Flamenco


Flamenco, in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain in the autonomous community of Andalusia and Murcia. In a wider sense, the term is used to refer to a variety of Spanish musical styles. The oldest record of flamenco music dates to 1774 in the book Las Cartas Marruecas by José Cadalso. Flamenco has been influenced by and associated with the Romani people in Spain; however, its origin and style are uniquely Andalusian.
Manuel Ríos Ruiz notes that the development of flamenco is well documented: "the theatre movement of sainetes and tonadillas, popular song books and song sheets, customs, studies of dances, and toques, perfection, newspapers, graphic documents in paintings and engravings....in continuous evolution together with rhythm, the poetic stanzas, and the ambiance".
Nevertheless, the exact origin of flamenco is unknown and the subject of many hypotheses. The most widespread is that flamenco was developed through the cross-cultural interchange between moriscos and gitanos during the sixteenth century specifically in East Andalusia ; the Diccionario de la lengua española primarily attributes the creation of the style directly to the Spanish Romani.
Flamenco has become popular all over the world, especially the United States and Japan. In Japan, there are more flamenco academies than there are in Spain. "In El Salvador the group Alma Flamenca is considered the maximum representative and pioneer of this musical movement".
On November 16, 2010, UNESCO declared flamenco one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Etymology

There are many suggestions for the origin of the word flamenco as a musical term, but no solid evidence for any of them. The word is Spanish for "Flemish" . The Spanish verb flambear means to flambé. The word was not recorded as a musical and dance term until the late 18th century, in the book Las Cartas Marruecas by José Cadalso .
One theory, proposed by Andalusian historian Blas Infante, is that the word is derived from the Hispano-Arabic term fellah mengu, meaning "expelled peasant", referring to the Andalusians of Islamic faith and the remaining Moriscos who fled with the Roma newcomers.
Another theory is that the Spanish word is a derivative of the Spanish word, meaning "fire" or "flame". The word flamenco may have been used for fiery behaviour, which could have come to be applied to the Gitano players and performers.

''Palos''

Palos are flamenco styles, classified by criteria such as rhythmic pattern, mode, chord progression, stanzaic form and geographic origin. There are over 50 different palos, some are sung unaccompanied while others have guitar or other accompaniment. Some forms are danced while others are not. Some are reserved for men and others for women while some may be performed by either, though these traditional distinctions are breaking down: the Farruca, for example, once a male dance, is now commonly performed by women too.
There are many ways to categorize Palos but they traditionally fall into three classes: the most serious is known as cante jondo, while lighter, frivolous forms are called cante chico. Forms that do not fit either category are classed as cante intermedio. These are the best known palos :

Structure

A typical flamenco recital with voice and guitar accompaniment comprises a series of pieces in different palos. Each song is a set of verses, punctuated by guitar interludes. The guitarist also provides a short introduction setting the tonality, compás and tempo of the cante. In some palos, these falsetas are played with a specific structure too; for example, the typical sevillanas is played in an AAB pattern, where A and B are the same falseta with only a slight difference in the ending.

Harmony

Flamenco uses the Flamenco mode, in addition to the major and minor scales commonly used in modern Western music. The Phrygian mode occurs in palos such as soleá, most bulerías, siguiriyas, tangos and tientos.
A typical chord sequence, usually called the "Andalusian cadence" may be viewed as in a modified Phrygian: in E the sequence is Am–G–F–E. According to Manolo Sanlúcar E is here the tonic, F has the harmonic function of dominant while Am and G assume the functions of subdominant and mediant respectively.
Guitarists tend to use only two basic inversions or "chord shapes" for the tonic chord, the open 1st inversion E and the open 3rd inversion A, though they often transpose these by using a capo. Modern guitarists such as Ramón Montoya, have introduced other positions: Montoya himself started to use other chords for the tonic in the modern Dorian sections of several palos; F for tarantas, B for granaínas and A for the minera. Montoya also created a new palo as a solo for guitar, the rondeña in C with scordatura. Later guitarists have further extended the repertoire of tonalities, chord positions and scordatura.
There are also palos in major mode; most cantiñas and alegrías, guajiras, some bulerías and tonás, and the cabales. The minor mode is restricted to the Farruca, the milongas, and some styles of tangos, bulerías, etc. In general traditional palos in major and minor mode are limited harmonically to two-chord or three-chord progressions. However modern guitarists have introduced chord substitution, transition chords, and even modulation.
Fandangos and derivative palos such as malagueñas, tarantas and cartageneras are bimodal: guitar introductions are in Phrygian mode while the singing develops in major mode, modulating to Phrygian at the end of the stanza.

Melody

Dionisio Preciado, quoted by Sabas de, established the following characteristics for the melodies of flamenco singing:
  1. Microtonality: presence of intervals smaller than the semitone.
  2. Portamento: frequently, the change from one note to another is done in a smooth transition, rather than using discrete intervals.
  3. Short tessitura or range: Most traditional flamenco songs are limited to a range of a sixth. The impression of vocal effort is the result of using different timbres, and variety is accomplished by the use of microtones.
  4. Use of enharmonic scale. While in equal temperament scales, enharmonics are notes with identical pitch but different spellings ; in flamenco, as in unequal temperament scales, there is a microtonal intervalic difference between enharmonic notes.
  5. Insistence on a note and its contiguous chromatic notes, producing a sense of urgency.
  6. Baroque ornamentation, with an expressive, rather than merely aesthetic function.
  7. 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.
  8. Most styles express sad and bitter feelings.
  9. Melodic improvisation: flamenco singing is not, strictly 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 :
Compás is the Spanish word for metre or time signature. It also refers to the rhythmic cycle, or layout, of a palo.
The compás is fundamental to flamenco. Compás is most often translated as rhythm but it demands far more precise interpretation than any other Western style of music. If there is no guitarist available, the compás is rendered through hand clapping or by hitting a table with the knuckles. The guitarist uses techniques like strumming or tapping the soundboard. Changes of chords emphasize the most important downbeats.
Flamenco uses three basic counts or measures: Binary, Ternary and a form of a twelve-beat cycle that is unique to flamenco. There are also free-form styles including, among others, the tonás, saetas, malagueñas, tarantos, and some types of fandangos.
There are three types of 12-beat rhythms, which vary in their layouts, or use of accentuations: soleá, seguiriya and bulería.
  1. peteneras and guajiras: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. Both palos start with the strong accent on 12. Hence the meter is 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11...
  2. The seguiriya, liviana, serrana, toná liviana, cabales: 121 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12.
  3. soleá, within the cantiñas group of palos which includes the alegrías, cantiñas, mirabras, romera, caracoles and soleá por bulería : 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.
The Bulerías is the emblematic palo of flamenco: today its 12-beat cycle is most often played with accents on the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th beats. The accompanying palmas are played in groups of 6 beats, giving rise to a multitude of counter-rhythms and percussive voices within the 12 beat compás. In certain regions like, Xerez, Spain, the rhythm stays in a simpler six-count rhythm, only including the twelve count in a musical resolve.
with emphasis as ' 1 2 ' 4 5 ' 7 ' 9 11 – also the rhythm for the song America from the West Side Story

Forms of flamenco expression

Toque (guitar)

The origins, history and importance of the flamenco guitar is covered in the main Wikipedia entry for the Flamenco guitar.

Cante (song)

The origins, history and importance of the cante is covered in the main Wikipedia entry for the cante flamenco.

Baile (dance)

El baile flamenco is known for its emotional intensity, proud carriage, expressive use of the arms and rhythmic stamping of the feet, unlike tap dance or Irish dance which use different techniques. As with any dance form, many different styles of flamenco have developed.
In the twentieth century, flamenco danced informally at gitano celebrations in Spain was considered the most "authentic" form of flamenco. There was less virtuoso technique in gitano flamenco, but the music and steps are fundamentally the same. The arms are noticeably different from classical flamenco, curving around the head and body rather than extending, often with a bent elbow.
"Flamenco puro" otherwise known as “flamenco por derecho” is considered the form of performance flamenco closest to its gitano influences. In this style, the dance is often performed solo, and is based on signals and calls of structural improvisation rather than choreographed. In the improvisational style, castanets are not often used.
"Classical flamenco" is the style most frequently performed by Spanish flamenco dance companies. It is danced largely in a proud and upright style. For women, the back is often held in a marked back bend. Unlike the more gitano influenced styles, there is little movement of the hips, the body is tightly held and the arms are long, like a ballet dancer. In fact many of the dancers in these companies are trained in Ballet Clásico Español more than in the improvisational language of flamenco. Flamenco has both influenced and been influenced by Ballet Clásico Español, as evidenced by the fusion of the two ballets created by 'La Argentinita' in the early part of the twentieth century and later, by Joaquín Cortés, eventually by the entire Ballet Nacional de España et al.
In the 1950s Jose Greco was one of the most famous male Flamenco dancers, performing on stage worldwide and on television including the Ed Sullivan Show, and reviving the art almost singlehandedly. Greco's company left a handful of prominent pioneers, most notably: Maria Benitez and Vicente Romero of New Mexico. Today, there are many centers of Flamenco art. Albuquerque, New Mexico is considered the “Center of the Nation” for Flamenco Art. Much of this is due to Maria Benitez's 37 years of sold-out summer seasons. Albuquerque boasts three distinct prominent centers: National Institute of Flamenco, Casa Flamenca and Flamenco Works. Each center dedicates time to daily training, cultural diffusion and world-class performance equaled only to world-class performances one would find in the heart of Southern Spain, Andalucía.
Modern flamenco is a highly technical dance style requiring years of study. The emphasis for both male and female performers is on lightning-fast footwork performed with absolute precision. In addition, the dancer may have to dance while using props such as castanets, canes, shawls and fans.
"Flamenco nuevo" is a recent marketing phenomenon in Flamenco. Marketed as a “newer version” of Flamenco, its roots came from world-music promoters trying to sell albums of artists who created music that “sounded like” or had Spanish-style influences. Though some of this music was played in similar pitches, scales and was well-received, it has little to nothing to do with the Art of Flamenco guitar, dance, cante Jondo or the improvisational language. “Nuevo Flamenco” consists largely of compositions and repertoire, while Traditional Flamenco music and dance is a language composed of stanzas, actuated by oral formulaic calls and signals.
The flamenco most foreigners are familiar with is a style that was developed as a spectacle for tourists. To add variety, group dances are included and even solos are more likely to be choreographed. The frilly, voluminous spotted dresses are derived from a style of dress worn for the Sevillanas at the annual Feria in Seville.
In traditional flamenco, only the very young or older dancers are considered to have the emotional innocence or maturity to adequately convey the duende of the genre. Therefore, unlike other dance forms, where dancers turn professional through techniques early on to take advantage of youth and strength, many flamenco dancers do not hit their peak until their thirties and will continue to perform into their fifties and beyond. One artist that is considered a young master is Juan Manuel Fernandez Montoya, otherwise known as “Farruquito.” At age 12, Farruquito was considered a pioneer and for “Flamenco Puro,” or “Flamenco por Derecho,” because of his emotional depth.
;Scenes of flamenco performance in Seville.