PART ONE

FLAMENCO: THE EARLY YEARS

by Paco Sevilla [Edited Version]

Author's Introduction: This article originally appeared in Guitar and Lute magazine (Vol. 25, Nov. 1982) and was written for readers who knew nothing about flamenco. Hence some of the explanations.

The history of flamenco has always been an imprecise subject. Until recent times, flamenco artists have not been literate people, and thus have not provided us with written records of their lives and music. Although a broken record of the development of Spanish music does exist, the more intimate aspects of the art of flamenco were not made public until the second half of the nineteenth century. Composing a written history of flamenco has, therefore, consisted of making guesses, collating and selecting from other people's guesses, and then placing everything in some sort of appropriate sequence. However, research into Spanish, Arab, Greek, and Roman literature has in recent years provided new information, as has analysis of related music and in-depth study of existing cantes (flamenco song) or fragments of extinct cantes. In this article, I bring together fairly recent research, select among different theories, and attempt to present a condensed picture of how flamenco might have arrived at its present stage of development. An understanding of the evolution of flamenco is one way to begin to understand this complex and beautiful art form; an understanding of all major elements of flamenco is essential to an understanding of the flamenco guitar, a relative newcomer to the music and, until recently, the least indispensable of its components.

It can be said that there exists nothing in Spain today that is purely Spanish; in almost every aspect of its culture, Spain has been an incredible melting pot, absorbing even today wave after wave of foreign invasion. Thus the history of flamenco will necessarily be a study of invasions and their effects on the music of the Iberian Peninsula, for flamenco was formed from the fusion of the folk music of southern Spain with the music that the gypsies created from that same musical environment. As we shall see, popular folk music influenced the development of gypsy music but also remained separate from it; in relatively modern times, the union of the two gave us today's flamenco.

As early as 35,000-15,000 BC, there was dance in Iberia; cave paintings in northern Spain depict dancers. In 1100 BC, the Phoenicians founded the city of Cadiz, which they called Gadir. Located on a peninsula on Spain's Atlantic coast, Cadiz is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe and was an important center of development for Spanish music and flamenco. There the Phoenicians introduced dances similar to circle dances still performed in Spain.

By 550 BC, Greeks controlled southern Spain. Greek artwork shows dancers using arm and body positions similar to those used by Spanish dancers today, employing castanet-like instruments, and hand clapping to accompany the dance. Many folk dances in Spain today can be traced to the Greeks. It is also likely that they introduced the phrygian mode into Spain. (The phrygian mode, a basic element in flamenco, uses the typical "Spanish-sounding" scale; an example is the playing of the C major scale from E to E, rather than from C to C.)

Spain was part of the Roman Empire from 201 BC to 406 AD. Cadiz was then called Gades and its inhabitants Gaditanos (as they still are today), while the southern part of Spain became known as Betica. Roman writings refer to the cantica gaditanae, the songs of Gades, thought by some to be possible predecessors of the jarchas and zamras (zambras) of the Arabs when they later occupied Spain. These songs were very popular in Rome, as were the women of Gades, who danced to the rhythms of crotalos (bronze castanets) and hand clapping. The Romans introduced to Spain the kithera, a form of zither, which was to develop into the guitarra latina, a small guitar-like instrument with four sets of double strings.

When the Romans were threatened from the north by hordes of barbarians - Vandals and others - the Visigoths, also from the north, allied with the Romans to help repel the invasion. However, by 537 AD, the Visigoths ended up in control of most of Iberia and, under a Gothic king, Christianity became the religion of the land. Culturally, the Visigoths contributed very little.

In 711, Arabs, Syrians, and Berbers - collectively known as Moors - invaded Spain through Gibraltar and, within seven years, controlled all but the very north. During almost seven centuries of occupation, the Arabic culture exercised a tremendous influence on Spain, especially in the south, which they called Al-Andaluz (the land of the vandals) and made it the cultural center of the Western world. The Moslems brought poetry, song, and musical instruments - flutes, drums and a lute-shaped instrument with three single strings that came to be called the guitarra morisca; this latter instrument, which was plucked, may have eventually inspired the conversion of the double-stringed guitarra latina to a single-stringed instrument, which happened by the 13th century. The Persian poet and musician, Ziryab, who made Córdoba an important center for music, is often credited with adding a fifth string to the guitarra latina.

The Arabs contributed sensitivity and emotionality to the music of Spain. Writings from this period tell of singers who affected their listeners so profoundly that, under the influence of tarab - the Arabic equivalent of flamenco's duende (a state of ecstasy brought on by the singing) - they would break jars on their heads, rip their clothing, and roll about on the ground. Many songs that later became important in Spanish music and flamenco have Arabic names: zambra, zorongo, zarabanda, and fandango. Originally zamras were groups of musicians or the gatherings at which they played; today, gypsies in Granada still call their fiestas zambras. There remain no written examples of Arabic music of this period, but certainly the music would resemble some of the music that exists today in parts of North Africa or the Middle-east; modern flamenco shares certain elements with this music.

In northern Spain, the unconquered Christians developed their own forms of music. Wandering musicians in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries sang ballads that were called cantigas. In the centuries that followed, they would become romances (ballads) and villancicos (religious songs that are, today, sung as Christmas carols). The Christian forces never stopped fighting the Moorish invaders and gradually began to push them south. By the fifteenth century, the Moors had been conquered in all areas except Granada. Then in 1492 Granada fell and Spain was under Christian rule once more.

The fall of Granada was not the only important event of the fifteenth century; in 1447, the earliest surviving record tells us, gypsies appeared in Spain. In that year, gypsies reached Barcelona, coming from the north, and continued to enter Spain for the next several hundred years. They had begun emigrating from northern India in the eighth or ninth centuries. These dark people were expert metal workers and had a tradition of music and dance. While it is true that these gypsies, or gitanos, were very different from the people who had originally left India, they had preserved some of their language. There are many similarities between calo, the language of the gitanos, and the sanskrit of India. Their style in the dance, particularly the arm and hand movements and the footwork is common in kathak dance of northern India. Modern flamenco most notably differs from Indian dance in flamenco's not telling stories. Flamenco typically focuses on the moment and the emotions involved in that moment - tragedy, death, lost love, unrequited love, joyous celebration.

It is clear that the gypsies did not bring anything to Spain that resembled flamenco, for flamenco is found only in Spain, primarily in Andalucía, (the southern region of Spain); nothing similar exists among the gypsies in other parts of the world (except for southern France, where the gypsies have developed their own music based on Spanish flamenco). The gypsy found in Andalucía a land that suited him; there, he absorbed, preserved, and transformed the music of the region until it finally emerged as a unique art form - the cante (song), baile (dance), and toque (guitar) gitano. In Andalucía, the gypsy also found people who were similar to him: Jews and Moriscos (Moors who chose to stay in Spain after the re- conquest). The bond, or at least proximity, of these people was increased when laws were passed that resulted in severe persecution of the gypsies. Between 1449 and 1783, at least eleven major sets of laws were passed that attempted to prevent the gypsies from living their traditional lifestyle; under threat of punishment that included death, gypsies were ordered to settle down and to abandon their wandering ways, their traditional dress, their occupations, and even their language. The Moriscos were also in the process of being expelled from Spain, so the two persecuted peoples found themselves with much in common. Jewish music must have exerted some influence. There has been no definite connection made between modern flamenco and the music of the Jews, but there are distinct similarities between some Hebrew chants and certain flamenco songs.

The gypsy preserved elements of music, that might have been lost in Christian Spain. Elements of Oriental music that survived to become part of flamenco include the use of microtones, that is, tones smaller than a semitone, slides from one note to another, a tendency toward repetition of a single tone, which gives a hypnotic quality to the music coupled with a tendency for melodies to flow within a small tonal range, rather than jump by large intervals. The use of microtonal and semitonal ornamentation gives expressiveness to the music. The use of a descending cadence (in conjunction with the phrygian mode), the lack of harmonization (the music tends to be melodic, not harmonic), the complex rhythms and cross-rhythms, a preference for a nasal or even harsh tone, both vocally and instrumentally, and an emphasis on the emotional quality of music are all characteristic of flamenco music. There was also the use of verbal encouragement of performers; at some point, the Allah of the Arabs became the "Ole" of flamenco (usually pronounced "oh- LAY" at the bullfight, but "OH-lay" in flamenco circles). In the area of dance, we find the sinuous, sensuous movements of arms, hands, and torso and reduced importance of foot movements. Moslem tradition dictated that women should not reveal their legs, so footwork was not part of their dance. Footwork did not become an important part of the female Spanish dance until the twentieth century.

In the Spain of the Visigoths and Arabs, music tended to be religious, academic, and elitist - it was restricted to the courts of the nobility. However, its restriction from the common people gradually began to change. During the two hundred and fifty years after the reconquest, the musical brew in Andalucía incubated and underwent transformation. The development of the music "of the people" followed two different paths, with some interchange between them paths that would continue separately until the mid-1800's and, to a degree, into the present.

Spanish folk music continued its development with a strong Arabic influence. Dances in the sixteenth century included the chacona, the zarabanda, and the fandango; the fandango, changing name and form, eventually became different dances in the different regions of Spain, including the jota of the northern provinces and the many variations found in the provinces of Andalucía. This music would become the fiesta music of the Andalucian people, something to be enjoyed outdoor on holidays, danced by couples and groups and performed by orchestras of stringed instruments accompanied by drums, castanets, and tambourines. At the same time, the gypsies, suffering severe persecution, were creating a more private kind of music, a music that was kept within the family circle and often had an almost sacred quality; the verses of their songs dealt with their suffering - hunger, prison, and death. The accompaniment for the song and dance was the rhythm of hand clapping, finger snapping, which the gypsy preferred to castanets [which they could not afford], and the rapping of knuckles on table tops. Gypsy music was deeply emotional. In contrast, the motivation for the Andalucian folk music was festive joy and communal celebration.

Apparently, the gypsies did not keep completely to themselves, for Cervantes (1547-1616), in his Novelas Ejemplares, wrote of gypsies performing seguidillas, jacaras, romances, and zarabandas. It would, therefore, appear that gypsies were incorporating some of the Andalucian dances and performing them for non-gypsies.

Two other influences affected Andalucian music as it prepared to enter the eighteenth century: Beginning in the 1700's, Spain began extensive exploration of Africa; Sevilla became one of the largest slave markets on the Iberian Peninsula. There are still black families living in Andalucía that date back to those times, and Black African music may have had some effect on Andalucian music. More certain is the role played by the discovery of the Americas. The phenomenon was two-fold. Most ships sailed from the ports on Spain's southern coast from towns like Huelva, Sanlucar, Cadiz, and Malaga. Sailors came to these ports from all over Spain, bringing with them the music of their home regions. Andalucian music, ever flexible and open to outside influence, incorporated and transformed this music into new forms. The jotas of Aragán became the jotas de Cadiz (much later, the alegrías), while a dance from Galicia would eventually become the farruca. The other side of the picture became more evident in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when Spaniards returning to these same ports, brought with them music from Latin America, which then became part of the Andalucian tradition [cantes de ida y vuelta]. This is another source of African influence, since Black culture played a large role in the formation of certain types of Latin music.

By 1700, the guitar had acquired a sixth string and was played in two different styles. As a plucked instrument, it had been highly developed for playing what we now call "classical" music, the music of the nobility. The popular instrument of the people was played using rasgueados (rhythmic strumming with the fingers). While these instruments were an integral part of Andalucian folk music, it is generally held that they did not play much of a part in the early development of gypsy music.

Also by 1700, both Andalucian and gypsy music had acquired recognizable forms, and references to them began to appear more frequently in the literature of Spain and other countries. Although gypsy music was still very private, a ritual of the gypsy families, gypsies had become a popular theme for theater works and were widely mentioned. The oldest written example of flamenco is a siguiriya found in an eighteenth century Italian opera,"La Maschera Fortunata" by Neri. In 1779 Henry Swinburne, who wrote in Spain in the Years 1775 and 1776, stated that the gypsies of Cadiz danced an indecent dance called the manguidoy to the rhythm of hand clapping; he also mentioned guitars, castanets, and rough voiced singing. Other references speak of the taconeo (heel work) and the seguidillas gitanas. (These seguidillas were lively songs, related to the sevillanas, not the profound gypsy cante of today that has a similar name.) By 1800 references indicate 24 dances that were supposedly performed by gypsies; most of those no longer exist and none of them are specifically part of the gypsy dance we know today although some survived in the non-gypsy flamenco, particularly the fandangos and the seguidillas (sevillanas).

At the turn of the century, gypsy song was well developed and certain cantaores (flamenco singers) had established reputations for their interpretations of the cante. George Borrow, an English adventurer and author, wrote about his experience with the gypsies in the early 1800's. He mentions singing and dancing "a el gitano" (in the gypsy manner) and was the first to write that the gypsies were called flamencos and had been for some time. The music itself, however, was not yet called flamenco. The word "flamenco" has long mystified historians who have demonstrated vivid imaginations in attempting to explain why a word that means "Flemish" or "flamingo" (the bird) should be used to describe an Andalucian music form. Some attribute the word to Arab roots while others attribute it to fact that Carlos I brought with him from Flanders (Flanders included much of what is now Belgium, the Netherlands or Holland, and Luxembourg) an entire Flemish court. Also, there is the fact that Spain occupied Flanders until 1648. Other origins have been suggested. Because singers in the court were Flemish, the word came to be associated with their singing. Spaniards, especially Andalucians, like to name things by their opposites, and since the Flemish were tall and blond and the gypsies short and dark, the gypsies were called "Flemish". Also, all foreigners were called flamencos and the gypsies, who were still coming into Spain, were included. Because Flemish noblemen, bored with court life, used to party with the gypsies, the name eventually transferred to the gypsies. Finally, soldiers returning from Flanders associated with gypsies in the taverns and they all became known as flamencos.

The problem with all of these suggestions, is that the events which lent them validity took place several hundred years before there is any record of gypsies being called flamencos. It is possible that the term remained localized in some remote area for hundreds of years and later became widespread. Until better evidence emerges, you can take your pick of explanations or make up your own.

"Escenas Andaluzas" was written in 1847. This detailed description of twenty-two typical Andalucian scenes includes one called "Un baile de Triana ' (A Dance in Triana), in which Calderon described what we would call today a fiesta flamenca. In a patio in Triana (Sevilla) were gathered a number of artists, among whom were some legendary figures in the history of flamenco - the singers El Planeta and El Fillo (whose raspy voice became the prototype for gypsy flamenco singing and gave us the term 'a filla' to describe that vocal quality) and the dancers La Perla and El Jerezano. Calderon writes of the guitar, at first strumming softly then more strongly, of the suspiro, the singer's warm-up using passages of "Ay, ay...," and of a number of cantes. The Spanish word for song in general is cante or cancion - cante refers specifically to flamenco song. The cantes included cana, polo, polo tobslo, sevillanas, serranas, jaberas, rondenas, and corritas. The latter were also called romances and were derived from the ancient ballads of northern Spain, modified by Arabic melodies, and assimilated and spread through the south by the gypsies. This tradition survives only in remote areas of Andalucía, although it has been resurrected somewhat recently. Also mentioned were tonadas (little songs), a name that would later be applied in the shortened form, tonas, to a group of profound gypsy cantes that are still sung without musical accompaniment. Names of flamenco song forms often have odd and confusing derivations. The gypsy siguiriyas are named from the Andalucian pronunciation of seguidillas, a totally unrelated song form. The solea, an important cante in flamenco, was named after a woman called Soledad who sang very well and with great profundity. Some of the songs were originally called jaleos; her version was called soledades, soleares, soleas, and most often today, solea.

Concerning the dancing, Calderon wrote of the importance of the compas (rhythm, including meter, accentuation, and rhythmic cycles), arm movements, footwork, rapid twisting and turning of the body, and the sal (spice) and gracia (humor, wit) of the performers. He names the following dances, most of which are considered to be Andalucian rather than gypsy; caa, tiranas, jaberas, malaguenas, bolero, zorongo, ole ole, la tana, granadina, la yerbabuena, las seguidillas, caleseras, and zapateado. Of special interest musically is the fact that most of the songs and dances were accompanied by an orchestra of guitars, bandolins (most likely bandurrias, a mandolin type of instrument with double strings), and violins. This type of accompaniment is not typical of gypsy flamenco, but survives in Andalucian folk music, especially in groups called pandas de verdiales that perform the songs of the Malaga area.

Other travelers in the early 1800's tell us that gypsy dancers did not use their feet, moving only the hips, upper torso, and arms. We also know from these sources and from song verses dating from the period that the jaleo (verbal encouragement of the performers), as we know it today, was already in widespread use including "ole," "anda chiquillo," "que toma, que toma" and "eso es".

The music that was accessible to the traveler in this period was almost certainly dominated by the Andalucian element rather than the gypsy. Gypsies may have performed for the public under certain circumstances, but reports do not seem to indicate that they were performing what would appear a few decades later as the highly developed cante gitano (forms like the tonas, siguiriyas, and soleares). It is important to keep in mind the differences between these two forms of music, for these subdivisions of flamenco still exist today. The gypsy cante was private, emotional and very personal; it used primarily the phrygian mode and complex rhythm patterns, and was very difficult to sing; the accompaniment was most often the rhythm of hand clapping, finger snapping, knuckle-rapping, or the tapping of a cane - even today some forms are always sung a palo seco (a capella). Even when the guitar began to play a more important role in flamenco distinct gypsy and non-gypsy styles of playing emerged. Andalucian folk music, on the other hand, was very public music that was sung in the major and minor modes and using 2/4, 3/4, or 6/8 meter and it was often accompanied by groups of instruments.

In 1842, events occurred that would change the nature of flamenco and gave birth to what we now refer to as the "Golden Age of Flamenco." Certain Andalucian taverns where flamenco was cultivated began to place more emphasis on the performance of the cante and baile (dance). The performers were usually not professionals, but performed out of afición, love of their art. On the rare occasion that a guitar was available, it might have been strummed in an improvisational manner, but the guitar had not yet emerged as an integral part of flamenco. However, there must have been some guitarists starting to develop the flamenco style, for it would be in widespread use within a few decades. Moreover, the Russian composer Glinka was entranced by the playing of the gypsy guitarist El Murciano in Granada and he wrote down some of the guitarist's compositions. In neighborhood patios, country inns, and tiny taverns, flamenco made its first public appearance and began its emergence from the private, almost religious position it had held in the gypsy families.

The earliest known cafe de cante, as the first flamenco nightclub were called, opened in Sevilla in 1842. For the first time flamenco artists were paid on a regular basis. Several more clubs opened, but then all were closed down, and it was another twenty years before the great cantaor, Silverio Franconetti, returned from South American opened the first cafe cantante in Sevilla and officially began the "Golden Age." The interest in cante and baile flamenco must have been building, because after Silverio opened his cafe in 1860, the public response resulted in a virtual explosion of similar cafes throughout Andalucía, sometimes there were seven or eight in one city. They even developed in other parts of Spain (especially in Madrid and Barcelona). Often they were elegant salons with ornate decor, box seats, and a raised stage. The artists were hired to form a cuadro, a performing group of several singers, one or two guitarists, and six or seven dancers, mostly women. There were usually some star performers, most often singers, who were hired as the main attractions. The opportunity offered by the cafes encouraged many new artist to become professional. These artists tended to specialize in a few cantes and, in doing so, created new variations and a personal style. Each cante is defined by its rhythmic pattern, progression of tones, emotional mood, ant content of the verse. Within those limits each cantaor can create his own style; that style is not a "song" in the sense that we think of the term because the singer will vary the melody and the words each time he sings and even sing a number of different styles within a single performance of a particular cante.

The period of the "Golden Age" lasted until about 1910 and gave us most of today's flamenco forms (cantes) some of which were found in greater variety early on than we know today. In spite of the popularity of flamenco, certain of the gypsy cantes - the alboreas (wedding songs) and the romance, for example, did not leave the privacy of the gypsy circles until well into the 1950's. From the Americas came new music forms that spread from Spain's port towns to the rest of Andalucía and were assimilated into flamenco. These cantes, called cantes de ida y vuelta (round trip songs) because they were taken to the New World, transformed, and then returned to Spain, would eventually include the milonga from Argentina, the colombianas from Columbia, and the guajira and rumba from Cuba. The flamenco repertoire was also increased by the mixing of the gypsy and Andalucian cante. The fandango evolved into new and more profound forms such as the tarantas and the malaguenas, which gradually lost their rhythmic musical accompaniment and were transferred from dance songs into serious cantes for listening. The alegrias, originally the jotas de Cadiz, appeared in new forms called romeras, mirabras, and caracoles.

Another effect of the cafe cantante period was the breaking down of regional barriers. Before them each province had developed its own styles of cante: In the gypsy neighborhood of Triana (Sevilla), emerged styles of tonas, canas, and soleares- in the Barrio Santa María (Cadiz) were developed the forms of alegrías and tangos; from the Barrio de Santiago in Jerez, came the siguiriyas, jaleos, bulerias, and tonas; from Granada; Malaga, and Huelva came different forms of the fandangos. In the cafes, these cantes came together, and singers learned from each other. Guitarists had to learn to accompany more than just the local styles, thereby expanding their repertoires.

In the cafe cantante, the guitar became an important part of the flamenco "show", and guitarists developed rapidly, learning from and competing with each other. They competed not only with each other, but also with the dancers and singers. To get attention, guitarists began to insert more falsetas (melodies) into their playing, taking their themes from the cante. Soon, each club had a soloist, some of whom resorted to playing behind their backs, over their heads, or with gloves. An early soloist, Paco Lucena (c. 1855- 1930), is credited with introducing picado (rapid melodic passages played with the index and middle fingers), three-fingered arpeggios, and tremolo that he learned from a classical guitarist. Another great guitarist, Javier Molina, was more of an accompanist, but he helped to mold two of the founders of the traditional flamenco guitar, Ramón Montoya and Nino Ricardo.

At some time during this period, the cejilla (seh- HEE-yah) or capo came into widespread use and made life easier for the singer. Prior to that, a singer had two basic keys he could sing in, although each could be major, minor, or phrygian; these were por arriba (above; E) or por medio (in the middle; A), with the occasional use of the por abajo position (below; D). The names came from the relative positions of these chords as seen from the perspective of the cantaor. It has been suggested that one of the reasons the raspy voice has come to be associated with flamenco was the limited choice of tones that the cantaores had and the resultant strain on the voice. Due to the nature of the guitar and flamenco, it is not desirable to play the different song forms in different keys without the use of the cejilla. The reasons are many: the accompaniments are often too spontaneous and complicated to be learned in all keys; some keys are very difficult on the guitar; the characteristic melodies of a particular form are often molded by the chord structures of a particular key; the characteristic sound of each cante, or its accompaniment, depends upon the chords used and, unlike the piano, the guitar does not sound the same in all keys. Modern players have become much more flexible in this matter but still tend to return to traditional tones for traditional flamenco forms.

The dance in the cafe cantante was generally corto, that is, limited in variety. The primary flamenco dances were, at first, the alegrias, tanguillos de Cadiz, and soleares for the women, who emphasized the upper body and arms, with very little footwork. The men, who danced the alegrias, farrucas, and soleares, perhaps placed more emphasis on the feet, but real virtuosity in that area was not to come until the twentieth century. The real explosion of new dance would also come in the twentieth century, when cantes that were not considered danceable or were too sacred to dance would be interpreted by great dancers and added to the repertoire.

The cafe cantante period was the beginning of what we know today as flamenco, and the growth of and change in the music were quite dramatic. In the conclusion of this article, "The Modern Era," we will see how the many forces acting on flamenco brought it into a state of degeneration.