Cantes libres is a Spanish expression that literally means "free songs". It is applied on any flamenco palos (musical forms) 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.
The meaning of this expression should not be confused with concepts like rubato or ad libitum which usually refer to a relative freedom of the musician in following the time signature. In this type of singing there is no time signature at all, so freedom is absolute, and the only restrictions are those imposed by the traditional basic melody.
When these palos are played in the guitar, either as accompaniment or as solo, they are known as toques libres, meaning free guitar playing. The guitar accompaniment used for most of this palos (when they are accompanied) consists in short musical phrases leading to a chord that the singer has previously reached at the end of a line of verse. So the function of the guitar, more than really accompanying the melody throughout, consists in responding to the singer and underlying the harmonic progression of the song, plus adding a chord occasionally to support the singer. Guitar written scores for toques libres do not include any time signature for the totally free sections. However, falsetas (guitar solo interludes between stanzas) can include sections with a definite time signature.
Owing to their lack or regular rhythm, these palos are not normally danced. However, from the 1960s there was a tendency to create choreographies for them, as they provide an opportunity for the dancer to show other aspects of flamenco dance, like braceo (movement of the arms).
The palos traditionally classified as cantes libres are all derived from earlier rhythmic fandangos.
Apart from the styles usually called cantes libres, there are other palos to which this term could be applied, even if traditionally it is not. Such is the case of the group of palos known as Cantes a palo seco (that is, Songs a cappella ), also known as the toná group. It comprises tonás, martinetes and carceleras, saetas, debla and trilla. Although percussion can be added to them, its function is not to constrain the melody to a rhythm: it is rather added to create ambience. When these styles are sung as a basis for the dance, they are known as martinetes, even when they include other styles of this group.
There is, therefore, a reversible tendency in flamenco: many styles that originally started as rhythmical and dance-oriented were later slowed-down and eventually lost their link to dance and their metre subjection, while other styles, originated as free songs, were later adapted to a rhythm to make them apt for dancing.
BLAS VEGA, José (compiler) Magna antología del cante flamenco, CD edition, 1982, Vols. I, VII, VIII, IX,
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Flamenco 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. 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.
The Music of Andalusia encompasses a range of traditional and modern musical genres which originate in the region of Andalusia in southern Spain. The most famous are copla and flamenco, the latter being sometimes used as a portmanteau term for various regional musical traditions within Andalusia. Today, Andalusia has a rich and thriving musical scene, which draws from its own musical traditions as well as from external influences such as salsa, jazz or pop 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:
Rumba flamenca, also known as flamenco rumba or simply rumba, is a palo (style) of flamenco music developed in Andalusia, Spain. It is known as one of the cantes de ida y vuelta, music which diverged in the new world, then returned to Spain in a new form. The genre originated in the 19th century in Andalusia, southern Spain, where Cuban music first reached the country.
Malagueñas is one of the traditional styles of Andalusian music (flamenco), derived from earlier types of fandango from the area of Málaga, classified among the Cantes de Levante. Originally a folk-song type, it became a flamenco style in the 19th century. It is not normally used for dance, as it is generally interpreted with no regular rhythmic pattern, as a "cante libre". It has a very rich melody with virtuous flourishes and use of microtones. Its guitar accompaniment is normally played in open position first inversion giving E for the tonic, which can be transposed by using a capo.
A palo or cante is the name given in flamenco for the different traditional musical forms.
The Spanish term Cantes a palo seco refers to a category of flamenco palos traditionally sung a cappella or, in some cases, with some sort of percussion. The category comprises the following palos:
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.
The Petenera is a flamenco palo in a 12-beat metre, with strong beats distributed as follows: [12][1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. It is therefore identical with the 16th century Spanish dances zarabanda and the jácara.
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.
Enrique Jiménez Fernández, known as Enrique el Mellizo was a famous flamenco singer, the most influential one in the development of the Cádiz flamenco styles. Together with Silverio Franconetti and Antonio Chacón, he is considered to be one of the most important figures in the development of flamenco. He was the author of one of the most important malagueña styles, and is reported to have created or developed some styles of Soleares, Alegrías, and Tangos. An oral tradition also states that he was the creator of the Tientos.
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.
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.
The cante flamenco, meaning "flamenco singing", is one of the three main components of flamenco, along with toque and baile (dance). Because the dancer is front and center in a flamenco performance, foreigners often assume the dance is the most important aspect of the art form — in fact, it is the cante which is the heart and soul of the genre. A cante singer is a cantaor or cantaora.
This is a glossary of terms that relate to flamenco arts.
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
Granaína is a flamenco style of singing and guitar playing from Granada. It is a variant of the Granada fandangos. It was originally danceable, but now has lost its rhythm, is much slower, and is usually only sung or played as a guitar solo, reflecting its Arab-Moorish heritage more strongly than other fandangos.
Tarantas and Taranto are two related styles (palos) of Flamenco music, that originated in the Andalusian province of Almería. Each is characterized by a shared modality and harmonic progression (Bm–A7–G–F-sharp), but differ significantly with respect to rhythm and meter. Tarantas is a cante libre, meaning that it lacks both a regular rhythmic pattern and a regular rhythmic unit. It can be sung or played, but not danced. Taranto, conversely, has a regular 2/4-meter, and is danceable. When played on, or accompanied by, the guitar, both palos have a unique and characteristic sound that is created, in part, by dissonances that result from the use of the guitar's first three open strings, in combination with harmonies and melodies based on the F-sharp Phrygian mode.
The bandolá is a type of flamenco singing, considered within the style of the cantes derived from the verdiales.