flamenco - History, Cante flamenco, Palos, Flamenco artists, Sources

A traditional song and dance of the Rom (gypsies) of Andalusia in S Spain. It evolved over centuries of fusion between Rom, Moorish, Andalusian, and other traditions. Canto (‘song’) is the core of flamenco, whose text and melody, like the flamenco dance, are improvised within traditional conventions of rhythms and chords. The men's dancing involves intricate toe- and heel-clicking steps, while the traditional women's dance is based on graceful body- and hand-movements. Song and dance may be accompanied by finger snapping, hand clapping, and shouting. Castanets, found in other Andalusian dance forms, are not traditional to flamenco. In the 19th and 20th-c, guitar solos developed, distorting the traditional flamenco form for commercial purposes.

Flamenco is one of the great European nonacademic musical forms. More than simply a type of folk music, flamenco embodies a complex musical and cultural tradition. Although considered part of the culture of Spain in general, flamenco is really specifically a product and part of the culture of one region in Spain - Andalusia. However, other areas, mainly Extremadura and Murcia, have contributed to the development of several flamenco musical forms. There are many questions remaining about the roots of flamenco, but it is generally acknowledged that flamenco grew out of the unique interplay of native Andalusians, Islamic, Sephardic, and Gypsy cultures that existed in Andalucia prior to and after the Reconquest.

Once the seeds of flamenco were planted in Andalucia, it grew as a separate subculture, first centered in “baja” (lower) Andalucia, but soon spreading to the rest of Andalucia, incorporating and transforming local folk music forms.

History

Overview

Many of the details of the development of flamenco are lost in Spanish history. Flamenco sprang from the lower levels of Andalusia 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 turbulent times of the people involved in flamenco culture.

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. (In his 1842 book "Zincali," George Borrow writes that the word "flemenco" [sic] is synonymous with "Gypsy".) The music and culture of flamenco began to be associated with particular performers, mainly gypsies from particular families (castas) who authored and preserved certain songs and dances.

Blas Infante, in his book Orígenes de lo flamenco y secreto del cante jondo, controversially argue that the word flamenco comes from Hispano-Arabic word fellahmengu, which would mean "expelled peasant".

Other local Spanish musical traditions (i.e. Castillian traditional music) would also influence, and be influenced by, the traditional flamenco styles.

Background

To 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. Some theories, started by Spanish classical musician Manuel de Falla, link the melismatic forms and the presence of Greek Dorian mode (modernly called Phrygian mode) in flamenco to the long existence of this separate Catholic rite.

The appearance of the Moors in 711 helped to shape particular music forms in Spain. 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 remisniscent of Eastern influences.

During the Reconquest, another important cultural influence was present in Al-Andalus: the Jews. Certain flamenco "palos" like the Petenera have been attributed a direct Jewish origin (Rossy 1966).

Andalusia after the Reconquest: the social environment and its 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).

In the 13th century, the Christian Crown of Castile had already conquered most of Andalusia.

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 conquest of Andalusia implied a strong penetration of Castilian culture in Andalusia, which surely influenced the music and folklore. 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.

The clash between Gypsy and the Spanish society would be manifest by the end of the century.

The influence of the New World

Recent research has revealed a major influence of [[Sub-Saharan Africa|Sub-Saharan African music on flamenco's prehistory. Some critics support that names of flamenco palos like tango or even fandango are derived from bantu languages (http://www.fernandoiwasaki.com/hemeroteca/fanadango.pdf), 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.

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 apears to have come about with a change of instruments. 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 folkore 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 are few 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. 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; (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.

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). 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. 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.

In the 19th century, both flamenco and its association with Gypsies started to become popular throughout Europe, even into Russia. 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. It was during this period that a new venue was created - commercial stage flamenco with ticketed public performances.

The traditional flamenco fiesta is crowded if more than 20 people are present. And whereas good singers were hired both to satisfy knowing aficionados and to preserve the reputation of the cafe as a place where pure flamenco could be heard, cafe cantante shows also included dancers and sets to attract casual tourists who wanted to experience flamenco.

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.

The time of the opera flamenca

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) and the peruvian cajón (a wooden box used as a percussion instrument), introduced by Paco de Lucía in the 1970s.

Most of "Nuevo Flamenco" can be found in New Mexican artists.

Cante flamenco

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. 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 catergorized in a number of ways. El Polo

The flamenco guitar (and the very similar classical guitar) is a descendent from the lute. 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 (often plastic), similar to a pick guard, enabling the guitarists to incorporate rhythmic finger tapping while they play. 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.

Palos

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.

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.). 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. 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. 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 (Juan Serrano.

Palos derived from Fandango

Fandangos de Huelva Fandangos orientales (from Eastern Andalusia and Murcia) Fandangos abandolaos, including: Verdiales Rondeñas Jabera Fandangos libres (free of rhythmic pattern): Granaínas Media Granaína Malagueñas Cantes de las minas (songs originated in mining areas): Minera, Tarantos, Tarantas, Cartageneras, Murciana, Levantica, Cantes de madrugá Fandangos personales (personal creations)

Seguiriya Palos

Cabales Livianas Siguiriyas - (also seguiriyas) Siguiriyas (Carlos Montoya. 35 seconds,158Kb) Milonga Rumba Vidalitas

Other palos of difficult classification

Campanilleros Bambera Sevillanas Nanas Zambras Zorongo

Flamenco artists

Flamenco occurs in two types of settings. Flamenco, in this context, is very dynamic: it adapts to the local talent, instrumentation, and mood of the audience. 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. 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.

A great number of flamenco artists are not capable performing in both settings at the same level. 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.

An overview of the various flamenco artists can be found in the following categories:

Category: Flamenco singers Category: Flamenco guitarists Category: Flamenco dancers Category: Flamenco bands

Sources

ÁLVAREZ CABALLERO, Ángel: El cante flamenco, Alianza Editorial, Madrid, 1998 (Second edition)

ÁLVAREZ CABALLERO, Ángel: La Discografía ideal del cante flamenco, Planeta, Barcelona, 1995

COELHO, Víctor Anand (Editor): "Flamenco Guitar: History, Style, and Context," in The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar, Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. MOLINA, Ricardo: Mundo y formas del cante flamenco, Revista de Occidente, 1963

MARTÍN SALAZAR, Jorge: Los cantes flamencos, Diputación Provincial de Granada

MANUEL, Peter.

RÍOS RUIZ, Ayer y hoy del cante flamenco, Ediciones ISTMO, 1997

ROSSY, Hipólito: Teoría del Cante Jondo, CREDSA, Barcelona, 1966