Myrddin & Imre

Careful flamenco

If you hear that fierce strumming of a flamenco guitar, you probably expect it to be followed by clapping hands, stamping feet and a penetrating voice, but that does not go for the cello with its deep and sonorous sound. The surprising combination of flamenco guitar and cello is the product of a collaboration between Myrddin De Cauter and his daughter Imre.

Three generations of music

Their surname might not say anything to you, but it’s well known to our southern neighbours. For grandfather Koen is a celebrated gypsy jazz musician in Belgium, and a celebrated singer thanks to his renditions of Guido Gezelle and Brassens. His youngest son Myrddin ventured down another musical path and embraced the flamenco. In Spain he was taught by none other than Gerardo Nuñez, and that influence is clearly audible in his lyrical and transparent playing.

But for Myrddin the flamenco is more of a vehicle than a straitjacket. His lack of single-mindedness is illustrated by the names he gives his compositions: Kundalini (a form of yoga) or Anouar (a tribute to oud player and composer Anouar Brahem). For some years Myrddin has been performing regularly with his daughter Imre, so the family musical business De Cauter now spans three generations.

 
Myrddin en Imre.

Line-up

Myrddin De Cauter - Flamenco guitar

Imre De Cauter - Cello