Zarabanda

Sebastián Cruz possesses one of the most distinctive voices in the flamenco world today. He started out earning a living as a slaughterman, but has always had a deep-rooted connection to music and to the natural world of his native Andalusia. His life was changed when, a few years ago, he came across the film "Tous les matins du monde", starring Gérard Depardieu as Marin Marais, with it's soundtrack of works by Marin Marais and Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe performed by Jordi Savall. From that moment onwards, the music of these pioneering Baroque composers, which had touched him with such unique intensity, filled his mind as he spent time in the Huelva countryside with his beloved greyhounds and horses. On this album, Cruz explores a century and more of flamenco history, venturing into a new soundworld and creating musical poems that express his innermost being. Open to an array of influences, he pushes the strict boundaries of flamenco tradition with incomparable vocal passion and emotional depth. Sebastián Cruz sees flamenco with his heart and, together with kindred spirit Raúl Cantizano, his friend and musical director, forges breathtaking music that speaks to both body and soul. (Translation: Susannah Howe) Before the actual recording of the album, which took place in Seville, there was only a working title. The album title "Zarabanda" was created only during the production. The sarabande is a courtly, mostly instrumental dance form of baroque music since the middle of the 17th century. This dance inspired several composers to write expressive compositions and later became a standard movement of the Baroque suite... but the once frivolous dance became popular in non-courtly circles in the Spanish colonies much earlier, before it made it's way back across the Atlantic to Spain. Although the dance was banned in Spain in 1583 for it's obscenity, it has been frequently cited in the literature of the time [e.g. in works by Lope de Vega, who penned some of the lyrics selected for this album]. With incomparable depth and voice, Sebastián Cruz breaks with the strict flamenco tradition and, together with his congenial partner Raúl Cantizano, transcends musical boundaries that have been firmly drawn for over a hundred years. He is assisted by the exceptional guitarists Rafael Riqueni and Alfredo Lagos, as well as bassist Marco Serrato, who, like Raúl Cantizano, enriches this work with very special timbres.