Spain, Flamenco. What is this dance style, which is known far beyond the borders of its homeland and leaves no one indifferent... Originating in the south of Spain, in Andalusia, combining emotional dance, guitar, percussion and singing, flamenco has won the souls of many... Read more about the history of flamenco in this article...

Flamenco comes in many varieties: dance, musical accompaniment in the form of guitar and percussion (quijon, castanets and rhythmic clapping) and emotional singing. Since 2010, this dance has World Heritage status (UNESCO).

A flamenco dancer is called a bailaora, and the traditional dress in which she dances is a bata de cola, which reaches the floor, with frills and flounces, reminiscent of the attire of gypsies. The hem of the dress is used gracefully during the dance, as is the shawl with long tassels, which is an important part of women's flamenco dancing. Bailaor is a flamenco dancer, wearing a white shirt with a wide belt and dark trousers.

History of flamenco

The roots of flamenco go back to the distant past - during the reign of the Moors and the appearance of gypsies in Spain, however, the exact date The origin of flamenco is difficult to say. It is also believed that the emergence of flamenco in its classic form Jewish and Christian cultures, gypsy and Spanish played a role. Each culture brought something of its own to this emotional dance. And in the 20th century, flamenco absorbed Cuban melodies, jazz motifs, and some elements appeared in the dance classical ballet.

There are two main categories of flamenco:

1. Cante jondo (Cante jondo) is the oldest branch of flamenco. It includes the following forms of flamenco (palos) - Toná, Soleá, Seguiriya, Fandango.
2. Cante flamenco (Cante flamenco), which includes alegrías, bulerías, farruca.

In both categories there are 3 types - singing, guitar and dance, however, in the ancient types of flamenco there is practically no musical accompaniment. In modern types of dance you can often find a variety of musical instruments - from the violin to exotic instruments Latin America such as Cajon, Darbuka, Bongo.

Flamenco festivals.

Once every 2 years, in Seville, you can visit the most significant flamenco festival - Bienal de Flamenco, which began to be held in 1980. However, other flamenco and guitar festivals are held annually throughout Spain. The main cities of the event are Cadiz, Cordoba, Jerez,

History of flamenco

The birthplace of flamenco is Andalusia. The cultures of all the peoples who inhabited this region found an echo in flamenco music. Arabic, Jewish, Gypsy, Christian... You can even hear African rhythms in the music of the south of the Iberian Peninsula.

The Andalusian song is both homesickness and lyrical protest. The singer's protest is directed against the oppression and injustice of the world. In 1492, the Arabs were expelled from Spain. Jews, who made up a significant part of the country's population in the 5th century (about 100 thousand), were subjected to persecution, as a result of which they were forced to accept Christian faith. Eternally persecuted gypsies, traveling around the country with simple belongings, spread their song and dance traditions. All these peoples, having once lost their roots, went through forced assimilation, entered a foreign culture, and accepted a foreign faith. In their songs one can hear a cry about fate, a story about a sad life.

Flamenco is not just music. This is a style of attitude towards life, a worldview. You don't have to perform flamenco to live in this world. Flamenco music is about bright emotions and strong experiences.

The beginning of the existence of flamenco is considered to be 1780; the first documentary mention of flamenco in Andalusia dates back to this year. By this time, the style and melodic structure of flamenco were already fully formed.

Traditional Spanish housing is designed in such a way that all apartments are located around a patio, an internal common courtyard. With this layout, neighbors communicate closely with each other, often being members of the same family clan. The place for general gatherings was the patio. Here were held holiday events, where the secrets of singing were passed on. We can say that the abode of flamenco is home. It is communication in a narrow family circle explains the fact that many significant names in flamenco belong to family dynasties in which musical skill was passed on from generation to generation. Music was a means of communication, dialogue and was largely improvisational in nature. The dialogue was between two cantaors, a cantaor and a guitarist, song and dance.

The life that took place in the patios was often carried out into the street - during wedding celebrations, baptisms and other significant events. In many gypsy settlements, such “flamenco fiestas” began to acquire personality traits. The events were held in temporary Roma settlements outside the city. In addition to family members, outsiders were sometimes allowed to attend. Kantaors, demonstrating individual skill, gained fame.

Flamenco music truly became known to the general public with the opening of cafe cantante, artistic cafes on whose stages musicians performed. The first of them opened in 1842 in Seville, and already in the 70s years XIX century, many similar cafes opened in cities such as Puerto de Santa Maria, Seville, Malaga, Jerez de la Frontera, Granada, Cartagena, La Union, Cadiz. Later, cantante cafes began to appear outside of Andalusia, in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and Bilbao.

Cafe cantante contributed to the growth of flamenco's popularity. The music found a response in many hearts, the audience appreciated the genuine passion of flamenco. Performed from the stage, flamenco music became accessible a large number listeners.

When talking about the “golden age of flamenco,” the name of the famous cantaor Silverio Franconetti (1829-1889) is certainly mentioned. Franconetti was the central figure of flamenco's heyday. Silverio was the number one maestro among the outstanding performers of that time - To Martn, Vergara, El Loco Mateo, Paco de la Luz, Enrique el Gordo Viejo, Manuel Molina, El Nitri, La Josefa, Curro Dulce and others. Among the guitarists, the most notable were Maestro Patio, Paco el Barbero and Paco Lucena, and Antonio de Bilbao and Juan la Macarrona were deservedly considered the undoubted masters of dance.

With the beginning of the twentieth century, flamenco received new uniform expressions - theater. Performances of opera flamenca were staged, which included dancing, singing, and guitar. Empressarios staged such performances throughout Spain, on the stages of major theaters, and in bullrings.

Flamenco evolved from opera new genre, flamenco ballet. A significant contribution to its development was made by dancers La Argentina, Pilar Lopez, Antonio, Rosario, whose traditions are now continued by Antonio Gades, Mario Maya, Cristina Hoyos, Joaquin Corts and other dance masters.

The flamenco renaissance began in 1922, when composer Manuel de Falla and Federico García Lorca organized the Concurso de Cante Jondo, the Cante Jondo festival, in Granada. His goal was to revive interest in ancient art, discovery of new talents. The festival featured authentic cante jondo tunes. In order for the public to see truly folk flamenco and feel the true spirit of this music, professional performers were not allowed to participate in the festival.

The festival showed all of Spain the difference between tavern singing and genuine cante jondo. In Spain there is nothing equal to these songs for the authenticity of feelings. The organizers sought to attract attention true patriots to the fate of cante jondo.

It was not for nothing that Granada, with its romantic aura, was chosen as the venue for the festival. Similar festivals began to be held in other cities, and flamenco was recognized as a true folk art. The following competitions were held in Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, Jaen, Almeria, Madrid, Mulcia.

In the 50s, the ideas of the previous era were criticized and café cantante was revived in tablaos, small theaters or cafes with a stage.

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Flamenco is a traditional music and dance style originating from Andalusia (Spain); this is a merger musical accompaniment(toke), singing (kante) and dancing (baile).

The style is represented by several dozen varieties (more than 50).

Flamenco dances and songs are usually accompanied by guitar and percussion: rhythmic clapping (palmas), playing a percussion box (cajon); sometimes - castanets.

Flamenco performers are called "bailaor" (dancer) and "cantaor" (singer), "tocaor" (guitarist).

Origin

The origins of flamenco should be sought in the Moorish musical culture. Gypsy music also significantly influenced this style - many consider the Spanish gypsies to be the main, true carriers of the style.

In the 15th century Gypsies arrived in Spain from the collapsing Byzantium and settled along the southern coast of the country in the provinces; according to their custom, they began to adopt and reinterpret local musical traditions, such as Moorish, Jewish and Spanish proper; and from this fusion of musical traditions, reinterpreted first by the gypsies and then by the Spaniards, flamenco was born.

For a long time, flamenco was considered a “closed art”, since the gypsies lived as an isolated group; flamenco was formed in narrow circles. But in late XVIII V. the persecution of gypsies stopped, and flamenco entered the stage of taverns and cantante cafes and gained freedom.

At the end of the 20th century. flamenco begins to absorb Cuban melodies and jazz motifs; and, in addition, elements of classical ballet acquired their permanent place there.

The most famous flamenco dancer is Joaquin Cortez, who updated the concept of flamenco dance, freed it from the “canonical standard” and introduced a new liveliness and expressiveness into it.

The improvisational nature of flamenco, complex rhythm and specific performance techniques often prevent accurate musical notation of flamenco melodies. Therefore, the art of both the guitarist and the dancer and the singer is usually passed on from master to student.

Attributes of flamenco dance

An important element of the dancer's image (bailaora) is a traditional dress called bata de cola - a typical flamenco dress, usually floor-length, often made of multi-colored material with polka dots, decorated with frills and flounces.

The prototype of this dress was the traditional attire of gypsies. An integral part of the dance is the graceful play with the hem of the dress.

The traditional clothing of a bailaor is dark trousers, a wide belt and a white shirt with wide sleeves. Sometimes the edges of the shirt are tied at the front of the waistband. A short bolero vest, called a chaleco, is sometimes worn over a shirt.

A Spanish shawl with very long tassels is one of the classic attributes of female flamenco dance: the shawl either twists around the dancer’s figure, emphasizing the slender female silhouette, or falls from the shoulders, forming the silhouette of a large, beautiful, restless bird.

Another classic female flamenco attribute is a large fan. There is an opinion about castanets as an indispensable attribute of flamenco dance.

But most often the rhythm is beaten out by heels (zapateado), snapping of fingers (pitos) or clapping of palms (palmas). The purest forms of flamenco avoid the use of castanets, as they limit the ability to play passionately and expressively with the hands.

Today, flamenco is of particular interest to modern choreographers, because they see in this art great opportunities for creativity, for introducing innovations into choreography.

Style classification

Flamenco styles (palos) differ in their rhythmic patterns. The most popular palos - tones, solea, fandango and seguiriya (Toña, Soleá, Fandango y Seguiriya) - belong to the category of cante jondo (cante jondo, the most ancient core of flamenco, dating back to the ancient music systems India). The second category is cante flamenco (cante flamenco, includes singing, dancing, and playing the guitar).

Flamenco has had a great influence on many dance and musical styles all over the world. Recent decades mixed varieties of flamenco and other styles appeared: flamenco-pop, flamenco-jazz, flamenco-rock, gypsy rumba and others.

There are adherents of flamenco who honor its traditions, which has both positive and negative sides.

Strict adherence to tradition makes it impossible to deeply understand flamenco.

Flamenco styles (singing, dancing, melody) are like a living organism, which requires their constant development, and without development there is no life.

But along with the developing flamenco, there is also “flamencology” (a book with that title was written by Gonzalez Clement in 1955 and gave the name to this section of art criticism); scientists in this direction are studying the origins of flamenco and its “true” style, traditions, etc. .

Until now, along with supporters of the purity of the flamenco style, there are also adherents of its new forms and sounds.

Flamenco dancer Joaquín Cortés is the Roma Ambassador to the European Union.

"Duende" is the soul of flamenco, also translated from Spanish as "fire", "magic" or "feeling". “There is only one duende he is not capable of - repetition. Duende does not repeat itself, like the appearance of a stormy sea.”

Up to the second half of the 19th century V. Gypsy women performed flamenco barefoot.

Photo gallery

Helpful information

Flamenco
Spanish flamenco

Flamenco festivals

Among the most significant cities where flamenco exists today are Cadiz, Jerez, Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Barcelona and Madrid. Each of these cities has its own musical specifics, its own traditions and characteristics.

In Spain

One of the most authoritative, the largest flamenco festival in Spain takes place once every two years in Seville under the name “Bienal de Flamenco”. This festival was founded in 1980. True flamenco lovers come here from all over the world to see the best artists: bailaors, cantaors and guitarists.

Held annually in Cordoba International festival guitars “GUITARRA”, with the performance at which the glory of talented young guitarists Vicente Amigo and Paco Serrano began.

Annual cante grande festivals, cante flamenco festivals and others take place throughout Spain. More information about festivals in Spain and beyond can be found on the special news site www.flamencofestival.info.

In Russia

1- Russian Festival Flamenco "Flamenco en Moscu" - held for the first time in 2011. The festival will bring together only the world's leading flamenco stars.

Flamenco Festival “¡VIVA ESPAÑA!” in Moscow - an annual event in the world of Spanish musical culture (since 2001).

An annual festival called “Northern Flamenco” takes place in St. Petersburg.

In the modern world guitar music in Kaluga since 1997, the annual festival “World of Guitar” has been operating, the participants of which are various flamenco groups from Russia and Spain, and many bright names of foreign guitarists, from the world famous, such as Al di Meola (2004), Ivan Smirnov (“ mascot" of the festival), Vicente Amigo (2006), Paco de Lucia (2007), etc.

In other countries

Every year since 2004, the London Flamenco Festival is held in February. One of the largest flamenco festivals outside Spain has been taking place in the American city of Albuquerque, New Mexico for more than 20 years.

Famous flamenco artists

• Niña de los Peines, Lola Flores, Fosforito, Niña de La Puebla
• Carmen Amaya
• Ramon Montoya Sr., Paco de Lucia, Vicente Amigo, Manolo Sanlúcar, R. Riqueni, Paco Serrano, Rafael Cortes (Rafael Cortes)(guitar)
• Antonio Gades and Mario Maya (dance)
• Camaron de la Isla and Enrique Morente (singing)
• Blanca Del Rey
• Antonio Canales
• Antonio el Pipa, Javier Martos (dance)
• Jose Reyes (guitar, singing)
• Gipsy Kings (guitar, singing)
• Santa Esmeralda (disco, plus guitar)
• Rocío Marquez
• Lena Hernandez
• Eva La Yerbabuena

| Flamenco - traditional dance of Spain

Flamenco - traditional dance of Spain

Flamenco (Spanish flamenco) is a traditional music and dance style originating from Spain. The style is represented by several dozen varieties (more than 50). Flamenco dances and songs are usually accompanied by guitar and percussion: rhythmic clapping, playing the percussion box; sometimes - castanets.

What is flamenco?

Flamenco is a very young art, whose history goes back no more than two centuries. Since the guitar began to be used in flamenco, it has been in constant development. This is quite natural: such a rich, intense, original musical culture cannot remain in a stagnant state: its undeniable mixed origin is evident.

Flamenco is essentially a product of absorption, absorption, fusion different cultures; and the idea of ​​merging itself has very ancient roots. One of the flamenco classics said many years ago: “You can sing accompanied by an orchestra, or you can sing accompanied by a pipe, you can sing to anything!” The new flamenco was not born in the 80s, this “other” flamenco has been around for many decades. Movement is what matters. Movement means life.

There is no exact date for the origin of flamenco; its roots go back centuries. The history of this truly Andalusian product of Spanish culture, which at first was rather closed and hermetic, is shrouded in a cloud of myths and mysteries. Any folklore phenomenon comes from ancient traditions and represents a kind of collective creation. It is known about flamenco that it has existed for about two centuries. What's the basis? Beautiful Moorish dreams, incomprehensible fantasies, voluptuousness, when all logic loses its force:?

In the 19th century, the term “flamenco” acquired a more specific meaning, close and familiar to us. In addition, in the middle of the century this definition begins to be applied to art. According to researchers, the first flamenco performers appeared in Madrid in 1853, and in 1881 the first collection of flamenco songs by Machado and Alvarez was published. With the advent of cantante cafes, in which flamenco performance begins to be professional, there is a continuous struggle between those who fiercely defend the purity of the art, and those who support the further spread and development of flamenco.

In the 20th century, flamenco is being revived and enriched through the author's interpretations and innovations. Yes, the roots of flamenco are lost in the mysterious past, but over the past two centuries it has taken shape, undergoing few fundamental changes since it went beyond the original environment that gave birth to it. There is practically no room left for experimentation, which is explained by the absolute cult of traditional performance. Despite the fact that nowadays songs are performed in the same drawn-out way as in old times, there is no such emotional strain as we can hear on recordings of the first quarter of the 20th century.

When we talk about changes, we mean author's remakes and arrangements appearing everywhere, like snowball. In this sense, it is worth mentioning the enormous work compiled by Antonio Mairena (1909-1983), who said that flamenco singing cannot be global. Despite the fact that this singer is a proponent of a comprehensive knowledge of this art form, much debate has arisen about whether the various song genres represented in his work are fair to be classified as flamenco.

The song styles are already formed, and there is nothing more to add to the family tree. Flamenco - folklore creativity, which is behind seven seals, which is why it is so well preserved in almost its original form. Currently, there is a tendency to preserve the art in its pure form: flamenco is better the more seasoned its taste.

Only outstanding artists of exceptional ability who honor traditions can make a revolution in flamenco. It is worth mentioning the duo of the greatest flamenco artists who worked most of their lives together: Camaron and Paco. A quarter of a century ago, creative groups of performers with worldwide recognition appeared, including Paco de Lucia and Manolo Sanlúcar (guitar), Antonio Gades and Mario Maya (dance), Camaron and Enrique Morente (singing). The dictatorship is over, and flamenco is beginning to take on different colors. New ones are being introduced musical instruments, new ones appear musical forms in singing and acting. Bright to that an example is the work of Paco de Lucia and Camarón, who redefined flamenco for an entire generation.

Nevertheless, there will always be dissenters and dissenters, such as: flamenco performers who have refused to adhere to traditions, musicians of other styles who are interested in flamenco; restless souls from other musical traditions. The history of flamenco is an endless chain of innovations and admixtures, but any evolution always has a dual meaning.

Natural development. Having arisen, flamenco was performed within the family circle and did not go beyond it. Its further spread and development is due to true creators and performers who sought their own paths of development and that is why they left their mark on history.

The latest round of flamenco development comes down to reinterpretations. This does not mean progress as such (for example, the introduction of new instruments), but attempts to revive flamenco, return it to past glory. There is no point in denying that most rules were created in order to be broken, but as an unwritten musical creativity, like any closed and therefore well-preserved folklore phenomenon, flamenco must be flavored with passion.

At the end of the 20th century one can speak of a “mixed cultural element”. The greatest value in this sense is represented by bold experiments in which due respect is given to primordial rhythms. To talk about avant-garde, it is necessary to return those deep, soul-touching feelings that are increasingly rare in flamenco.

The mixture of different cultures in modern Spain is not a tribute to fashion, but very ancient history With deep meaning. Spain is a border region of Europe, consisting of different races and cultures as a result. Its strength lies in the fact that it can filter out everything unnecessary. You can’t follow fashion and make a mosaic of musical groups, representing different folklore movements. It is necessary to do double work: to bring from abroad what is needed, then carefully digest it, pass it through yourself in order to make it a phenomenon in your own country. Of course, we do not encourage you to get on a plane, fly around Earth, grab all sorts of different things from here and there, then throw them into a saucepan, and the chef will prepare us a new genre and rhythm according to the fashion of this season.

Eat certain meaning the fact that flamenco adherents honor traditions, which has both positive and negative sides. In particular, strict adherence to tradition makes it impossible to deeply understand flamenco. Flamenco singing, styles, and melody are like a living organism: they deserve respect, which means constant development, and every movement, as we know, is life.

In such a rapidly developing industrial society as the modern one, where ideals are devalued, where art ceases to matter, the pessimistic sentiments of flamencologists are quite understandable, who do not see a future for the art of flamenco and describe it in their works as if it were a dead art. “Flamencology” (or “flamenology”) as a science delves into the past. The book with this title was written by Gonzalez Clement in 1955 and gave the name to the section of art criticism that studies flamenco. Due to the lack of written documentary evidence, scientists spent a lot of time speculating on the origins of flamenco, which made it a rather closed and unpopular art. Further more: constant moralizing and putting ideals on a pedestal.

Proof that flamenco is still alive is the fact that flamenco is not alien to other cultural or social movements. At the beginning of the 20th century, it began to be performed in cafes cantante Falla, Lorca, Niña de los Peines raised it to an intellectual level; Manolo Caracol and Pepe Marchena contributed to the emergence of flamenco on radio and audio media; it entered the history of music with Mairen and approached cult poetry with Menese. Paco de Lucia and Camaron added some hippie motifs, Pata Negra - the mood of punk culture, Quetama, Jorge Pardo and Carl Benavent - jazz notes and salsa rhythms.

I would really like to draw attention to the fact that the purity of flamenco performance has become a bargaining chip, an argument resorted to by journalists who have nothing else to write about. It is very encouraging that a generation has emerged that has managed to avoid controversy about purity and innovation in the art of flamenco.

At present it is quite difficult to assess what is happening. Now there are those who will say that over the past 50 years both performance technique and rhythm have deteriorated greatly, and that only the singing of old people is worthy of attention. Others believe that there is no better moment for flamenco than now. “Flamenco has undergone more changes in just the last 15 years than in its entire history,” says Barberia, who, like many others, takes Camarón de la Isla’s 1979 disc “Legend of Time” as the starting point for a new vision of flamenco.

Pure flamenco is not old flamenco, but ancient, which makes it more valuable. In flamenco, a dying venerable old man is like a burned book, a broken disk. If we talk about musical primitivism, purity and authenticity of performance, the difficulty of doing something new becomes obvious. When a singer performs a song and a musician accompanies him on guitar, they both seem to be performing an act of remembrance. Feelings are the shadow of memory.

Fire dying in order to be born is flamenco." This definition was given to it by Jean Cocteau. However, in flamenco there are a lot of "interest clubs": along with supporters of the purity of style, there are also adherents of new forms and sounds. That is why the cooperation of musicians representing various directions. It is appropriate to remember here collaborations Paco de Lucia and Quetama.

And to top it off, I would like to cite the statement of Alvarez Caballero, one of the most influential modern critics: “Only a duet of a singer and a guitarist on stage is extremely rare; it will soon become archaic. However, I would really like to be wrong in my predictions.” He will definitely be wrong. “Pure” flamenco will not disappear.

Origin

The origins of flamenco should be sought in the Moorish musical culture. Gypsy music also significantly influenced this style - many consider the Spanish gypsies to be the main, true carriers of the style. In the 15th century, gypsies arrived in Spain from the collapsing Byzantium and settled along the southern coast of the country in the province of Andalusia; according to their custom, they began to adopt and reinterpret local musical traditions, such as Moorish, Jewish and Spanish proper; and from this fusion of musical traditions, reinterpreted first by the gypsies and then by the Spaniards, flamenco was born.

For a long time, flamenco was considered a “closed art”, since the gypsies lived as an isolated group; flamenco was formed in narrow circles. But at the end of the 18th century, the persecution of gypsies stopped, and flamenco entered the stage of taverns and cantante cafes and gained freedom.

In Russia

International Flamenco Festival “¡VIVA ESPAÑA!” Most major festival flamenco in Russia, held in Moscow (since 2001).

1- Russian Flamenco Festival " en Moscu"" - held for the first time in 2011. The festival will bring together only the world's outstanding flamenco stars.

An annual festival called “Northern Flamenco” takes place in St. Petersburg.

In the world of modern guitar music, the annual festival “World of Guitar” has been running in Kaluga since 1997, the participants of which are various flamenco groups from Russia and Spain, and many bright names of foreign guitarists, from the world famous, such as Al di Meola (2004), Ivan Smirnov (“mascot” of the festival), Vicente Amigo (2006), Paco de Lucia (2007), etc.

In other countries

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See what "Flamenco" is in other dictionaries:

FLAMENCO, the same as Kante flamenco... Modern encyclopedia

- (Spanish flamenco) in music, see Cante flamenco... Big encyclopedic Dictionary

- [Spanish flamenco] music Spanish performing style, as well as music, songs, dances associated with southern Spanish art. Dictionary foreign words. Komlev N.G., 2006. flamenco (Spanish flamenco ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Noun, number of synonyms: 2 style (95) dance (264) ASIS dictionary of synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

flamenco- flamenco. Pronounced [flamenco]… Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

FLAMENCO- Southern Spanish music, song and dance style gypsy origin. Developed in Andalusia in the Middle Ages. Singing and dancing are solo, accompanied by playing the guitar, castanets, and snapping fingers. From the middle of the 19th century. distributed by … Ethnographic Dictionary