Flemenkopolo
Flemenkopolo
Flemenkopolo
)
Israel J. Katz
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.09780
Published in print: 20 January 2001
Published online: 2001
Israel J. Katz
The generic term applied to a particular body of cante (song), baile (dance) and toque (solo guitar
music), mostly emanating from Andalusia in southern Spain. It is also known as cante andaluz, cante
gitano or cañi (‘Gypsy song’) and cante hondo (‘deep song’). Although these terms have been used
interchangeably, modern studies avoid such nomenclature, except for cante hondo, an important
subdivision of cante flamenco. The origin of flamenco has been widely disputed; yet its evolution, its
literary and musical genres and orally transmitted styles, as well as its interpreters, are the subjects of
a continually growing literature contributed by poets, writers, travellers, musicians, dancers,
folklorists, ethnomusicologists and, more recently, by flamencologists, anthropologists and sociologists.
Gypsies played an important role in its development and propagation, but they were not its sole
creators.
There has been much speculation over the origin of flamenco on philological rather than on
musicological grounds. According to Pedrell cante flamenco was brought to Spain by the Flemish
(flamencos) immigrants during the reign of Charles V (also known as Charles I, who ruled Spain from
1516 to 1556). Borrow believed that the term characterized the Gypsies who arrived in Spain by way of
Flanders. Fernández de Castillejo felt that the term lingered on as an appellative for the corrupt
practices of the courtly Flemish who were installed by Charles I in responsible posts. Salillas explained
that the term originally applied to men who fought in the regiments of Flanders, leading a wild and
quarrelsome life, and that later it was used to describe the life and bravura of the Gypsies. De Onís
(see Frank, 1926) ascribed its origin to the ostentatious dress of the courtly Flemish, applying this to
the characteristic dress and manners of the Gypsies. Rodríguez Marín saw in the term an element of
ridicule, in that it described those who sang with a fixed and erect posture resembling the flamingo
(Sp. flamenco). García Matos connected it with the Germanic concept of flammen (‘to be flamboyant’,
‘to blaze’), which could have entered Spain from the north. In general, the term ‘flamenco’ appears to
have been linked to a way of life exemplified by generosity, boisterousness and recklessness.
Additional theories included the suggestion that cante flamenco were Arab songs that originated in
north Africa and were later adopted by flamencos of the Low Countries, or by flamenco Gypsies who
arrived in Spain with Bohemian troupes. Infante took the term for a corruption of the Arabic
felagmengu, similar to the Castilian campesino huido (‘fugitive peasant’), while García Barriuso
believed it derived from fel-lah-mangu, or, as opined by L.A. de Vega, from felhikum or felahmen ikum
(‘labourers’ or ‘songs of the labourers’). Fernández Escalante postulated that the Brahman priests
(flámines) brought their sacred formulae, rites and chants to Spain from India, hence the connection
between Gypsies and cante flamenco derived from the name ‘flámen’.
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In its second phase, from the emancipation of the Gypsies to about 1860, cante flamenco became an
important dominant musical genre in Andalusia. In the early 1840s, cante flamenco, with and without
guitar accompaniment, became such a popular entertainment in the cafés cantantes (‘singing
cabarets’) established in cities such as Seville (the first of which was created in 1842), Cádiz, Jerez de
la Frontera and Málaga, that it spread progressively throughout the towns and villages of Andalusia.
With the cafés cantantes, cante flamenco entered its third phase, which lasted well into the first decade
of the 20th century. It was a period of professionalism, when even non-Gypsy performers were on the
increase. While the songs of the hondo type predominated, other genres of song from Andalusia, other
regions of Spain and Spanish America were introduced and ‘Gypsified’ (aflamencada) to satisfy an
ever-growing public.
In the early 20th century, particularly with the first flamenco operas around 1920, much of the current
repertory became theatricalized and commercialized. Even the attempt by Manuel de Falla and others
to revitalize the tradition at the famous competition in Granada (1922) did not prove successful in
combating this trend, which continued during and after the Spanish Civil War (1936–9). From then on
the flamenco repertory continued to be ‘Gypsified’ by performers on radio and film, while other artists
could not eke out a living. Notwithstanding the earlier effort by Falla, it was not until 1957 that the
chair of flamencology was created at Jerez, preceded by the first reinstated competition and festival of
song at Córdoba (1956). These events marked a renaissance for flamenco and the rise of a new
generation of performers.
2. Classification.
An indiscriminate classification of the cante as hondo or flamenco neglects the fact that cante hondo
constitutes a major flamenco category. Nonetheless, two basic divisions of cante flamenco appear to
have gained wide currency: the first, twofold, with cante grande comprising songs of the hondo type,
and cante chico the remainder; and the second, threefold, with the category cante intermedio inserted
between grande and chico. While there is wide disagreement as to which cante belong to the
intermedio, the hondo and chico categories represent the most and the least difficult cante respectively
in terms of their technical and emotional interpretation. Moreover, various cantes have achieved
prominence by their links with individual singers (e.g. soleá Tomás Pavon, siguiriya El Manolito) or by
their stylistic amalgamation with other cante (chuflas por (‘sung in the manner of ’) bulerías,
fandanguillos por soleares, saeta por siguiriya etc.). In more recent studies, the chico category has
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Table 1, comprising a selection of 44 cante, represents songs of the ‘classical’ flamenco repertory
together with songs which have enjoyed a peripheral association, although many no longer exist. If the
table were extended to encompass cante from the many subdivisions, it would exceed 300 items and
variant forms. While the derivations of numerous cante have been firmly established, the identity of
musical precursors for the remainder, as well as related forms, has been problematic. In some cases
two or more derivations have been suggested for particular cantes. The caña, fandango, polo, soleá and
toná constitute the most basic songs in the flamenco hierarchy. Such cante as the mariana, murciana,
palmares, policaña, roás, rosa, temporera and tirana were once prominent but now either no longer
exist or are in the process of extinction. The songs grouped under the generic name cantiñas comprise
those with a smaller number of coplas.
Table 1
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1 Alegría 37 • • • • •
2 Bulería 37 • • • •
3 Cabal var. of 36
4 Calesera 34 • •
(afl)
5 Caña Uncertain ? • • • •
6 Caracoles * • • • • •
7 Carcelera 42 • • •
8 Cartagenera 11 • • •
9 Colombiana 38 • • • • •
(afl)
10 Debla 42 • • • •
11 Fandango • • • •
12 Fandanguillo • • • • •
14 Garrotín 13 • • • • •
(afl)
15 Granadina 11 • • •
or granaína
16 Guajira (afl) 38 • • • • •
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18 Jaleo • •
19 Liviana 42 • • • • • ?
20 Malagueña 11 • • •
21 Martinete 42 • • • •
22 Milonga (afl) 38 • • •
23 Minera 11 • • •
24 Mirabrás 37 • • • •
25 Nana (afl) • • • •
26 Petenera ** • • • •
(afl)
27 Playera Identical • •
to 36
28 Polo • • • • •
29 Romances • •
(corridas)
30 Romera 37 • • • • •
31 Rondeña 11 • • • •
32 Rumba • • • • •
33 Saeta 42 • • • •
34 Serrana (afl) 36 •
35 Sevillana Seguidilla • • • • •
(afl) manchega
36 Siguiriya • • • •
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38 Tango • • • •
39 Tanguillo
40 Taranta 11 • • • •
41 Tiento 38 • • •
42 Toná 29 • • • •
43 Trillera (afl) 37 • • •
44 Verdiales 11 • • •
? = uncertain
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The cantes aflamencadas of Hispanic American origin, mainly associated with dancing, include danzón
flamenca, habanera flamenca, punto de La Habana, rumba flamenca, tango cubano and vidalita
flamenca. Additional cantes religiosas aflamencadas include the campanillero and villancico (mainly
those sung for Christmas), whereas examples of cantes folklóricos aflamencadas (of Andalusian origin)
comprise the unaccompanied nana (lullaby), temporera (work song) and pajarona (work song), as well
as the sevillana (a species of the seguidilla castellana) which accompanied the dance. While the
relationship of cante flamenco to Gypsy traditions has been more thoroughly investigated than the
Arab and Celtic, the two principal streams from which the cante developed were the liturgical and the
secular.
The predominant textual unit for the cante is the aforementioned copla, which varies according to the
number of lines and syllable count. The popular octosyllabic and hexasyllabic quatrain structures, with
second and fourth lines rhyming in assonance, point to the romance (‘traditional ballad’) as a
significant antecedent. Also popular is the seguidilla strophe, with alternating hepta- and pentasyllabic
lines.
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-Raḥmān 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
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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 Ḥijāzī; 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).
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
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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).
Bibliography
Collections
AND OTHER RESOURCES
Don Preciso [J.A. de Zamácola]: Colección de las mejores coplas de seguidillas, tiranas y polos
(Madrid, 1799, enlarged 3/1805/R)
Demófilo [A. Machado y Alvarez]: Cantes flamencos: colección escogida (Madrid, 1886, 2/1947)
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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)
Specialist journals
La canción andaluza (Jerez de la Frontera, 1961–3)
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)
W. Frank: Virgin Spain: Scenes from the Spiritual Drama of a Great People (London, 1926)
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F. Sierra Cago: ‘“Cante flamenco”: orígenes, evolución y estado actual’, Manuel de Falla y
Granada, ed. R.J. Garcia (Granada, 1963)
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. 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
R. Molina and A. Mairena: Mundo y formas del cante flamenco (Madrid, 1963, 2/1971)
Page 15 of 20
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E. Terés Sabada: ‘Testimonios literarios para la historia del cante flamenco (1750–1850)’, Los
orígenes del flamenco (Madrid, 1969), 11–28
I.J. Katz: ‘The Traditional Folk Music of Spain: Explorations and Perspectives’, YIFMC, 6 (1974),
64–85
J. Crivillé i Bargalló: ‘Estilos de flamenco’, El folklore musical, Historia de la música española ed.
P. Lopez de Osa (Madrid, 1983), 267–302
P. Manuel: ‘Evolution and Structure in Flamenco Harmony’, CMc, no.42 (1986), 46–57
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
Specific genres
J.C. de Luna: De cante grande y cante chico (Madrid, 1926, 4/1981)
R. Brandel: ‘Rhythms of Flamenco: Siguiriyas and Soleares’, Orbis musicae, 6 (1978), 5–33
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)
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)
Context
R. Salillas: El delincuente español: hampa (Madrid, 1898)
J. López George: ‘Los intelectuales y el cante flamenco’, Estafeta literaria, no.519 (1973), 10–14
P. Manuel: ‘Andalusian Gypsy and Class Identity in the Contemporary Flamenco Complex’, EthM,
33 (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)
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J. Otero Aranda: Tratado de bailes … con su historia y modo de ejecutralos (Seville, 1912)
C. Carretero: Origen, evolución y morfología del baile por sevillanas (Seville, 1980)
S. Weich-Shahak: ‘A Musical Approach to Flamenco Dance Steps’, AnM, 117 (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
M. Cano Tamayo: La guitarra: historia, estudios y aportaciones al arte flamenco (Córdoba, 1986)
Miscellaneous
Solitario [S. Estébanez Calderón]: Escenas andaluzas (Madrid, 1847)
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’, Las relaciones entre la música andaluza, la
hispanoamericana y el flamenco (Madrid, 1972), 33–48
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M. Ropero Nuñez: El léxico del caló en el lenguaje del cante flamenco (Seville, 1978)
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]
See also
Cante hondo
Montoya, Ramón
Peña, Paco
Ricardo, Niño
Sabicas
Malagueña
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