Cantes a palo seco

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The Spanish term Cantes a palo seco refers to a category of flamenco palos (musical forms) traditionally sung a cappella or, in some cases, with some sort of percussion. [1] The category comprises the following palos:

In fact, almost any palo can be sung unaccompanied, especially in private juergas (parties), where there is often no guitarist available. Even in professional settings, some palos which are normally accompanied by the guitar, like seguiriya, bulerías, or even soleá, are sometimes heard 'a palo seco'.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siguiriyas</span> Style of flamenco music

Siguiriyas are a form of flamenco music in the cante jondo category. This deep, expressive style is among the most important in flamenco. Unlike other palos of flamenco, siguiriyas stands out for being purely Romani (Calé) in origin. Siguiriyas are normally played in the key of A Phrygian with each measure consisting of 12 counts with emphasis on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 8th and 11th beats as shown here:

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A palo or cante is the name given in flamenco for the different traditional musical forms.

Tonás is a palo or type of flamenco songs. It belongs to the wider category of Cantes a palo seco, palos that are sung a cappella. Owing to this feature, they are considered by traditional flamencology to be the oldest surviving musical form of flamenco. This musical form originated in the Calé Romani subculture of Southern Spain. The first known flamenco singer, Tío Luis el de la Juliana, who lived in Jerez de la Frontera in the last third of the 18th century, was said to have excelled in this palo.

Cartageneras are a flamenco palo belonging to the category of the cantes de las minas or cantes minero-levantinos. As the rest of the songs in this category, it derives from older folkloric fandango styles. The origin of this particular style is attributed to traditional fandango from the miner area of Cartagena in the province of Murcia, in southern Spain.

Martinetes are a flamenco palo belonging to the group of the tonás or cantes a palo seco. As the rest of the songs in this group, it is sung with no accompaniment. In some dance shows for the stage, though, it is accompanied by percussion played with the compás of siguiriya. The percussion instruments chosen for this are frequently a hammer and anvil, to evocate the origins of this palo, attributed to Gypsy smiths. It is not probable, though, that they were real work songs: they demand too much effort and faculties to be sung while carrying out a heavy task like that of a smith. They were more probably sung in family gatherings.

Cantes libres is a Spanish expression that literally means "free songs". It is applied on any flamenco palos in which there is no recognisable metre (music) or rhythmic pattern. The melody thus flows freely, unconstructed by metre, so singers can shorten or lengthen musical phrases at will, as long as they respect the basic melodic line of the style they are singing.

Polo is the name of a flamenco palo or musical form. There is only one known song in this palo, which is extremely similar to another palo called caña, and its guitar accompaniment, like the caña, shares its rhythm and motifs with soleá. Both the caña and polo share the same musical mode. The polo has usually been considered as a derivation of the caña. To complete the singing of the polo, singers usually sing a stanza in the palo of soleá, generally in the style called soleá apolá.

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Cantes de ida y vuelta is a Spanish expression literally meaning roundtrip songs. It refers to a group of flamenco musical forms or palos with diverse musical features, which "travelled back" from Latin America as styles that, having originated in the interplay between musical traditions of peninsular Spain and those of Latin America, developed into renewed forms that were reintroduced in Spain. Usually they have a more mellow character than the more traditional flamenco songs.

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José Tejada Marín, known as Pepe Marchena and also as Niño de Marchena in the first years of his career, was a Spanish flamenco singer who achieved great success in the ópera flamenca period (1922–1956). Influenced by singers like Antonio Chacón, he carried to the extreme the tendency to a more mellow and ornamented style of flamenco singing. Owing to his particular vocal conditions and singing style, he excelled mainly in palos (styles) like fandangos, cantes de ida y vuelta and cantes libres, contributing to making them the most popular flamenco styles in the era of the ópera flamenca, and created a new cante de ida y vuelta, the colombiana, later recorded by many other artists like El Lebrijano or Enrique Morente. He was also the first flamenco singer to use an orchestra to accompany flamenco singing, though later he returned to the guitar.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saeta (flamenco)</span>

The saeta is a revered form of Andalusian religious song, whose form and style have evolved over many centuries. Saetas evoke strong emotion and are sung most often during public processions. The saeta, an unaccompanied song, is also believed to stem from Jewish religious songs which are believed to date back to the 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soleá</span> Flamenco musical form and style

Soleares is one of the most basic forms or palos of Flamenco music, probably originating among the Calé Romani people of Cádiz or Seville in Andalusia, the most southern region of Spain. It is usually accompanied by one guitar only, in phrygian mode "por arriba" ; "Bulerías por soleá" is usually played "por medio". Soleares is sometimes called "mother of palos" although it is not the oldest one and not even related to every other palo

Guajira (Flamenco) is a palo based on the Cuban Punto Guajira Cubana. It is in 12 beats and feels like it starts on 12. The guajira is a prime example of so-called cantes de ida y vuelta. The flamenco guajira is the adaptation to Melos flamenco of the Cuban point, the peasant point, a genre that brings together a series of songs called Guajiros that are grown in the rural areas of the island of Cuba. A guajira is simply a song for voice and guitar with a series of similar letras.

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References

  1. Tenzer, M. (2006). Analytical Studies in World Music . Oxford University Press. p.  109. ISBN   978-0-19-803958-7 . Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  2. Yglesias, M. El toque flamenco (in Spanish). Barry Editorial. p. 10. ISBN   978-950-540-018-8 . Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  3. Ruiz, L.L. (2018). Guía del flamenco: 5ª Edición corregida y aumentada. Básica de Bolsillo (in Spanish). Ediciones Akal. p. 22. ISBN   978-84-460-4706-3 . Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  4. Lavernia, J.G. (1991). El libro del cante flamenco. Libros de musica (in Spanish). Rialp. p. 57. ISBN   978-84-321-2697-0 . Retrieved 30 March 2019.