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.
A Falseta is part of Flamenco music. They are usually short melodies played by the guitarist(s) in between sung verses, or to accompany dancers. In a guitar solo, the artists play already created falsetas or improvise new falsetas which are then put together to form the whole piece. A falseta can be roughly comparable to an improvised lick in jazz or blues 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:
Bulería is a fast flamenco rhythm made up of a 12 beat cycle with emphasis in two general forms as follows:
Verdiales are a Flamenco music style, and song form belonging to cante chico.
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.
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.
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.
Pastora Pavón Cruz, known as La Niña de los Peines, is considered the most important woman flamenco singer of the 20th century. She was a sister of singers Arturo Pavón and Tomás Pavón, also an important flamenco singer, and aunt to Arturo Pavón, the first flamenco pianist. Both brothers, Pastora and Tomás, together with singer Manuel Torre, were the inspiring models for the next generation of singers like Antonio Mairena, Pepe de la Matrona or Fosforito, who led the movement towards the revival of traditional forms in the decades of the 1950s-1970s.
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.
Al Verte las Flores Lloran is a 1969 flamenco album by Camarón de la Isla and Paco de Lucía.
Soleá (Soleares) por Bulerías is a flamenco palo. This dance is the product of the intensification of the Soleá rhythm or the deceleration of the Bulería. This cante is an intermediate step between the Soleá and the Bulería but responds to the same rhythm of both.
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.
Juan Martínez Vílchez, known as Pericón de Cádiz, was a flamenco singer who was able to recover different palos (forms) and old cantes. He has left valuable recordings; his repertoire was extensive and is considered one of the last masters of singing in his land. He belonged to a select group of singers who raised the cantes of Cádiz to the highest level and allowed the recovery of the artistic and anthropological value of Flamenco.
