A kind of music and dance in Spain
The history and development of flamenco music
A background introduction to Spain
Spain is located in southwest Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. This island is located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Spain is bordered by the Pyrenees and France to the north, and faces Africa across the 16-kilometer-wide Strait of Gibraltar to the south.
As early as 100,000 years ago, people were living in what is now Spain. About five thousand years ago, a group of people called "Iberians" occupied many places in Spain. Subsequently, groups of conquerors, immigrants, and traders entered Spain one after another and merged with each other to form the Spanish people today. The Spaniards believe in Roman Catholicism and speak Castilian Spanish. The Carthaginians ruled Spain from the fifth to the third century BC, and the Moors conquered most of Spain in the eighth century for hundreds of years. In ancient times, Celts and Greeks also immigrated to Spain, and Rome established a province here. Spain began to expel the Moors in the territory in the 11th century, and won its final victory in 1492. In the same year, Columbus discovered the New World, and Spain became a world power. The empire it built covered most of western South America and southern North America. In addition, There are sporadic territories wandering in Africa, Asia and Europe.
After the 16th century, Spain faced a series of civil wars, foreign invasions and economic blows, and the imperial territories were lost one after another. In the 1930s, Spain fell into a bloody civil war. Finally, the dictatorial strongman Franco came to power and implemented a fascist dictatorship that lasted for 45 years. It was not until Franco's death that Spain returned to a constitutional monarchy and became a true democracy.
Second Music Dictionary:
Flamenco Music:
(1) Historical Evolution
Most people believe that Flamenco is Originating in the gitanerias of Andalusia in the fifteenth century, by the sixteenth century it was a fusion of Arabic and Jewish music from the Andalusian mountains. At that time, Jews, Muslims, and Gypsy pagans all fled into the mountains to avoid persecution by the Catholic king. Therefore, some people say that the word flamenco is a fusion of two Arabic words, Felag and Menga. The former refers to a fugitive and the latter refers to a farmer. In other words, flamenco music is the music of escaped peasants. Some people say that the term flamenco refers to the people who followed Charles V in the 16th century.
In any case, flamenco music is closely related to the Gypsies. To this day, the centers of flamenco art are still the places where traditional Gypsies live, such as Cadiz, Alcala, Utrera, Jerez, Sevilla, etc.
At the beginning of the 19th century, flamenco had become a performance performed in taverns and inns in Andalusia to entertain guests, business travelers, and prostitutes. The performers at the beginning were poor gypsies and payos (the name gypsies call non-gypsies), and they were amateurs. Slowly, some outstanding performers turned into professional singers. At that time, flamenco singers (cantaores) paired with guitars and dancers began to perform at private parties and markets.
Around 1850, flamenco performances entered cafes, and many outstanding artists performed in fashionable cafes in Seville, Madrid, and Andalusia. At this time, Spanish colonial fleet sailors returned home and injected music from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Argentina and other places into flamenco. This type of flamenco is called two-way songs and includes milongas, colombianas, and guajiras.
Between 1870 and 1900, flamenco performances became increasingly popular. But since 1910, cafe flamenco has declined, and has been replaced by the so-called opera flamenco. This is a tax evasion method used by the organizers. Named opera flamenco, it becomes a cultural performance project and is tax-free. In response to the title of opera flamenco, flamenco performances gradually moved from small cafes to large theaters. Changes in stage space and quantitative changes in the audience affected qualitative changes, and the purity of flamenco performances gradually weakened.
In view of the inferiority of Flamenco, classical composer Manuel de Falla sought the support of artists and intellectuals and organized the Granada a Contest of Cante Flamenco (Flamingo Singers Competition) in 1922. ). However, the flamenco revival movement did not start until the 1950s, with the joint efforts of countless artists, writers, and intellectuals. Some wrote books and monographs to explore the roots of flamenco, and record companies also recorded them. After many great singers' works, many taverns and clubs (penas flamenco) specializing in flamenco performances have been opened across Spain one after another, dedicated to promoting classical flamenco.
Now that flamenco is a world-famous performing art and song form, the younger generation of singers are also involved in it, seeking the possibility of integrating flamenco with other music.
(2) Flamenco music form
In the art of Flamenco, the music form is called palos. How many types of flamenco palos are there? Most literature research points out that there are about 60 types of flamenco music forms, most of which originated from Cadiz, Seville, Malaga, Granada and other provinces of Andalusia, and some also came from the neighboring Extremadura and Murica. In terms of emotional expression, flamenco can be roughly divided into three categories, one is cante jondo (deep song), the other is intermedio (general song), and the other is cante chico (relaxed song), with a relatively slow rhythm. Light and expressive of joyful emotions.
These sixty-odd musical forms are classified into several families according to the similarity of their melodies. The four most important families are soleares, siguiriyas, tangos, and fandangos. The family developed more than thirty kinds of tunes. Each different palos represents a specific emotion and must be paired with lyrics that express that emotion. For example, fandango expresses daily life, soleares expresses solemn things, siguiriyas expresses sad emotions, etc.
1.soleares
The word soleares is plural, and the singular is solea. The word solea comes from the deformation of soledad, which means loneliness. Some people say that the solea form is the cornerstone of flamenco music. It expresses tragic emotions and describes dark things. Of all cante jondo (deep song) forms, soleares is the most archetypal and pure. We often see that flamenco repertoire uses the plural soleres, which means that one song uses more than one coplas. Usually coplas refers to couplets, four lines of eight syllables, with rhyme in the second and fourth lines.
The soleares form is the same as most flamenco forms, with twelve beats per measure, using 3/4, but divided into 6/8. The guitar accompaniment is very fast, so to the ear it feels like 6/4 and 3/2 time. In flamenco terminology, rhythmic patterns are called compas. Usually when the lead singer sings soleares, when entering a new coplas (verse), he can freely use some decorative sounds as an introduction to this coplas, which is similar to the nature of a guide. This is called in flamenco terminology It is called salia or melisma. When switching coplas, the guitarist is free to solo as an interlude between the two coplas. There are also strict rules for dancing to accompany soleares. First, there is a warm-up period for the singer. During this period, the dancer steps out the compas, and then the singer sings a complete compas in 6/8 and 3/4 beats, followed by a solo performance of the dancer's llamada (shouting) and dance steps. Finally, it ends with the faster bulerias.
2.tango
The tangos in flamenco have nothing to do with Argentine tango music. It is the most lively of the ancient flamenco modes. Under the broad category of tango, there are three variations: tangos, tientos, and tanquillo.
According to research, tangos originated in the Cadiz coast area. The word tangos comes from an ancient local dance. Its brisk style is reminiscent of the sound of horse hooves in the caravan era.
According to the analysis of scholar Antonio Espana, the characteristic of tangos mode is that it uses two rhythm (compas) modes. The structure of compas is relatively simple compared with other modes, it is easy to listen to, and it is easy to create a happy atmosphere. The characteristic of the singing is that some notes will last for several beats and have a melisma performance. Because tangos are easy to understand and can even cause the audience to sing along, they are often used as the finale of recitals, bringing the atmosphere to a climax.
Tiento mode and tangos are both compas in 2/4 and 4/4 time. However, compared to the joyful atmosphere of tangos, although tiento is also classified as cante chico (relaxing song), it The tempo is slower and the singing style is more solemn, gradually turning into deep music. Special emphasis is placed on the ups and downs of downbeats.
According to research, tiento is a young member of the tangos family. It was formed around the beginning of the 20th century and originated in Cadiz. The locals tried to slow down the tangos and add complex decorative sounds. The changes make the mood tense and full, but usually the ending sometimes accelerates into tangos. In terms of guitar performance, although it is classified as a tangos family, the string brushing (rasgueado) method is closer to a tanguillo.
tanguillo is the most relaxed and joyful song and dance in the tangos family, which also originated in Cadiz. It is popular with the public because the tanguillo mode is often sung at Cadiz carnivals by murgas, amateur cabaret groups that sing satirical songs.
3.fandango
According to research, fandangos originated when the Arabs invaded Spain (about 711 AD) and are a very ancient folk song and dance. It is generally believed that it originated from a Jota pas de deux in Argon, northern Andalucia. Almost every region in Andalucia has its own fandangos. Basically it is divided into two major forms, one is fandango grande (great fandango, big) and the other is fandanguillos (little fandango, small). The more lively tune we usually hear is the little fandango.
There are several types of fandanguillo, including fandango de Huelva, fandango de Lucena, and fandango de Almeria. There is another kind of verdiales, which originates from the malaga region and is also called fandango de malaga.
Generally speaking, fandango grande is not performed with dance, but fandanguillo still maintains its early song and dance form, using 3/4 or 6/8 compas and maintaining strict rhythm rules.
According to Antonio Espana’s research, fandango grande probably took shape during the golden age of flamenco, that is, the 1920s. Some singers experimented with fandangos, abandoning fixed rhythm patterns (compas) and improvising freely. Use rhythm to enhance the performance of melisma. Although the guitar accompaniment part still adopts the 3/4 beat of fandangos, the singing part completely abandons the fixed rhythm, making the music structure sound very weak at first glance. Only a master singer can control it freely, allowing fandango grande to show perfect strength. Its performance therefore tends to be deep. Fandango itself belongs to cante chico in terms of emotional expression, but fandango grande is cante jondo.
4.Siguiriyas
Siguiriyas is a Gypsy language, its origin has not been tested. Some people think it was the Gypsies who mistakenly pronounced seguidilla as siguiriyas.
Seguidilla is an ancient folk song and dance from Castile and has nothing to do with it. However, according to Paco Sevilla's Flamenco: The Early Years, the earliest flamenco score appeared in an Italian opera in 1779, and the mode used in it was siguiriyas.
Siguiriyas are the most profoundly sad type of flamenco mode (cante jondo). Most of their lyrics explore death, existential loneliness, desperate love, depression, despair and loneliness. At one time, siguiriyas were also called players, a word that meant "professional grave-weepers," which illustrates the pathos of this style. Siguiriyas are the biggest challenge for flamenco singers, and the same is true for listeners. Some flamenco scholars once said that when listening to siguiriyas live singers for the first time, it is best not to get too close to the singers. Because the ears will not be able to bear it.
Among the four major modes of flamenco, soleares and siguiriyas are both cante jondo. soleares is called the mother of cante jondo, and siguiriyas was born in the golden age of flamenco. Its compas are in 3/4 and 6/8 time signatures, with strict rhythm rules. The compas begins on the second beat of the 3/4 measure and ends on the first beat of the second 3/4 measure. In 6/8, the compas begins on the third beat. However, some scholars hold different views. Blas Vega believes that the compas of siguiriyas is actually in 7/8 time, broken into 2+2+3, or two consecutive quarter notes plus three eighth notes. In any case, the suguiriyas almost freestyle when singing, in contrast to the guitar accompaniment of the compas. Generally speaking, siguiriyas' singing is rarely accompanied by dance because it is too difficult and few dancers can perform with the depth and intensity to match the singer. As for guitar accompaniment, Nino Ricardo is recognized as the best interpreter.
5.Bulerias
This word is a combination of bulla (noise) and buria (to mock), which means to mock and imitate noise, which fully expresses the characteristics of this mode. No one knows where bulerias originated, but most scholars believe that the mode originated from a fast version of alegrias in Jerez. Full of fun and energy, bulerias are the ultimate challenge for dancers and guitar players. It is the most difficult rhythm among flamenco tunes, but it is also the essence of flamenco. No matter how many tunes a musician or singer knows, if he cannot perform bulerias, he cannot be called a flamenco. Musicians. Although it also has a twelve-beat cycle structure, it has greater rhythmic flexibility and is full of improvisation and melody changes. Because of its lively atmosphere, it is often regarded as the finale of concerts.
(3) Flamenco singing art
1. Duende
In flamenco terminology, the male singer is called cantaor, and the female singer is called cantaor. The singer is called cantaora, the male dancer is bailaor, and the female dancer is bailaora. The various tunes of flamenco are called palos, and the rhythm pattern is called compas. Generally speaking, flamenco, like blues music, follows a cycle of twelve beats. The singer can change the improvisation at any time, for example, from 3/4 Cut it into 6/8, and then continue cutting it with decorative sounds to create various improvisational expressions. Therefore, the rules of flamenco appear to be strict on the surface, but there is a lot of room for improvisation. Juan Martin, the master of flamenco guitar, once said that flamenco is a microcosm of Spanish society. On the surface, it adheres to the tradition of respecting , is anarchy at its core.
There is a term in flamenco art called duende, which means the touch and soul of the singer. It dominates the communication between the singer and the audience, even when expressing happy emotions. The singer is also able to convey deep emotions that are moving. Spanish poet Garcia Loca said that duende can only be found "in the deepest depths of exile, in the last blood-spattered room of the soul." Its power comes from the fact that it transcends time, duende's moments of performance are themselves immortal.
According to Mario Pacheco, the owner of the most important contemporary flamenco record company, duende is the soul of a singer, a talent given by God in the world. Some singers have duende, and some do not. This cannot be compensated by training and skills. . During the concert, what the singer and the audience are waiting for is the duende moment. When that moment appears, the singer is no longer himself, but becomes the song he sings.
2. Jaleo
In flamenco performances, there is a special term called jaleo. It is a kind of tune, which also represents the singer and guitarist when the performance is at its most exciting. Interweaving and interacting with the dancers' palms (palmas) and finger snaps (palillos), as well as the audience's shouts and noises, it is the most exciting and fanatical state. The audience hears the intoxication, not shouting loudly! ole means shouting "Long live the typewriter" or "water". The former refers to the dancer's fast steps like a typewriter, and the latter is because Andalusia is a place lacking water, so "water" becomes the most sacred praise. word.
(4) Flamenco Dance
1. Origin and Development
The male dancers of flamenco are called bailaor, and the female dancers are called bailaor. It's called bailaora. Langming song and dance originated around 1750. In the 19th century, it moved from streets and private parties to professional performance venues. There, dancers can compete with each other, stir up excitement, and develop new dance steps. It was at this time that the legendary dancers El Raspao and El Estampio created the dazzling steps and movements of contemporary flamenco dance. It was also around that time that the so-called The hata de cola (a long dress with lace and a slit in the front) became the formal dress for female dancers. In 1910, flamenco entered the theater and developed the so-called flamenco opera, which combined dance, song, guitar solo and comedy. In 1915, composer Manuel de Falla wrote the first flamenco ballet. La Argentina established its first dance troupe in the 1920s and led the team to perform abroad, turning flamenco dance into an independent art. From the 1930s to the 1950s, the most famous flamen song and dance performer was Carmen Amaya, who toured the world and turned flamen song into a world-famous art.
2. Dance terminology
Different flamenco palos have different dance routines (routines), and the rules are very strict. Before we explore the performance of a complete dance piece, it is important to understand some flamenco terminology.
(1) llamada (yum-ah-da): It means calling, but it is not a verbal call, but a series of steps taken by the dancer to remind the guitarist that she intends to end this section or the whole Qu dance code. (2) paseo: means stepping. The dancers step around the stage, assuming majestic and gorgeous postures. As a connection between the two paragraphs, the steps cannot be missed. (3) Desplante: The dance steps in the passage burst out quickly, usually starting with llamada, which is the climax of the whole song. (4)silencio: means quiet. Between sections, the guitarist stops accompaniment, and the dancers' steps gradually increase in speed, leading to a climax. This manifestation is particularly common in algerias (ull-agree-us).
(5) Taconeo: The change of footsteps. The changes of steps of flamenco dancers can be from toes to soles to heels. Usually there will be a solo in the complete dance music that specifically expresses the footsteps.
(6) Zapatedo: It has two meanings. It usually refers to the solo performance of the toes, soles and heels, creating a complex rhythm. Another meaning refers specifically to the dance form of zapatedo, whose foot performance is particularly complex, often stopping suddenly and then starting again, constantly accelerating. The melody must perfectly match the steps, requiring perfect coordination between the guitarist and the dancers.
(7) jaleos (hell-aye-os): means cheering. Each dance troupe has a person who is responsible for the jaleos. The male is called jaleador and the female is called jaleadora. They are also usually responsible for controlling the rhythm with palmas (clapping) and pitos (flicking fingers).
(8) ida: means leaving.
The dancer uses steps to prompt the accompanist that she wants to change from one musical form to another.
(5) Flamenco Guitar Art
1. The History of Flamenco Guitar
In the development of Flamenco, until In the last fifty years of the 19th century (the so-called Golden Age of Flamenco), flamenco performances did not yet have exclusive guitars. At that time, either expensive finas or six-string instruments made of cheap materials were commonly used. It wasn’t until the 1900s that the flamenco guitar was born.
Classical guitars before the birth of flamenco guitars were either made of maple or rosewood. They were very heavy. The guitar panels had complex decorations and the strings were made of metal. They were very heavy. Heavy. The improved flamenco guitar is made of lighter cypress wood, the strings are made of wood, and the fingerboard (neck) is made of cedar. The lighter material reduces the burden on the player and also makes the flamenco guitar more comfortable. The guitar has a brighter, percussion-like sound.
In modern times, in order to match the acoustics of the concert hall, many guitar soloists use a kind of guitar that is between a classical guitar and a flamenco guitar. It is called flamenco negra. The word negra comes from the black rosewood it uses. Wood (dark rosewood). The heavier wood and special manufacturing allow flamenco negra to produce a deeper sound with better resonance and clarity, especially for performances in concert halls.
Before the 1960s, the flamenco guitar playing posture was to place the guitar between the upper arm and thigh. After the 1960s, most musicians adopted Paco de Lucia’s method of placing the guitar between the upper arm and thigh. The position is lowered to the thigh, allowing the legs to bear the weight of the guitar, and the arms are freer, so the musician can use a heavier guitar.
2. The genealogy of flamenco guitarists
Many flamenco music history researchers believe that the trend of flamenco guitar soloists began in the 20th century. In fact, as early as the 1860s, Julian Arcas often performed solo. According to Flamenc The Early Years written by Paco Sevilla, in the so-called cafe flamenco era, the guitar slowly became one of the highlights of the performance. The musicians slowly sang out the solo part, strengthening the accompaniment melody, not only competing with other guitarists, but also Compete with singers and dancers. Gradually, each cafe or club had its own guitar soloist, and some musicians would also perform stunts, such as putting the guitar behind their back, holding it on their head, or even wearing gloves to play, each with their own unique tricks to attract the audience.
(1) Very Flamenco school: Paco el Barbero -- Nino de Ricardo -- Paco de Lucia (Manolo Sanlucar)
Contemporary flamenco guitar art can be traced back to the guitar Master El Maestro Patino, he often performed solo in his youth, but his greatest contribution was to teach two students, Paco el Barbero and Paco de Lucena, who were very interested in contemporary flamenco guitar style. Creation has an absolute impact.
Paco el Barbero taught Javier Molina (1868-1956), and Molina taught El Nino Ricardo (1904-1972). El Nino Ricardo was not only a great performer and innovator, his style directly influenced Serranito, Manolo Sanlucar, and Paco de Lucia. The playing style of this school is rough, tough, emotional and deep, and is called very flamenco.
In the 1970s, Nino de Ricardo’s tough style of guitar playing took on a new look with the innovations of Paco de Lucia and Manolo Sanlucar.
Paco de Lucia can be said to have single-handedly changed the trend of flamenco playing. He not only inherited the rough and strong emotional expression of Nino de Ricardo, but also integrated the musical concepts and delicate techniques of Ramon Montoya, a "classical" school. He took the lead in lowering the guitar to his thigh, giving the musician more room to express himself. He used amazing picado (fast staccato), new and extremely fast al-za-pua and rasquaedo (string brushing) techniques. In addition, he also continued to add elements of other musical forms to Fran. Mingo (such as Latin American music, jazz scales and chord concepts), etc.
(2) Classical school: Paco de Lucena--Ramon Montoya (Manolo de Huelva)--Sabicas El Maestro Patino. Another student of his is Paco de Lucena. From him to Ramon Montoya and Sabicas, he established the so-called classical school.
Paco de Lucena studied classical guitar and learned scales and arpeggios from classical guitar masters. His greatest contribution to flamenco guitar was the creation of the so-called three-finger tremolo, which is a kind of guitar technique. After playing a bass, three consecutive trebles are played, which sounds like two guitars. Guitar ensemble.
Paco de Lucina shocked the world with his many solo performances in the second half of the 19th century. Unfortunately, he died young in the early 20th century and made a major contribution to teaching. His first student was Ramon Montoya (1880-1949). Ramon Montoya was known as Don Montoy (sir) by the Spanish because of his fast playing speed, poetic musicality when playing scales, and chord fingering. His ingenuity shocked the world, and he also created the four-finger tremolo fingering. In 1937, he recorded the first flamenco guitar solo album in history, and became a model for future musicians to admire. Unfortunately, Ramon Montoya passed away in 1949.
At the same time as Ramon Montoya, there was also a wizard named Manolo de Huelva. He invented the so-called alzapua technique, which involves using the thumb to pluck a string or a group of strings up and down while blending the single-note strings. de Huelva's playing skills were amazing, but he refused to record, so he did not leave any recordings after his death.
The person who truly inherited Ramon Montoya's classical line was Agustin Castillon (1910-1991), everyone called him. His nickname is Sabicas. This nickname comes from his fondness for a kind of green and white lentils, called habas in Spanish, so he was called habicas. Somehow, the nickname later became Sabicas.
(6) New. Flamenco
New Flamenco (6)
According to Ricardo Pachon, the most famous producer of the new flamenco movement, the so-called classical By the end of the 1950s, flamenco had become fully mature, and then came the new flamenco world. The so-called new flamenco refers to those who are based on classical flamenco and integrate other types of music, including blues, jazz, bossa nova, salsa and rock.
The first musician to launch the new flamenco movement was Paco de Lucia, who changed many traditional guitar playing techniques. Then in 1969 singer and singer Manuel Monlina collaborated with Smash, a rock band from the Sevilla region, combining blues and flamenco bulerias. Smash disbanded in 1970, but Manuel Monlina finally gained attention in 1975 when he collaborated with singer Lole Montoya on the Nuevo Dia album.
They adopted the words written by the poet Juan Manuel, breaking the long-standing tradition of flamenco, and finally gave birth to new words. Before this, each generation of flamenco musicians sang ancient words passed down from generation to generation. The Nuevo Dia album sold more than one million copies, and Lole Y Monlina became the first hero of the new flamenco movement.
The late Gypsy singer Camaeron de la Isla is known as the greatest flamenco singer in the past twenty-five years and is also considered the most classical musician. But he took a brave step forward in 1979 and released the album La Leyenda del Teimpo, boldly using new lyrics written by Federico Garcia Lorca, paired with the double guitars of Raimundo Amador and Tomatito, and the rock band Alameda and Dolores. This epoch-making experimental work was criticized as worthless by die-hard fans at the time. In the record exchange market at the time, it was not considered a real Camaron de la Isla record at all. Ten years later, everyone finally recognized it as Camaron's classic work. It broke the rigid performance of flamenco. The new generation of new flamenco took it as a model and followed its pace to explore. After this album, Camaron de la Isla continued to experiment with a lot of new material, including combining classical flamenco and salsa music, and finally returned to traditional flamenco.