Martirio y Chano Domínguez – 22/8/2025
Tonight’s evening of flamenco, copla, tango, and romance, 22/8, with the excellent pianist Chano Domínguez and the expressive singer Martirio. The glittering stars in the pitch-black sky, seem to accompany the artists in their work.
The pieces that the pianist plays unaccompanied… have their own personality… At first… sadness and loneliness dominate. And then… the tone becomes sweet and a little mysterious. It creates an anticipation and a playful excitement. It is evident from the melodies that gradually evolve as if the piece in the hands of the skillful pianist takes shape, comes to life. The glissando and tremolo from note to note at the strong points give a different character. Within a single piece, the mood shifts from melancholy to joyful, then to dance-like and almost childlike.
Then, the singer goes up on stage with a bright red long dress, a black necklace, and her characteristic sunglasses. She begins to sing about love… about its difficulties… about separation, rejection, unrequited love… and the more she sings, the more passion she puts into the lyrics. Before each piece, she comments briefly. This alternation from a funny comment to melodies that express real pain is what impressed me. One moment she jokes with the audience about the content of the songs, and the next… she transforms into a woman in love… into a woman in pain… into a woman who longs to express her love to an invisible admirer… Her characteristic vibrato and low notes in her voice give a special liveliness.
Also, in each piece she uses her hands to enhance the expression through their movement. In every verse that refers to love and romance, the hands move automatically toward the heart, touching, or they form dance movements playing with the folds of the singer’s dress (Drume negrita). She, in some pieces, uses a large red fan with golden details. She opens and closes it mysteriously and plays with it to the rhythm. In more theatrical moments, she stops singing and her voice becomes rhythmic speech or melodic whisper.
The lyrics of the pieces, these short musical tales, reveal the human longing to unite with the love of their life, emphasize the pain of rejection, and explore the effects of doubt in a person in love on their psychology. The song “Tatuaje” impressed me, which told the story of someone who had tattooed the name of a girl whose traces he lost in the course of his life…
Martirio uses a phrase to describe jealousy, a feeling that characterizes many songs of copla music. “Jealousy is like a dog that bites the heart.” And indeed… listening to the songs of this concert, with this singer… you can feel it. This contrast between lyrics and music (as in the piece Alma mia) is what I think makes each piece of this genre unique… The lyrics may refer to separation, unfulfilled loves, human soul pain… yet the music is cheerful, danceable, and optimistic.
One piece before the end, the pianist and singer collaborate in a very special Question-Answer game. It seems as if the singer “asks” something, and the piano “answers” by playing its own rhythms. The pianist himself plays as if the piano truly “speaks,” changing style in his playing depending on what he wants to express each time. Sometimes staccato, sometimes legato.
As the concert progresses, the audience makes it clear that they do not want it to end, asking for more. The audience has risen from their seats shouting “Ole!”, “Bravo!”, and the names of Chano and Martirio. The applause becomes louder and louder. The night ends with the best impressions and with the last pieces, desperate pleas from the audience for this enchanting journey not to end.
Review by Zoi Michailidou
Photos by Emilia Studnicka
