also refers to one's own involvement in the creation of it...........it's something of a personal experience............you have to be actively part of it to experiance it to it's full extent........this is not to say you can't feel part of it being a listener..............BUT it's still not the full effect.............

on the otherhand......."Duende" is kind of a "Magical" word and is often over romantizied about..............with no "real" participation.................

Let me put it to ya this way............
you can't really experience "life" just sitting around reading about it or watching it on TV now can ya..........????................It's not the same thing.
It's more like "day dreaming" about some notion of what is.........yet never doing it.............and this is where it becomes "Romantized".