Faà di Bruno, Giovanni Matteo [Horatio, Orazio] 83

3. Andalusia’s musical foundations.

Andalusia has long been a melting pot for varied musical traditions and systems, brought from the remote corners of the Mediterranean by Greek, Carthaginian, Roman and Byzantine settlers. In Visigothic Spain, Seville was one of the main centres for what later became known as Mozarabic chant. The Islamic invasion in the early 8th century may not immediately have added substantially to the musical traditions. However, with the arrival of the famous Baghdad musician Ziryāb, who founded a singing school at Córdoba during the reign of ‘Abd al-Rahmān II (822–52), Persian music became influential. During the 10th century, under Umayyad rule, the Arabs began to cultivate a musical tradition that later rivalled those of the eastern caliphates of Damascus and Baghdad. Muslim and Jewish poets shared the splendour of the Andalusian courts, where they composed many of their poems on existing popular tunes. With the Spanish reconquest, well under way by the 13th century, the influence of Christianity brought with it the Gregorian musical system which undoubtedly assimilated with the indigenous styles. (To what extent Jewish liturgical music played an important role throughout the region has been difficult to determine.) Even as Castilian was making inroads in southern Spain, much of the popular music then current was being transformed; by 1492 and the achievement of Spain's Catholic hegemony, which brought about the expulsion of Muslims and Jews, the music of Andalusia had a characteristically synthetic style that set it apart from other regions. The question remains whether the Gypsies, on their arrival in Spain around the mid-15th century, brought with them a new musical tradition or whether they simply nourished their own tradition from this synthesis. Some scholars believe that the Gypsies brought the flamenco style from North India, the region of their origin. Such arguments issue from the strong resemblance found in the singing of rāgas as well as in the nuances of the dance. Similar arguments have pointed to strong Arab influences in terms of performing practices and modal theories.

Flamenco

4. Musical characteristics.

While generalities abound concerning the musical style and characteristics of flamenco, and several studies have concentrated on particular cante, no exhaustive study of the repertory had been attempted by the end the 20th century. Such an undertaking will require the gathering of notated examples from 19th- and 20th-century cancioneros (‘song anthologies’) and comparison with transcriptions made from field recordings as well as commercially recorded data. A search for possible melodic and structural antecedents in earlier Iberian musical sources is also a task still to be undertaken.

As in the popular music of Andalusia, the scales used for flamenco mostly exhibit an affinity for three principal types: firstly, the medieval Phrygian (or Greek Dorian); secondly, a modified scale resembling the Arab maqām Hijāzī; and thirdly, a bimodal configuration alternating between major and minor 2nds and 3rds (ex.1). The melodies are predominantly diatonic, with occasional leaps of 3rds and 4ths, and the Phrygian cadence (A–G–F–E) is a common feature. According to the individual cante of the flamenco repertory, the use of ornamentation varies from light to heavy, and ascending or descending appoggiatura-like inflections are commonly used to accentuate certain notes. Such inflections are microtonal and are a particular feature of cante hondo. It is here that comparisons with North Indian and Arab modal practices appear valid. The flamenco repertory incorporates many metres: binary, simple and complex; ternary; and combinations of both. Polyrhythmic passages also occur in which the vocalist, singing in binary metre, may be accompanied in ternary metre. Additional cross-rhythms are provided by taconeo (heel-stamping), palmas sordas (hand-clapping) and pitos (finger-snapping). Songs of a purely parlando-rubato nature are usually sung a palo seco (without guitar accompaniment).

Flamenco

5. The zambra, juerga and cuadro flamenco.

Seville was the cradle of the Gypsy zambra (from Arabic sāmira, ‘festival’), which may have been patterned on the all-night soirées that were popular in Muslim Spain and included singing and dancing. The juerga (‘spree’, ‘carousal’), another type of gathering both informal and spontaneous, at which wine flowed freely and the merrymaking rose to a state of licentiousness, came to be regarded as infamous by Spanish society. The juerga assumed a new role during the period of the cafés cantantes, when it became a commercial enterprise revolving around cante flamenco. The high-spirited intimate settings of the ‘closed door’ flamenco sessions (sesiones a puertas cerradas) took over the informal role of the juerga.

The café cantante period also gave birth to the cuadro flamenco which comprised a group of singers, dancers and guitarists who sat in a semicircle on a tablao (‘slightly elevated platform’). This ensemble has continued to be the most popular throughout the Hispanic world, although much of its traditional repertory has changed. A notable addition is the use of castanets, not originally a Gypsy practice (the introduction of which is attributed to the Sevillian dance instructor José Otero Aranda). Besides performing as a group, each member of the cuadro flamenco takes a turn as soloist while others in the ensemble provide the accompaniment; even during the group singing and dancing, each member performs as an individual. The performances usually begin with some form of jaleo (‘shouts of encouragement’), arousing the enthusiasm of the audience by eliciting their verbal participation. The guitarists always provide a tiento or temple (introduction or prelude) for singing and dancing to create the proper atmosphere and mood. While preparing to sing the more traditional cante, particularly those of the hondo type, the singer literally tunes the voice (temple) before entering into the vocalized melismas (salidas), on the syllable ‘ay’, preceding the first line of the song. A good guitarist seems to know intuitively what the singer is going to do. The hoarse, nasal timbre (rajo, a voz afillá) of the voice is still highly respected in some circles, vocal quality being one of the most distinctive features of flamenco. The guitar, tuned in 4ths, plays a dual role as solo and accompanying instrument, but is chiefly used as a rhythmic instrument, providing three basic types of accompaniment: rasgueado (strumming), paseo (spritely melodic passage work) and falsetas or rosas (improvised melodic phrases between the sung strophes, including a prelude). Cuadro flamenco performances usually end with the fin de fiesta, a combination of songs and dances, which creates exciting and spectacular entertainment. Allied to the art of flamenco are the various classes of enthusiasts, ranging from aficionados and entendidos to cabales, who either practise the art (prácticos) or appreciate it (téoricos).

See also Cante hondo.

Flamenco

BIBLIOGRAPHY

and other resources

collections

MGG2 (Marliese Glück [M. Schneider])

Don Preciso [J.A. de Zamácola]: Colección de las mejores coplas de seguidillas, tiranas y polos (Madrid, 1799, enlarged 3/1805/R)

Coplas de seguidillas y tiranas jocosas, malagueñas y polos (Seville, 1807)

F. Rodríguez Marín: Cantos populares españoles (Seville, 1882–3, 3/1981)

Demófilo [A. Machado y Alvarez]: Cantes flamencos: colección escogida (Madrid, 1886, 2/1947)

S. and J. Alvarez Quintero: La copla andaluza (Seville, 1926)

F. Rodríguez Marín: El alma de Andalucía en sus mejores coplas amorosas (Madrid, 1929)

A. Arauz: Voz y cuerda (soleares, saetas, polos, siguiriyas, malagueñas) (Madrid, 1935)

R. Castejón Martínez de Arizala: Disertación histórica sobre la copla andaluza (Córdoba, 1947)

R. Molina: Cante flamenco: antología (Madrid, 1965, 2/1969)

J. Manrique: Coplas flamencas (Barcelona, 1982)

S. Rueda: Antología flamenca (Córdoba, 1982)

specialist journals

La canción andaluza (Jerez de la Frontera, 1961–3)

Flamenco: boletín de información de la Tertulia Flamenca de Ceuta (Ceuta, 1972–6)

Candil: revista del flamenco (Jaén, 1978–) [bi-monthly]

Sevilla flamenca (Seville, 1980–) [monthly]

Cabal: boletín mensual de información flamenca (Madrid, 1982–)

Boletín informativo fundación andaluza de flamenco (Jerez de la Frontera, 1987–) [quarterly]

Desde lo jondo (Córdoba, 1987–)

Arco flamenco: boletín Peña Cultural Flamenca ‘Torres-Macarena’ (Seville, 1988–)

La Caña: revista de flamenco, from 1994 La Caña de flamenco (Madrid, 1991–) [quarterly]

bibliographic studies

A. González Climent: Bibliografía flamenca (Madrid, 1965)

A. González Climent and J. Blas Vega: Segunda bibliografía flamenca (Málaga, 1966)

J. Blas Vega: ‘Apuntes crítico-informativos para una bibliografía del flamenco’, Estafeta literaria, no.456 (1970), 16–20

J. Blas Vega and M. Ríos Ruiz: ‘Bibliografía flamenca’, Diccionario enciclopédico illustrado del flamenco, ii (Madrid, 1988), 524–34

origins

G. Borrow: The Zincali: an Account of the Gypsies of Spain (London, 1841, 2/1914)

F. Pedrell: ‘Los cantos flamencos’, Lírica nacionalizada (Paris, 1909), 11–15

W. Frank: Virgin Spain: Scenes from the Spiritual Drama of a Great People (London, 1926)

M García Matos: ‘Cante flamenco: algunos de sus presuntos orígenes’, AnM, v (1950), 97–124

F. Sierra Cago: ‘“Cante flamenco”: orígenes, evolución y estado actual’, Manuel de Falla y Granada, ed. R.J. Garcia (Granada, 1963)

L.A. de Vega: Nosotros los flamencos (Madrid, 1965)

Actas de la reunión internacional de estudios sobre los orígenes del flamenco: Madrid 1969, ed. C. de Montarco (Madrid, 1969)

M. García Matos: ‘Introducción a la investigación de orígenes del canto flamenco’, Los orígenes del flamenco (Madrid, 1969), 33–50

E. Molina Fajardo: El flamenco en Granada: teoría de sus orígenes e historia (Granada, 1974)

R. de Zayas: ‘Origins of Flamenco and its Oldest Songs (I)’, Guitar Review, no.43 (1978), 13–23

B. Infante Pérez: Orígines de lo flamenco y secreto del cante jondo (1929–1933) (Seville, 1980)

M.F. Fernández Escalante: ‘Flamen-énicus/Flaméncus: canto de Flámen’, Revista de folklore, no.67 (1986), 17–20

M. Manzano Alonso: ‘Los orígenes musicales del flamenco: proyecto esquemático para un trabajo de investigación etnomusicológica’, Actas del XXI congreso de arte flamenco: Paris 1993, 165–71

history and style

H. Schuchardt: ‘Die cantes flamencos’, Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie, v (1881), 249–322

P. García Barriuso: La música hispanomusulmana en Marruecos (Larache, 1941)

L. Quievreux: Art flamenco (Brussels, 1959)

D.E. Pohren: The Art of Flamenco (Jerez de la Frontera, 1962, 3/1972)

R. Molina and A. Mairena: Mundo y formas del cante flamenco (Madrid, 1963, 2/1971)

A. Caffarena Such: Geografía del cante andaluz (Málaga, 1964)

A. González Climent: ‘Para una historiografía flamenca’, Cuadernos hispanoamericanos, no.184 (1965), 85–119

G. Howson: The Flamencos of Cádiz Bay (London, 1965)

J. Pemartín: Guía alfabética del cante flamenco (Madrid, 1966)

R. Molina: Misterios del arte flamenco (Barcelona, 1967)

P. Hecht: The Wind Cried (New York, 1968)

A.M.G. Piejus: ‘Flamenco’, World of Music, x/4 (1968), 28–43

J. Luque Navajas: ‘Las constantes del flamenco’, Los orígenes del flamenco (Madrid, 1969), 51–65

E. Terés Sabada: ‘Testimonios literarios para la historia del cante flamenco (1750–1850)’, Los orígenes del flamenco (Madrid, 1969), 11–28

F. Qiñones: El flamenco: vida y muerte (Barcelona, 1971, 2/1981)

Las relaciones entre la música andaluza, la hispanoamericana y el flamenco: Madrid 1972

M. Ríos Ruiz: Introducción al cante flamenco (Madrid, 1972)

C. Almendros: Todo lo básico sobre el flamenco (Barcelona, 1973)

M. Jiménez Quesada: Autenticidad del cante flamenco (Madrid, 1974)

I.J. Katz: ‘The Traditional Folk Music of Spain: Explorations and Perspectives’, YIFMC, vi (1974), 64–85

A. de Larrea Palacín: El flamenco en su raíz (Madrid, 1974)

J.M. Caballero Bonald: Luces y sombras del flamenco (Barcelona, 1975)

A. Gobin: Le flamenco (Paris, 1975)

A. de Larrea Palacín: Guía del flamenco (Madrid, 1975)

F. Grande: Memoria del flamenco (Madrid, 1979)

A. Alvarez Caballero: Historia del cante flamenco (Madrid, 1981)

J. Crivillé i Bargalló: ‘Estilos de flamenco’, El folklore musical, Historia de la música española ed. P. Lopez de Osa (Madrid, 1983), 267–302

B. Thompson: ‘Flamenco: a Tradition in Evolution’, World of Music, xxvii/3 (1985), 67–80

P. Manuel: ‘Evolution and Structure in Flamenco Harmony’, CMc, no.42 (1986), 46–57

M. García Matos: Sobre el flamenco: estudios y notas (Madrid, 1987)

Dos siglos del flamenco: Jerez de la Frontera 1988 (Jerez de la Frontera, 1989) [pubn of the Fundación Andaluza de Flamenco]

C. Freyssinet Savy: ‘Estudio de la noción de forma en el flamenco’, Actas del XXI congreso de arte flamenco: Paris 1993, 133–41

Los cantes y el flamenco de Almería: Almería 1994

specific genres

J.C. de Luna: De cante grande y cante chico (Madrid, 1926, 4/1981)

V.T. Mendoza: ‘La petenera’, Nuestra música, iv (1949), 114–34

A. González Climent: Bulerías (Jerez de la Frontera, 1961)

A. Caffarena: Cantes andaluces (la saeta, la petenera) (Málaga, 1964)

F. Bejarano Robles: Del cante y de la malagueña (Málaga, 1966)

J. Blas Vega: Las tonás (Málaga, 1967)

A. Caffarena Such: La soleá (Málaga, 1970)

R. Brandel: ‘Rhythms of Flamenco: Siguiriyas and Soleares’, Orbis musicae, vi (1978), 5–33

L. Jambou: Les origines du Tiento (Paris, 1982)

A. Volland: ‘Bulerías: Form and Context of a Gitano Music-Dance Genre’, Papers from the Fourth and Fifth Annual Meetings: Gypsy Lore Society: New York 1982 and 1983, ed. J. Grumet (New York, 1985), 151–63

performers

G. Nuñez de Prado: Cantaores andaluces (Barcelona, 1904, 4/1987)

F. el de Triana: Arte y artistas flamencos (Madrid, 1935, 5/1987)

J.L. Pantoja Antúnez: Evocación de las grandes figuras del flamenco (Jerez de la Frontera, 1963)

D.E. Pohren: Lives and Legends of Flamenco: a Biographical History (Madrid, 1964, 2/1988)

A. Batista: Maestros y estilos: manual flamenco (Madrid, 1985)

context

R. Salillas: El delincuente español: hampa (Madrid, 1898)

C.G. Ortiz de Villajos: Gitanos de Granada: la zambra (Granada, 1949)

J. López George: ‘Los intelectuales y el cante flamenco’, Estafeta literaria, no.519 (1973), 10–14

A. Carrillo Alonso: El fenómeno sociocultural del flamenco (Almería, 1979)

F. Grande: ‘Historia y balance de la etapa de los cafés-cantantes’, Memoria del flamenco, ii (Madrid, 1979), 339–70

J.L. Ortiz Nuevo: Pensamiento político en el cante flamenco (Seville, 1985)

J. Blas Vega: Los cafés cantantes de Sevilla (Madrid, 1987)

P. Manuel: ‘Andalusian Gypsy and Class Identity in the Contemporary Flamenco Complex’, EthM, xxxiii (1989), 47–66

G. García Gómez; Cante flamenco, cante minero: una interpretación sociocultural (Barcelona, 1993)

Flamenco y nacionalismo: aportaciones para una soiología política del flamenco: Seville 1995 and 1997, ed. G. Steingress and E. Baltanás (Seville, 1998)

dance

P. Minguete e Irol: Breve tratado de los pasos de danzar a la española que hoy se estian en seguidillas, fandangos y otros tañidos (Madrid, 1764)

J. Otero Aranda: Tratado de bailes … con su historia y modo de ejecutralos (Seville, 1912)

V. Escudero: Mi baile (Barcelona, 1947)

R.M. Coll: De baile andaluz (Málaga, 1966)

T. Martinez de la Peña: Teoría y práctica del baile flamenco (Madrid, 1970)

M. Barrios Gutiérrez: El baile flamenco (Madrid, 1972)

A. Puig Claramunt: El arte del baile flamenco (Barcelona, 1977)

C. Carretero: Origen, evolución y morfología del baile por sevillanas (Seville, 1980)

S. Weich-Shahak: ‘A Musical Approach to Flamenco Dance Steps’, AnM, xlvii (1992), 227–51

guitar

E. Medina: Método de la guitarra flamenca (Barcelona, 1958)

M. Cano Tamayo: ‘La guitarra flamenca: sus orígenes y transformaciones’, Los orígenes del flamenco (Madrid, 1969), 67–83

D. George: The Flamenco Guitar (Madrid, 1969)

A. Batista: Método de guitarra flamenca (Madrid, 1978)

R. Reguera: La guitarra en el flamenco (Madrid, 1983)

M. Cano Tamayo: La guitarra: historia, estudios y aportaciones al arte flamenco (Córdoba, 1986)

miscellaneous

Solitario [S. Estébanez Calderón]: Escenas andaluzas (Madrid, 1847)

J.C. de Luna: El café de Chinitas (Madrid, 1942)

F. Fernández de Castillejo: Andalucía: lo andaluz, lo flamenco y lo gitano (Buenos Aires, 1944)

F. García Lorca: ‘The Duende: Theory and Divertisement’, Poet in New York (New York, 1955), 154–66

J. Blas Vega and M. Ríos: ‘Apuntes para un estudio del flamenco hispánoamericano’, Las relaciones entre la música andaluza, la hispanoamericana y el flamenco (Madrid, 1972), 49–60

M. García Matos: ‘Aclaraciones sobre algunos de los influjos que en el “cante flamenco”, ha ejercido la canción folklórica hispáno-americana’, ibid., 33–48

A. de Larrea Palacín: ‘Sobre el posible origen americano de algunos cantes y bailes flamencos’, ibid., 89–101

M. Ropero Nuñez: El léxico del caló en el lenguaje del cante flamenco (Seville, 1978)

M. Ropero Nuñez: El léxico andaluz de las coplas flamencas (Seville, 1984)

F. Grande: García Lorca y el flamenco (Madrid, 1992)

Actas del XXIV congreso de arte flamenco: Seville 1996 ed. A. Cáceres and A. Zoido (Seville, 1996)

recordings

Antología del cante flamenco, Hispavox HH 12–01 to 12–03 (1958) [incl. T. Andrade de Silva: ‘Sobre los orígenes de treinta y tres cantes’]

Una historia del cante flamenco, Hispavox HH 1024 (1958) [incl. M. García Matos: ‘Bosquejo histórico del cante flamenco’]

Archivo del cante flamenco, Discos Vergara 13001–6 SJ (1968) [incl. disc notes by J.M. Caballero Bonald]

Magna antología del cante flamenco, Hispavox s/c 66.201 (1982) [incl. disc notes by J. Blas Vega]

El cante flamenco: antología histórica, Philips 832.531–1 (1987) [incl. disc notes by J. Blas Vega]