Overshadowed by Greatness: Chanson, Tango and Carlos Saura's Goya

Chanson
Photo-art 
© Cherry Jeffs 2013

Can the presence of genius kill your creativity?

A couple of weeks ago I attended a 'Tango and Chanson' concert at our local cultural centre which turned out to be, at best, uneven in quality. Despite being from Argentina, the singer’s renditions of the tango numbers failed to move me. When he sang in French, however, he immersed himself totally in the music and conveyed much greater depth of feeling. 

As a British national, living long-term in Spain, I am aware that – if we are open to it – learning a foreign language can give us a window into another side of ourselves that we can't normally access. Certainly, this seemed to be the case last night as the singer lost in the beauty of the French lyrics, dropped his over-flamboyant, music-hall personality in favour of something more soulful and genuine.

However, this ability to transcend himself and become one with the music was again lost when the singer tackled more well known French numbers such as the La Vie En Rose and Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien. It was as if he felt overshadowed by all of the great versions of this song that had been sung before this night and in his awe he lost his ability to connect with the soul of the music.

listen to ‘Chanson’ on Audioboo

Franciso Rabal as Goya in 
"Goya de Burdeos"

The enchanting Maribel Verdú in Saura's film "Goya in Bordeaux"

This is not something that happens only to minor artists. I noticed the same phenomena the other day, watching "Goya en Burdeos" (Goya in Bordeaux), a film written and directed by one of my all–time favourite directors, Carlos Saura. 

Expecting Saura's usual masterful camerwork - which composes and lights every frame of his films as carefully and magnetically as if each one were a single still - and his masterful direction of each and every member of the cast no matter how minor, I found myself sadly disappointed with this film. 

Saura, Goya, Rabal and Verdú. One too many Spanish geniuses?

It was as if Saura – himself one of the cinematic greats of the 20th century – found himself overawed by all the additional greatness he had to deal with as he attempted to wrestle two icons of Spanish cinema – Franciso Rabal and Maribel Verdú – into not only a portrayal of the realationship between Spain's greatest artist, Francisco de Goya and his Duchess lover, but into living tableax of Goya's work.

Franciso Rabal is tremendous as Goya and Verdú is bewitching as the flirtatious and haughty Duchess of Alba and the tableaux of Goya's paintings are clever, but Saura's compositional genius is missing and I found myself wanting to switch off the film half way through. 

Saura's attempt to capture Goya has a lot in common with our friend from the Tango and Chanson; the shadow of too much greatness in the room at once can be overwhelming for any artist. We need space to breathe our own air and find our own direct connection with the source. Otherwise we are in danger of trading substance for soul.

• Ask yourself: Have you ever felt your creative work suffer due to too much contact with other people’s greatness? 
• Comment: What forms of creative stimulation are nurturing for you and which might be potentially damaging?
  

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