Flamenco
Flamenco (Spanish pronunciation: [flaˈmeŋko]) is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Murcia.[1][2][3] In a wider sense, the term is used to refer to a variety of both contemporary and traditional musical styles typical of southern Spain. Flamenco is closely associated to the gitanos of the Romani ethnicity who have contributed significantly to its origination and professionalization. However, its style is uniquely Andalusian and flamenco artists have historically included Spaniards of both gitano and non-gitano heritage.[4]
For other uses, see Flamenco (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Flamingo.Flamenco
Calé Roma, Andalusian people, Late 18th century, Spain
Performing arts
2010 (5th session)
Representative
The oldest record of flamenco music dates to 1774 in the book Las Cartas Marruecas (The Moroccan Letters) by José Cadalso.[5] The development of flamenco over the past two centuries is well documented: "the theatre movement of sainetes (one-act plays) 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."[6]
On 16 November 2010, UNESCO declared flamenco one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.[7]
Etymology[edit]
Historically, the term Flamenco was used to identify the Romani people (Gitanos) of Spain.[8] The English traveller George Borrow who travelled through Spain during the 1830s stated that the Gitanos were also called Flemish (in Spanish, 'flamenco') due to German and Flemish being erroneously considered synonymous.[9] According to flamencologist Cristina Cruces-Roldán, a year prior to Borrow's account, there already existed a Gitano party in Madrid that was clearly identified as Flamenco. This equivalency between Gitano and Flamenco is also noted by Manuel Fernández y González, Demófilo, and the scholar Iriving Brown who stated in 1938 that "Flamenco is simply another term for Gitano, with special connotations."[9]
The origins of the term lie in the sociological prejudice towards the Roma who were seen as ruffians and cocky troublemakers by the Spaniards and were thus associated with the 18th century German colonists of the Sierra Morena who formed groups of urban Bohemians that lived outside the law and were seen as idle and lazy.[10] Other less successful hypotheses include those of Felipe Pedrell and Carlos Alemendros who state that while the term Flamenco is Spanish for Flemish, it is actually synonymous with Cantador (professional singer) in reference to the group of Flemish singers brought by Spanish King Carlos I in 1516. Another hypothesis that is not widely accepted is the Arabist theory of Blas Infante, which presents in his book Orígenes de lo flamenco (Origins of flamenco)[11], Flamenco as a phonetic deformation of Arabic fellah-mengu (runaway laborer)[12] or was derived from the Arabic terms Felah-Mengus, which together mean "wandering peasant".[11]
The first use of the term Flamenco to refer to the music genre appears in a 1847 newspaper article of El Espectador where it was referred to as a "Gitano genre." In the early years of Flamenco, the term was versatile and was used to refer to a variety of concepts in the Gitano-Andalusian world.[13] For example, in the 1860s-70s this versatility was exemplified through its use to refer to a musical style and a certain aesthetic, manners, and way of life that were perceived to be Gitano. At that time, Flamenco was not a strict genre but a way of performing music in a Gitano-Andalusian style.[14]
Forms of flamenco expression[edit]
Toque (guitar)[edit]
The posture and technique of flamenco guitarists, called "tocaores", differs from that used by the players of classical guitar. While the classical guitarist supports the guitar on his left leg in an inclined way, the flamenco guitarist usually crosses his legs and supports it on the one that is higher, placing the neck in an almost horizontal position with respect to the ground. Modern guitarists usually use classical guitars, although there is a specific instrument for this genre called flamenco guitar. This is less heavy, and its body is narrower than that of the classical guitar, so its sound is lower and does not overshadow the cantaor. It is usually made of cypress wood, with the handle of cedar and the top of fir. The cypress gives it a brilliant sound very suitable for the characteristics of flamenco. Formerly, the palo santo from Rio or India was also used, being the first of higher quality, but currently it is in disuse due to its scarcity. The palo santo gave guitars an amplitude of sound especially suitable for solo playing. At present, the most widely used headstock is the metal one, since the wooden one poses tuning problems.
The main guitar makers were Antonio de Torres Jurado (Almería, 1817–1892) considered the father of the guitar, Manuel Ramírez de Galarreta, the Great Ramírez (Madrid, 1864 -1920), and his disciples Santos Hernández (Madrid, 1873–1943),[26] who built several guitars for the maestro Sabicas, Domingo Esteso and Modesto Borreguero. Also noteworthy are the Conde Brothers, Faustino (1913–1988), Mariano (1916–1989) and Julio (1918–1996), nephews of Domingo Esteso, whose children and heirs continue the saga.
The guitarists use the technique of alzapúa, picado,[27] the strum and the tremolo,[28] among others. One of the first touches that is considered flamenco, such as the "rondeña", was the first composition recorded for solo guitar, by Julián Arcas (María, Almería, 1832 – Antequera, Málaga, 1882) in Barcelona in 1860. The strum can be performed with 5, 4 or 3 fingers, the latter invented by Sabicas. The use of the thumb is also characteristic of flamenco playing. Guitarists rest their thumb on the guitar's soundboard and their index and middle fingers on the string above the one they are playing, thus achieving greater power and sound than the classical guitarist. The middle finger is also placed on the pickguard of the guitar for more precision and strength when plucking the string. Likewise, the use of the pickguard as an element of percussion gives great strength to flamenco guitar playing. The melodic or flourishing phrase that is inserted between the chord sequences intended to accompany the couplet is called "falseta".[29]
The accompaniment and solo playing of flamenco guitarists is based on both the modal harmonic system and the tonal system, although the most frequent is a combination of both. Some flamenco songs are performed "a palo seco" (a cappella), without guitar accompaniment.
Lexicon[edit]
Ole[edit]
Adolfo Salazar states that the expressive voice ole, with which Andalusian cantaores and bailaores are encouraged, can come from the Hebrew verb oleh which means "to throw upwards", showing that the dervish girovaghi of Tunisia, Maghreb, also dance around to the sound of repeated "ole" or "joleh".[35][36] The use of the word "arza", which is the Andalusian dialect form, of pronouncing the voice imperative "rise", with the characteristic Andalusian equalization of / l / and / r / implosives. The indiscriminate use of the voices "arza" and "ole" is frequent when it comes to jalear, but the most evidence of the origin of this word can be from the caló: Olá, which means "come". Likewise, in Andalusia it is known as jaleo al ojeo de hunt, that is, the act of glancing, which is "driving away the game with voices, shots, blows or noise, so that they 'get up'".
Duende[edit]
According to the RAE dictionary (1956!) The "duende" in Andalusia is a "mysterious and ineffable charm", a charisma that the Gitanos call duende. Federico García Lorca, in his lecture Teoría y juego del duende confirms this ineffability of the duende by defining it with the following words from Goethe: "Mysterious power that everyone feels and that no philosopher explains". In the flamenco imaginary, the duende goes beyond technique and inspiration, in Lorca's words "To search for the duende there is no map or exercise". When a flamenco artist experiences the arrival of this mysterious charm, the expressions "have duende" or sing, play or dance "with duende" are used.
Along with those previously mentioned, there are many other words and expressions characteristic of the flamenco genre, such as "tablao flamenco", "flamenco spree", "third", "aflamencar", and "flamenco".