- History Of Flamenco
- Flamenco music and dance
entered polite society in the early 19th century as café
entertainment. The traditional song and dance of the Roma (flamencos)
of Andalusia in southern Spain, developed over several centuries
from Romani (Gypsy), Moorish, and Andalusian, folk music and
dance. The song or (Canto) is the core of flamenco, and like
baile ("dance"), it is comprised of three forms. The
grande or hondo ("grand" or "deep"), the
intense, profound songs, tragic in tone, and imbued with duende,
the transformation of the musician by the depth of the emotion;
and lastly, intermedio ("intermediate"), moderately
serious. The tone of the music at times seems Oriental in tone;
and pequeño ("small"), light songs reflext the
exuberance of love and nature.
Specific and separate genres include the fandangos grandes, a
serious adaptation of a lighter non-Romani genre; the malagueñas,
an offshoot of the fandangos; the light bulerías; the
more serious soleares and its lighter descendant, the alegrías;
and cantos grandes such as the siguiriyas gitanas and saetas.
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- Castanets, found
in Andalusian dance, are not traditional to flamenco. Song and
dance may be accompanied by jaleo, rhythmic finger snapping,
hand clapping, and shouting. In the 19th century, guitar accompaniment
became common for many genres, and guitar solos also developed.
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- The commercialization
of flamenco within the 20th century has distorted much traditional
flamenco dance givning it a more "pop" or modern flavor
as modern "Jazz" has become more "Rythm &
Blues" in its orientation. But like jazz, much of the text
and melody of the songs are improvised within traditional rhythcms
and chords. Zapateado, intricate toe- and heel-clicking steps,
characterizes the men's dance; the traditional women's dance
is based more on grace of body and hand movement. The baile grande,
especially, is believed to retain elements of the dance of India,
where the Roma (Gypsies) originated.
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