Overview
Many
of the details of the development of flamenco are lost in Spanish history.
There are several reasons for this lack of historical evidence:
-
Flamenco
sprang from the lower levels of Andalusian society, and thus lacked the
prestige of art forms among the middle and higher classes. Flamenco
music also slipped in and out of fashion several times during its
existence. Many of the songs in flamenco still reflect the spirit of
desperation, struggle, hope, and pride of the people during this time of
persecution.
-
The
Gitanos have been fundamental in maintaining this art form, but they
have an oral culture. Their folk songs were passed on to new generations
by repeated performances in their social community. The non-gypsy
Andalusian poorer classes, in general, were also illiterate.
-
A
certain degree of amateurism is typical of most research done on the
subject. "Flamencologists" have usually been flamenco
connoisseurs of diverse professions (a high number of them, like Félix
Grande, Caballero Bonald or Ricardo Molina, have been poets), with no
specific academic training in the fields of history or musicology. They
have tended to rely on a limited number of sources (mainly the writings
of 19th century folklorist Demófilo, notes by foreign travellers like
George Borrow, a few accounts by writers and the oral tradition), and
they have often ignored other data. Nationalistic or ethnic bias has
also been frequent in flamencology. This started to change in the 1980s,
when flamenco slowly started to be included in music conservatories, and
a growing number of musicologists and historians began to carry out more
rigorous research. Since then, some new data have shed new light on it.
(Ríos Ruiz, 1997:14)
There
are questions not only about the origins of the music and dances of
flamenco, but also about the origins of the very word flamenco.
Whatever the origins of the word, in the early 19th century it began to be
used to describe a way of life centered around this music and usually
involving Gypsies (in his 1842 book "Zincali," George Borrow
writes that the word flemenc [sic] is synonymous with
"Gypsy").
Blas
Infante, in his book Orígenes de lo flamenco y secreto del cante jondo,
controversially argued that the word flamenco comes from
Hispano-Arabic word fellahmengu, which would mean "expelled
peasant". Yet there is a problem with this theory, how does a new term,
drawn from Arabic, arise three centuries after the end of the Moorish reign?
Infante links the term to the ethnic Andalusians of Muslim faith, the
Moriscos, who would have mixed with the Gypsy newcomers in order to avoid
religious persecution. Other hypotheses concerning the term's etymology
include connections with Flanders (flamenco also means Flemish in
Spanish), believed by Spanish people to be the origin of the Gypsies, or the
flameante (arduous) execution by the performers, or the flamingos.
Background
For
a complete picture of the possible influences that gave rise to flamenco,
attention must be paid to the cultural and musical background of the Iberian
Peninsula since Ancient times. Long before the Moorish invasion in 711,
Visigothic Spain had adopted its own liturgic musical forms, the Visigothic
or Mozarabic rite, strongly influenced by Byzantium. The Mozarabic rite
survived the Gregorian reform and the Moorish invasion, and remained alive
at least until the 10th or 11th century. Some theories, started by Spanish
classical musician Manuel de Falla, link the melismatic forms and the
presence of Greek Dorian mode (in modern times called “Phrygian mode”)
in flamenco to the long existence of this separate Catholic rite.
Unfortunately, owing to the type of musical notation in which these
Mozarabic chants were written, it is not possible to determine what this
music really sounded like, so the theory remains unproved.
The
appearance of the Moors in 711 helped to shape particular music forms in
Spain. They called the Iberian Peninsula “Al-Andalus”, from which the
name of Andalusia derives. The Moorish and Arab invaders brought their
musical forms to the Peninsula and, at the same time, probably gathered some
native influence in their music. The Emirate, and later Caliphate of Córdoba
became a center of influence in both the Muslim and Christian worlds and it
attracted musicians from all Islamic countries. One of those musicians was
Zyriab, who imported forms of the Persian music, revolutionized the shape
and playing techniques of the Lute (which centuries later evolved into the
vihuela and the guitar) adding a fifth string to it, and set the foundations
for the Andalusian nuba, the style of music in suite form still performed in
North African countries.
The
presence of the Moors was also decisive in shaping the cultural diversity of
Spain: owing to the extraordinary length of the Reconquest started in the
North as early as 722 and completed in 1492 with the conquest of Granada,
the degree of Moorish influence on culture, customs and even language varies
enormously between the North and the South. Music cannot have been alien to
that process: while music in the North of the Peninsula has a clear Celtic
influence which dates to pre-Roman times, Southern music is certainly
reminiscent of Eastern influences. To what extent this Eastern flavour is
owed to the Moors, the Jews, the Mozarabic rite (with its Byzantine music
influence), or the Gypsies has not been clearly determined.
During
the Reconquest, another important cultural influence was present in
Al-Andalus: the Jews. Enjoying a relative religious and ethnic tolerance in
comparison to Christian countries, they formed an important ethnic group,
with their own traditions, rites, and music, and probably reinforced the
middle-Eastern element in the culture and music forms of Al-Andalus. Certain
flamenco "palos" like the Peteneras have been attributed a direct
Jewish origin (Rossy 1966).
Andalusia
after the Reconquest: social environment and implications on music
The
15th century marked a revolution in the culture and society of Southern
Spain. We must highlight the following landmarks, all with future
implications on the development of flamenco: first, the arrival of nomad
Gypsies in the Iberian Peninsula in 1425 (Grande, 2001). Later on, the
conquest of Granada, the discovery of America and the expulsion of the Jews,
all of them in 1492.
In
the 13th century, the Christian Crown of Castile had already conquered most
of Andalusia. Although Castilian kings favoured a policy of repopulation of
the newly conquered lands with Christians, part of the Muslim population
remained in the areas as a religious and ethnic minority, called “mudéjares”.
Granada,
the last Muslim stronghold in the Iberian Peninsula, fell in 1492 when the
armies of the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and queen Isabella of
Castile reconquered this city after about 800 years of Moorish rule. The
Treaty of Granada guaranteed religious tolerance, and this paved the way for
the Moors to surrender peacefully. Months after, the Spanish Inquisition
used its influence to convince Ferdinand and Isabella to break the treaty
and force the Moors and Jews to either convert to Christianity or leave
Spain. The Alhambra decree of March 31, 1492 ordered the expulsion of all
non-converted Jews from Spain and its territories and possessions by July
31, 1492, on charges that they were trying to convert the Christian
population to Judaism. Some chose to adopt the Catholic religion
(Conversos), but they often kept their Judaic beliefs privately. For this
reason, they were closely watched by the Spanish Inquisition, and
accusations of being false converts often lead them to suffer torture and
death.
In
1499, about 50,000 Moriscos were coerced into taking part in mass
baptism. During the uprising that followed, people who refused the choices
of baptism or deportation to Africa were systematically eliminated. What
followed was a mass exodus of Moors, Sephardi Jews and Gitanos from Granada
city and the villages into the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountain region
(and its hills) and the rural country. Many Moors, now known as Moriscos,
officially converted to Christianism, but kept practising their religion in
private and also preserved their language, dress and customs. The Moriscos
uprose on several occasions during the 16th century, and were finally
expelled from Spain at the beginning of the 17th century.
The
conquest of Andalusia implied a strong penetration of Castilian culture in
Andalusia, which surely influenced the music and folklore. The expulsion of
the Sephardi Jews and Moriscos could have led to a weakening of
middle-Eastern influence on Andalusian culture. However, during the 15th
century groups of Roma people, known as Gitanos in Spain, entered the
Iberian Peninsula. At the beginning, they were well-tolerated. The Spanish
nobles enjoyed their dances and music, and they were regularly employed to
entertain guests at private parties. The Gypsies, therefore, were in touch
(at least geographically) with the Morisco population until the expulsion of
the latter in the 16th century. According to some theories, suggested by
authors like George Borrow and Blas Infante and supported other flamenco
historians like Mairena and Molina, many moriscos even joined the Gypsy
nomad tribes and eventually became undistinguishable from them. This has not
been proved scientifically. It is though generally accepted that the Zambra
of the Gypsies of Granada, still performed nowadays, is derived from the
original Moorish Zambra.
The
clash between Gypsy and the Spanish would be manifest by the end of the
century. For centuries, the Spanish monarchy tried to force the Gypsies to
abandon their language, customs and music. During the Reconquista, tolerance
towards Gypsies ended as they were put into ghettos. This isolation helped
them retain the purity of their music and dance. In 1782, the Leniency Edict
of Charles III restored some freedoms to the Spanish gypsies. Their music
and dance was reintroduced and adopted by the general population of Spain.
This resulted in a period of great exploration and evolution within the art
form. Nomadic Gypsies became social outcasts and were in many cases the
victims of persecution. This is reflected in many lyrics of
"palos" like seguiriyas, in which references to hunger, prison and
discrimination abound.
The
influence of the New World
Recent
research has revealed a major influence of Sub-Saharan African music on
flamenco's prehistory. This developed from the music and dance of African
slaves held by the Spanish in the New World. There are 16th and 17th century
manuscripts of classical compositions that are possibly based on African
folk forms, such as "negrillas", "zarambeques", and
"chaconas". We also find mentions to the fandango indiano (Indiano
meaning from the Americas, but not necessarily Native American). Some
critics support that the names of flamenco palos like the tangos or even the
fandango are derived from Bantoid languages, and most theories state that
the rhythm of the tangos was imported from Cuba.
It
is likely that in that stay in the New World, the fandango picked up dance
steps deemed too inappropriate for European tastes. Thus, the dance for
fandango, for chacon, and for zarabanda, were all banned in Europe at one
time or another. References to Gypsy dancers can be found in the lyrics of
some of these forms, e.g., the chacon. Indeed, Gypsy dancers are often
mentioned in Spanish literary and musical works from the 1500s on. However,
the zarabandas and jácaras are the oldest written musical forms in Spain to
use the 12-beat metre as a combination of terciary and binary rhythms. The
basic rhythm of the zarabanda and the jácara is 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12.
The soleá and the Seguiriya, are variations on this: they just start the
metre in a different beat.
The
18th century: the fandango and the Escuela Bolera
During
this period of development, the “flamenco fiesta” developed. More than
just a party where flamenco is performed, the fiesta, either unpaid
(reunion) or paid, sometimes lasting for days, has an internal etiquette
with a complex set of musical and social rules. In fact, some might argue
that the cultural phenomenon of the flamenco fiesta is the basic cultural
“unit” of flamenco.
A
turning point in flamenco appears to have come about with a change of
instruments. In the late 18th Century the favoured guitar became the 6
string single-coursed guitar which replaced the double-coursed 5 string
guitar in popularity. It is the 6 string guitar to which flamenco music is
inextricably tied. Flamenco became married to the 6 string guitar.
The
rise of flamenco
During
the late-eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries, flamenco took on a number
of unique characteristics which separated it from local folk music and
prepared the way to a higher professionalization and technical excellence of
flamenco performers, to the diversification of flamenco styles (by gradually
incorporating songs derived from folklore or even other sources), and to the
popularization of the genre outside Andalusia.
The
first time flamenco is mentioned in literature is in 1774 in the book Cartas
Marruecas by José Cadalso. During this period, according to some authors,
there is little news about flamenco except for a few scattered references
from travellers. This led traditional flamencologists, like Molina and
Mairena, to call the period of 1780 to 1850 as "The Hermetic
Period" or the "private stage of flamenco". According to
these flamencologists, flamenco, at this time was something like a private
ritual, secretly kept in the Gypsy homes of some towns in the Seville and Cádiz
area. This theory started to fall out of favour in the 1990s. José Blas
Vega has denied the absence of evidences for this period:
Nowadays,
we know that there are hundreds and hundreds of data which allow us to
know in detail what flamenco was like from 1760 until 1860, and there we
have the document sources: the theatre movement of sainetes and tonadillas,
the popular songbooks and song sheets, the narrations and descriptions
from travellers describing customs, the technical studies of dances and toques,
the musical scores, the newspapers, the graphic documents in paintings and
engravings; and all of this with no interruptions, in continuous evolution
together with the rhythm, the poetic stanzas, and the ambience. (Quoted by
Ríos Ruiz 1997)
Álvarez
Caballero (1998) goes further, stating that if there are no news about
flamenco previous to its late 1780 mentions, it is because flamenco simply
did not exist. The whole theory about a hermetic stage would then be
a fantasy, caused by the aura of mystery surrounding Gypsy culture.
There
is disagreement as to whether primitive flamenco was accompanied by any
instrument or not. For traditional flamencology, flamenco consisted of
unaccompanied singing (cante). Later, the songs were accompanied by
flamenco guitar (toque), rhythmic hand clapping (palmas),
rhythmic feet stomping (zapateado) and dance (baile). Later
theories claim that this is false. While some cante forms are sung
unaccompanied (a palo seco), it is likely that other forms were
accompanied if and when instruments were available. 19th century writer Estébanez
Calderón already described a flamenco fiesta (party) in which the
singing was accompanied not only by guitars, but also bandurria and
tambourine.
The
Golden Age
During
the so-called Golden Age of Flamenco, between 1869-1910, flamenco
music developed rapidly in music cafés called cafés cantantes, a
new type of venue with ticketed public performances. This was the beginning
of the "cafe cantante" period. Flamenco was developed here to its
definitive form. Flamenco dancers also became the major public attraction in
those cafés. Along with the development of flamenco dance, guitar players
supporting the dancers increasingly gained a reputation, and so flamenco
guitar as an art form by itself was born. A most important artist in this
development was Silverio Franconetti, a non-Gypsy rob seaman of Italian
descent. He is reported to be the first "encyclopedic" singer,
that is, the first who was able to sing well in all the palos,
instead of specializing on a few of them, as was usual at the time. He
opened his own café cantante, where he sang himself or invited other
artists to perform, and many other venues of this kind were created in all
Andalusia and Spain.
Traditional
views on flamenco, starting with Demófilo have often accused this period as
the start of the commercial debasement of flamenco. The traditional flamenco
fiesta is crowded if more than 20 people are present. Moreover, there is no
telling when a fiesta will begin or end, or assurance that the better
artists invited will perform well. And, if they do perform, it may not be
until the morning after a fiesta that began the night before. By contrast,
the cafe cantante offered set performances at set hours and top artists were
contracted to perform. For some, this professionalization led to
commercialism, while for others it stimulated healthy competition and
therefore, more creativity and technical proficiency. In fact, most
traditional flamenco forms were created or developed during this time or, at
least, have been attributed to singers of this period like El Loco Mateo, El
Nitri, Rojo el Alpargatero, Enrique el Mellizo, Paquirri El Guanté, or La
Serneta, among many others. Some of them were professionals, while others
sang only at private gatherings but their songs were learned and divulged by
professional singers.
In
the 19th century, both flamenco and its association with Gypsies started to
become popular throughout Europe, even into Russia. Composers wrote music
and operas on what they thought were Gypsy-flamenco themes. Any traveler
through Spain “had” to see the Gypsies perform flamenco. Spain - often
to the chagrin of non-Andalucian Spaniards - became associated with flamenco
and Gypsies. This interest was in keeping with the European fascination with
folklore during those decades.
In
1922, one of Spain's greatest writers, Federico García Lorca, and renowned
composer Manuel de Falla, organised the Concurso de Cante Jondo, a folk
music festival dedicated to cante jondo ("deep song"). They
did this to stimulate interest in some styles of flamenco, which were
falling into oblivion as they were regarded uncommercial and, therefore, not
apt the cafés cantante. Two of Lorca's most important poetic works, Poema
del Cante Jondo and Romancero Gitano, show Lorca's fascination
with flamenco and appreciation of Spanish folk culture. However, the
initiative was not very influential, and the derivations of fandango and
other styles kept gaining popularity while the more difficult styles like
siguiriyas and, especially, tonás were usually only performed in private
parties.
The
"theatrical" period: 1892-1956
The
stage after the Concurso de Cante Jondo in 1922 is known as Etapa
teatral (Theatrical period) or Ópera flamenca (Flamenco Opera)
period. The name Ópera flamenca was due to the custom, started by
impresario Vedrines to call these shows opera, as opera performances
enjoyed lower taxes. The cafés cantante entered a period of
decadence and were gradually replaced by larger venues like theatres or
bullrings. This led to an immense popularity of flamenco but, according to
traditionalist critics, also caused it to fall victim to commercialism and
economic interests. New types of flamenco shown were born, where flamenco
was mixed with other music genres and theatre interludes portraying
picturesque scenes by Gitanos and Andalusians.
The
dominant palos of this era were the personal fandango, the
cantes de ida y vuelta (songs of Latin American origin) and the song in
bulería style. Personal fandangos were based on Huelva traditional styles
with a free rhythm (as a cante libre) and with a high density of virtuouso
variations. The song in bulería style (Canción por bulerías)
adapted any popular or commercial song to the bulería rhythm. This period
also saw the birth of a new genre, sometimes called copla andaluza
(Andalusian couplet) or canción española (Spanish song), a type of
ballads with influences from zarzuela, Andalusian folk songs, and flamenco,
usually accompanied with orchestra, which enjoyed great popularity and was
performed both by flamenco and non-flamenco artists. Owing to its links with
flamenco shows, many people consider this genre as "flamenco".
The
leading artist at the time was Pepe Marchena, who sang in a sweet falsetto
voice, using spectacular vocal runs reminding of bel canto coloratura. A
whole generation of singers was influenced by him and some of them, like
Pepe Pinto, or Juan Valderrama also reached immense celebrity. Many
classical flamenco singers who had grown with the café cantante fell into
oblivion. Others, like Tomás Pavón or Aurelio Sellé, found refuge in
private parties. The rest adapted (though often did not completely
surrender) to the new tastes: they took part in those mass flamenco shows,
but kept singing the old styles, although introducing some of the new ones
in their repertoire: it is the case of La Niña de los Peines, Manolo
Caracol, Manuel Vallejo, El Carbonerillo and many others.
This
period has been considered by the most traditionalist critics as a time of
complete commercial debasement. According to them, the opera flamenca became
a "dictatorship" (Álvarez Caballero 1998), where bad personal
fandangos and copla andaluza practically caused traditional
flamenco to disappear. Other critics consider this view to be unbalanced
(See Ríos Ruiz 1997:40-43): great figures of traditional cante like La Niña
de los Peines or Manolo Caracol enjoyed great success, and palos like
siguiriyas or soleá were never completely abandoned, not even by the most
representative singers of the ópera flamenca style like Marchena or
Valderrama.
Typical
singers of the period like Marchena, Valderrama, Pepe Pinto or El Pena, have
also been reappraised. Starting with singers like Luis de Córdoba, Enrique
Morente or Mayte Martín, who recorded songs they created or made popular, a
high number of singers started to rescue their repertoire, a CD in homage to
Valderrama was recorded, and new generations of singers claim their
influence. Critics like Antonio Ortega or Ortiz Nuevo have also vindicated
the artists of the ópera flamenca period.
The
New Flamenco
"Nuevo
Flamenco", or New Flamenco, is a recent variant of flamenco which has
been influenced by modern musical genres, like rumba, salsa, pop, rock and
jazz.
Other
instruments have been introduced, such as the castanets (castañuelas),
the Peruvian cajón (a wooden box used as a percussion instrument),
introduced by Paco de Lucía in the 1970s and the electric bass.
Musical
characteristics
Harmony
Whereas,
in Western music, only the major and minor modes have remained, flamenco has
also preserved the Phrygian mode, commonly “ Dorian mode” by
flamencologists, referring to the Greek Dorian mode, and sometimes also
"flamenco mode". The reason for preferring the term "Greek
Dorian" is that, as in ancient Greek music, flamenco melodies are
descending (instead of ascending as in usual Western melodic patterns). Some
flamencologists, like Hipólito Rossy (Rossy 1998: 19–36) or guitarist
Manolo Sanlúcar, also consider this flamenco mode as a survival of the old
Greek Dorian mode. The rest of the article, however, will use the term
"Phrygian" to refer to this mode, as it is the most common
denomination in English speaking countries.
The
Phrygian mode is in fact the most common in the traditional palos of
flamenco music, and it is used for soleá, most bulerías, siguiriyas,
tangos and tientos, among other palos (Rossy 1998:82). The flamenco
version of this mode contains two frequent alterations in the 7th and, even
more often, the 3rd degree of the scale: if the scale is played in E
Phrygian for example, G and D can be sharp.
Descending
E Phrygian scale in flamenco music, with common alterations in parentheses
G
sharp is compulsory for the tonic chord. Based on the Phrygian scale, a
typical cadence is formed, usually called “Andalusian cadence”. The
chords for this cadence in E Phrygian are Am–G–F–E. According to
guitarist Manolo Sanlúcar, in this flamenco Phrygian mode, E is the tonic,
F would take the harmonic function of dominant, while Am and G assume the
functions of subdominant and mediant respectively.
When
playing in Phrygian mode, guitarists traditionally use only two basic
positions for the tonic chord (music): E and A. However, they often
transport these basic tones by using a capo. Modern guitarists, starting
with Ramón Montoya, have also introduced other positions. Montoya himself
started to use other chords for the tonic in the doric sections of several palos:
F sharp for tarantas, B for granaína, A flat for the minera, and he also
created a new palo as solo piece for the guitar, the rondeña, in C
sharp with scordatura. Later guitarists have further extended the repertoire
of tonalities, chord positions and scordatura.
There
are also palos in major mode, for example, most cantiñas and alegrías,
guajiras, and some bulerías and tonás, and the cabales (a major
mode type of siguiriyas). The minor mode is less frequent and it is
restricted to the Farruca, the milongas (among cantes de ida y vuelta), and
some styles of tangos, bulerías, etc. In general, traditional palos in
major and minor mode are limited harmonically to the typical two-chord
(tonic–dominant) or three-chord structure (tonic–subdominant–dominant)
(Rossy 1998:92). However, modern guitarists have increased the traditional
harmony by introducing chord substitution, transition chords, and even
modulation.
Fandangos
and the palos derived from it (e.g. malagueñas, tarantas, cartageneras) are
bimodal. Guitar introductions are in Phrygian mode, while the singing
develops in major mode, modulating to Phrygian mode at the end of the
stanza. (Rossy 1998:92)
Traditionally,
flamenco guitarists did not receive any formal training, so they just relied
on their ear to find the chords on the guitar, disregarding the rules of
Western classical music. This led them to interesting harmonic findings,
with unusual unresolved dissonances (Rossy 1998:88). Examples of this are
the use of minor 9th chords for the tonic, the tonic chord of tarantas, or
the use of the 1st unpressed string as a kind of pedal tone.
Melody
-
Dionisio
Preciado, quoted by Sabas de Hoces established the following
characteristics for the melodies of flamenco singing:
-
Microtonality:
presence of intervals smaller than the semitone.
-
Portamento:
frequently, the change from one note to another is done in a smooth
transition, rather that using discrete intervals.
-
Short
tessitura or range: The most traditional flamenco songs are usually
limited to a range of a sixth (four tones and a half). The impression of
vocal effort is the result of using different timbres, and variety is
accomplished by the use of microtones.
-
Use
of enharmonic scale. While in equal temperament scales, enharmonics are
notes with identical name but different spellings (e.g. A flat and G
sharp), in flamenco, as in unequal temperament scales, there is a
microtonal intervalic difference between enharmonic notes.
-
Insistence
on a note and its contiguous chromatic notes (also frequent in the
guitar), producing a sense of urgency.
-
Baroque
ornamentation, with an expressive, rather than merely aesthetic
function.
-
Greek
Dorian mode (modern Phrygian mode) in the most traditional songs.
-
Apparent
lack of regular rhythm, especially in the siguiriyas: the melodic rhythm
of the sung line is different from the metric rhythm of the
accompaniment.
-
Most
styles express sad and bitter feelings.
-
Melodic
improvisation. Although flamenco singing is not, properly speaking,
improvised, but based on a relatively small number of traditional songs,
singers add variations on the spur of the moment.
Musicologist
Hipólito Rossy adds the following characteristics (Rossy 1998: 94):
-
Flamenco
melodies are also characterized by a descending tendency, as opposed to,
for example, a typical opera aria, they usually go from the higher
pitches to the lower ones, and from forte to piano, as it was usual in
ancient Greek scales.
-
In
many styles, such as soléa or siguiriya, the melody tends to proceed in
contiguous degrees of the scale. Skips of a third or a fourth are rarer.
However, in fandangos and fandango-derived styles, fourths and sixths
can often be found, especially at the beginning of each line of verse.
According to Rossy, this would be a proof of the more recent creation of
this type of songs, which would be influenced by the Castilian jota.
Compás
Compás
is a Spanish word meaning both metre and time signature in music theory. In
flamenco, besides having these meanings, it can also refer to the rhythmic
skill of a musician or dancer, or to the hand clapping or knuckle
percussion.
Flamenco
uses a variety of rhythms depending on the palo or musical form.
There are also free-rhythm forms, not subject to any particular metre,
including, among others, the palos in the group of the tonás, the saetas,
malagueñas, tarantas, and some types of fandangos.
-
Rhythms
in 2/4 or 4/4. These metres are used in forms like tangos, tientos,
gypsy rhumba, zambra and tanguillos.
-
Rhythms
in 3/4. These are typical of fandangos and sevillanas.
-
12-beat
rhythms in complex time signatures. These rhythms can be analysed as a
combination of 6/4 and 3/4, and the earliest examples of them are found
in 16th century dances like zarabanda or jácara. They are also common
in Latin American countries.
12-beat
complex metres are in fact the most common in flamenco. There are three
types of these, which vary in the way they distribute their downbeats, and
each one of these comprises different palos:
-
peteneras
and guajiras: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12
-
siguiriya,
liviana, serrana, toná liviana, cabales: 1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
-
soleá,
palos of the cantiñas group (including alegrías), soleá por bulería
(also “ bulería por soleá”): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12. For practical reasons, when transferring
flamenco guitar music to sheet music, this rhythm is written as a
regular 3/4. Bulerías also partly follow this rhythm, but often they
alternate it with rhythms in 3/4.
The
compás is expressed in a number of different ways. In private gatherings,
if there is no guitarist available, the compás is rendered through hand
clapping (palmas) or by hitting a table with the knuckles. This is
also sometimes done in recordings especially for bulerías. The guitar also
has an important function, using techniques like strumming (rasgueado)
or hitting the soundboard. Changes of chords also emphasize the most
important downbeats. When a dancers are present, they use their feet as a
percussion instrument.
Forms
of flamenco expression
Flamenco
is expressed through the toque -- the playing of the flamenco guitar,
the cante (singing), and the baile (dancing)
Toque
The
flamenco guitar (and the very similar classical guitar) is a descendent from
the lute. The
first guitars are thought to have originated in Spain in the 15th century.
The traditional flamenco guitar is made of Spanish cypress and spruce, and
is lighter in weight and a bit smaller than a classical guitar, to give the
output a 'sharper' sound. The flamenco guitar, in contrast to the classical,
is also equipped with a barrier, called a golpeador. This is often plastic,
similar to a pick guard, and protects the body of the guitar from the
rhythmic finger taps, called golpes. The flamenco guitar is also used in
several different ways from the classical guitar, including different
strumming patterns and styles, as well as the use of a capo in many
circumstances.
Cante
 Flamenco
performance by the La Primavera group
Foreigners
often think that the essence of flamenco is the dance. However, the heart of
flamenco is the song (cante). Although to the uninitiated, flamenco seems
totally extemporaneous, these cantes (songs) and bailes (dances) follow
strict musical and poetic rules. The verses (coplas) of these songs often
are beautiful and concise poems, and the style of the flamenco copla was
often imitated by Andalucian poets. Garcia Lorca is perhaps the best known
of these poets. In the 1920s he, along with the composer Manuel de Falla and
other intellectuals, crusaded to raise the status of flamenco as an art form
and preserve its purity. But the future of flamenco is uncertain. Flamenco
is tied to the conditions and culture of Andalusia in the past, and as Spain
modernizes and integrates into the European community, it is questionable
whether flamenco can survive the social and economic changes.
Cante
flamenco can be categorized in a number of ways. First, a cante may be
categorized according to whether it follows a strict rhythmic pattern
("compas") or follows a free rhythm ("libre"). The
cantes with compas fit one of four compas patterns. These compas-types are
generally known by the name of the most important cante of the group. Thus
-
Solea
-
Siguiriya
-
Tango
-
Fandango
The
solea group includes the cantes: solea; romances, solea por bulerias,
alegrias (cantinas); La Cana; El Polo
Baile
El
baile flamenco is a highly-expressive solo dance, known for its
emotional sweeping of the arms and rhythmic stomping of the feet. While
flamenco dancers (bailaors and bailaoras) invest a
considerable amount of study and practice into their art form, the dances
are not choreographed, but are improvised along the palo or rhythm.
In addition to the percussion provided by the heels of the dancers striking
the floor, castanets are sometimes held in the hands and clicked together
rapidly to the rhythm of the music. Sometimes, folding fans are used for
visual effect.
Palos
 Performers
in Seville
Flamenco
music styles are called palos in Spanish. There are over 50 different
palos flamenco, although some of them are rarely performed. A palo
can be defined as musical form of flamenco. Flamenco songs are classified
into palos based on several musical and non-musical criteria such as its
basic rhythmic pattern, mode, chord progression, form of the stanza, or
geographic origin. The rhythmic patterns of the palos are also often called compás.
A compás (the Spanish normal word for either time signature or bar)
is characterised by a recurring pattern of beats and accents.
To
really understand the different palos, it is also important to understand
their musical and cultural context:
-
The
mood intention of the palo (for example, dancing - Alegrías,
consolation - Soleá, fun - Buleria, etc.). Although palos are
associated with type of feeling or mood, this is by no means rigid.
-
The
set of typical melodic phrases, called falsetas, which are often
used in performances of a certain palo.
-
The
relation to similar palos.
-
Cultural
traditions associated with a palo (ie: men's dance - Farruca)
Some
of the forms are sung unaccompanied, while others usually have a guitar and
sometimes other accompaniment. Some forms are danced while others
traditionally are not. Amongst both the songs and the dances, some are
traditionally the reserve of men and others of women, while still others
could be performed by either sex. Many of these traditional distinctions are
now breaking down; for example, the Farruca is traditionally a man's
dance, but is now commonly performed by women too. Many flamenco artists,
including some considered to be amongst the greatest, have specialised in a
single flamenco form.
The
classification of flamenco palos is not entirely uncontentious, but a
common traditional classification is into three groups. The deepest, most
serious forms are known as cante jondo (or cante grande),
while relatively light, frivolous forms are called cante chico. Other
non-musical considerations often factor into this classification, such as
whether the origin of the palo is considered to be gypsy or not.
Forms which do not fit into either category but lie somewhere between them
are classified as cante intermedio. However, there is no general
agreement on how to classify each palo. Whereas there is general
agreement that the soleá, seguiriya and the tonás must be considered cante
jondo, there is wide controversy on where to place cantes like the
fandango, malagueña, or tientos. Many flamenco fans tend to disregard this
classification as highly subjective, or else they considered that, whatever
makes a song cante grande is not the song itself but the depth of the
interpreter.
The
classification below reflects another traditional classification of cantes
more based on rhythmic pattern, but also taking the origin into account.
Toná
Palos (usually known as Cantes a palo seco)
-
Debla
-
Martinetes
-
Carceleras
-
Saetas
-
Tonás
-
Trilla
Palos
based on the Soleá rhythm
-
Alboreá
-
Bulerías
- Bulerias (Luis Maravilla. 31 seconds,133Kb) and Jaleos from
extremadura (a variety of Bulerías)
-
The
related palos Caña and Polo (flamenco palo)
-
The
Cantiñas group, including:
-
Alegrías
-
Caracoles
-
Mirabrás
-
Romeras
-
other
Cantiñas
-
Peteneras
-
Romances
-
Soleá
- Soleares and Bulerías por Soleá.
Palos
derived from Fandango
Seguiriya
Palos
-
Cabales
-
Livianas
-
Siguiriyas
-
Serrana
Palos
with a Tango rhythm
Palos
de "Ida y vuelta"
Other
palos with a tango rhythm are often considered as "Ida y vuelta",
that is, originated in Spanish America.
-
Colombianas
-
Guajiras
- Guajiras
-
Milonga
-
Rumba
-
Vidalitas
Other
palos of difficult classification
-
Campanilleros
-
Bambera
-
Sevillanas
-
Nanas
-
Zambras
-
Zorongo
Flamenco
artists
Flamenco
occurs in two types of settings. The first, the juerga is an informal
gathering where people are free to join in creating music. This can include
dancing, singing, palmas (hand clapping), or simply pounding in
rhythm on an old orange crate or a table. Flamenco, in this context, is very
dynamic: it adapts to the local talent, instrumentation, and mood of the
audience. One tradition remains firmly in place: singers are the most
important part.
The
professional concert is more formal and organized. The traditional singing
performance has only a singer and one guitar, while a dancing performance
usually included two or three guitars, one or more singers (singing in
turns, as in traditional flamenco singers always sing (solo), and one or
more dancers. A guitar concert used to include a single guitarist, with no
other support, though this is now extremely rare except for a few guitarists
like Dylan Hunt or, occasionally, Gerardo Núñez. The so-called New
flamenco has included other instruments, like the now ubiquitous cajón,
flutes or saxophones, piano or other keyboards, or even the bass guitar and
the electric guitar. Examples of this can be heard in Rafael's (another
guitarist, and fine exponent of this art) beautiful piece called
“Mezquita” downloadable at his official site
[www.flamencoguitarist.com].
A
great number of flamenco artists are not capable of performing in both
settings at the same level. There are still many artists, and some of them
with a good level, who only perform in juergas, or at most in private
parties with a small audience. As to their training in the art, traditional
flamenco artists never received any formal training: they learnt in the
context of the family, by listening and watching their relations, friends
and neighbours. Since the appearance of recordings, though, they have relied
more and more on audiovisual materials to learn from other famous artists.
Nowadays, dancers and guitarists (and sometimes even singers) take lessons
in schools or in short courses organized by famous performers. Some
guitarists can even read music or learn from teachers in others styles like
classical guitar or jazz, and many dancers take courses in contemporary
dance or Classical Spanish ballet.
Sources
ÁLVAREZ
CABALLERO, Ángel: El cante flamenco, Alianza Editorial, Madrid,
Second edition, 1998. ISBN 84-206-9682-X (First edition: 1994)
ÁLVAREZ
CABALLERO, Ángel: La Discografía ideal del cante flamenco, Planeta,
Barcelona, 1995. ISBN 84-08-01602-4
COELHO,
Víctor Anand (Editor): "Flamenco Guitar: History, Style, and
Context," in The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar, Cambridge
University Press, 2003, pp. 13-32.
MAIRENA,
Antonio & MOLINA, Ricardo: Mundo y formas del cante flamenco,
Librería Al-Ándalus, Third Edition, 1979 (First Edition: Revista de
Occidente, 1963)
MARTÍN
SALAZAR, Jorge: Los cantes flamencos, Diputación Provincial de
Granada, Granada, 1991 ISBN 84-7807-041-9
MANUEL,
Peter. “Flamenco in Focus: An Analysis of a Performance of Soleares.” In
Analytical Studies in World Music, edited by Michael Tenzer. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2006, pp. 92-119.
ORTIZ
NUEVO, José Luis: Alegato contra la pureza, Libros PM, Barcelona,
1996. ISBN 84-88944-07-1
RÍOS
RUIZ, Ayer y hoy del cante flamenco, Ediciones ISTMO, Tres Cantos
(Madrid), 1997, ISBN 84-7090-311-X
ROSSY,
Hipólito: Teoría del Cante Jondo, CREDSA, Barcelona, 1998. ISBN
84-7056-354-8 (First edition: 1966)
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Flamenco
guitar
A flamenco
guitar is a type of guitar, built for the purpose of playing Flamenco
music.
Flamenco
guitar can also refer to toque, the guitar-playing part of the art of
Flamenco.
Construction
The
traditional flamenco guitar is made of Spanish cypress and spruce, and is
lighter in weight and a bit smaller than a classical guitar, to give the
sound a "brighter" quality. The flamenco guitar, in contrast to
the classical, is also equipped with a barrier, called a golpeador. This is
often made of transparent plastic, similar to a pick guard, and protects the
body of the guitar from the rhythmic finger taps, called golpes. Originally,
flamenco guitars were made with wooden tuning pegs similar to a violin. Some
guitarists still prefer these pegs to the classical style tuning gears. The action
or the height of the strings above the fingerboard is generally lower
(<3mm at the 12th fret) than that of a classical guitar.
In
short, flamenco guitars are better suited for flamenco music than classical
guitars, however, some modern flamenco guitars (flamenca negra) use similar
materials to high-end classical guitars.
Music
Flamenco
is a genuine Spanish artform. It exists in three forms:
Strictly,
flamenco guitar is an accompaniment to singing and dancing in the
traditional Flamenco forms. Those outside the Flamenco community often use
it to mean vaguely Spanish-sounding guitar playing which utilises some of
the techniques listed below, especially rasgueado. To gain some
understanding of the stricter definition of flamenco, read the main article.
Techniques
Flamenco
is played differently than the classical style, utilizing different
strumming patterns and techniques. Most flamenco is played using a capo
which increases the brightness (raises the pitch) of the instrument.
In
addition to the techniques common to all styles, flamenco guitar emphasises:
-
Apoyando:
rest stroke
-
Golpe:
percussive finger tapping
-
Legato
(Spanish: Ligado)
-
Picados:
rapid scale passages
-
Rasgueado:
multiple digit strumming
-
Tambour
(Spanish: tambora): striking the strings with the side of the thumb
-
Tirando:
free stroke
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Music
of Andalusia
This
article is on the music of Andalusia, a region in Spain. There is also a
kind of music called
Andalusian classical music, which is today almost entirely known in North
African and especially Moroccan music.
Andalusia
is a region in Spain that is best- known for flamenco, a form of music and
dance that is mostly performed by Gypsy people and popular throughout the
world. Arab Muslims influence seems common, and more inherent than in the
rest of Spain.
Improvised
flamenco songs of ancient Andalusian origin are called cante hondo, and are
characterized by a reduced tonal ambiance, a lack of rhythm, baroque
ornamentation and repetition of notes. Cante hondo is sung by a single
singer (Cantaor).
Structure
There
are two forms of flamenco songs: cante jondo and cante chico. Cante jondo
are slower and usually feature sad lyrics about disappointed love or death,
while cante chico are much quicker, more popular and dance-oriented. The
concept of duende is very important in flamenco. Loosely, defined, duende
is a spiritual or emotional bond between the performer and audience, created
by the performer's intense concentration and passion.
There
are multiple styles (palos) of flamenco, including:
The
guitar is a vital instrument to flamenco; it marks the measure of a song,
and is frequently used in expressive solos during which the guitarist will
improvise short variations called falsetas. Ramón Montoya was the
most influential early guitarist, known for having solidified the guitar as
a solo instrument. His successors included Manolo Sanlúcar and Paco de Lucía.
History
The
golden age of flamenco is said to be 1869 to 1910, later becoming more and
more popularized internationally and influenced by South American music,
especially the tango. Musicians from the golden age performed at bars called
café cantantes, such as Café de Chinitas in Málaga, which was made
famous by the poetry of García Lorca. Other musicians of the early 20th
century include Manolo Caracol, who walked from Jerez to participate in a
cante jondo competition, which he won, in 1922. La Niña de Los Peines, a
female singing star, is often considered the best woman singer of the 20th
century.
Though
the golden age had long since passed, the 1950s saw flamenco achieving
increased respectability in Spain. Hispavox, a Spanish record label,
released Antología del Cante Flamenco in 1956; the recording's
collection of most all of the greatest flamenco singers was very popular. In
1956, the first national cante jondo competition was held in Cordoba,
followed by a Chair of Flamencology being established at Jerez in 1958.
In
the late 1950s and early 1960s, Antonio Mairena and similar artists kelped
kickstart a flamenco revival as American and British rock began dominating
the Spanish music scene. Emerging from this, Camarón de la Isla became one
of the most popular and critically acclaimed performers of the century. His
1969 debut Con la Colaboracion Especial de Paco de Lucia inspired a
new generation of performers that invented nuevo flamenco.
In
the 1970s and 80s, salsa, blues, rumba and other influences were added to
flamenco, along with music from Morocco and India. Ketama's 1988 debut, Ketama,
was especially influential. At the beginning of the 1990s, the Madrid label
Nuevos Medios became closely associated with the new flamenco fusion music,
which came to be called nuevo flamenco.
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Properties in Spain 
airports:
More than simply
a type of folk music, flamenco embodies a complex musical
and cultural
tradition. 
Bailaora
(dancer) of Flamenco Belén Maya, photograph taken by Gilles Larrain
at his studio, 2001
