|
Por el hablar de la gente 8 |
A |
|
olvidé a quien bien quería 8 |
B |
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para mientras viva en el mundo 9 |
C |
|
se me acabó la alegría 8 |
D |
Four eight-syllable verses with assonance rhyme between the 2nd and 4th. It is called ‘Solea Grande’ in flamenco vocabulary.
Both cantaoras repeat the verses, creating the following structure (solely based on the lyrics): ABBBCDCD.
Theme: love.
- There are many syncopations so I have to pay special attention to be exact rhythmically.
- On the other hand, there are some moments in which I can be freer with my timing (especially the roller coaster moments).
- I can use some ornaments in the words that are elongated (gente, mundo, quería y acabó)
- Fragment -a-: Evaluate if I want a faster and more rhythmic beginning or if I prefer to lengthen the first notes a little and start higher (as Pepa does).
- Section -b-: I must vary the cadence in some way so that it is not repeated four times in the same way:
- timing
- ornamentation
- Also, by repeating the phrases -a- and -b- I can offer different versions thinking about aspects such as dynamics and waiting more or less time between both phrases. (There, the singer can stop to breathe or not stop).
- Part -c- I can get more sound out of the cello and perhaps use trills to give importance to the note D, which is impressive for its power.
- Structure:
On many occasions, it happens that, although the lyrics are changed, the melody remains the same, therefore, although in the poetic analysis we can affirm that the structure is ABBBCDCD, it will not be the remain the same musically, since we will attend to the melody and not the lyrics that it carries with it.
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A |
B |
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|
a (A) |
b (E) |
a |
b |
c (C) |
b (E) |
c
|
b |
|
los días del terremoto 8 |
A |
|
llegó el agüita hasta arriba 8 |
B |
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pero no pudo llegar 7+1 |
C |
|
donde llegó mi fatiga 8 |
D |
Four eight-syllable verses with assonance rhyme between the 2nd and 4th.
The repetition used by the singer is as follows:
ABABCDCD.
This soleá is known and classified as 'solea Apolá'.
Theme: natural disaster
- For the cantaor it is usually a soleá that is complicated to sing and for this reason, I think that with the cello I should also add virtuosity. But how? Fragments of the score in which the descending fifth is not always glissando, I can also make the descent using fast descending scales with or without mordents.
- The beginning must be very articulate because each note belongs to a syllable. On the contrary, in part b there is greater prolongation in the words, which leaves greater interpretative freedom.
- The singer marks the cadential moment a lot, also written with syncopations and quite emphasized, so I have to take care of the rhythm in the cadential parts (end of b and end of b’).
- It starts with an ascending pickup beat in the Fernanda version but it does start in the same note with a tenuto sound in Pepa’s one.
- It is very rhythmical-full of syncopations until the word /gente/ that is ornamented and elongated.
- We can identify what I like to call ‘the falling moment’ (see red color in the score), which is this feeling that you have when you are on top of a roller coaster and you are just about to fall. There are some seconds in which time and speed seem to stop. You can play with this timing, making it more or less wide. That is possible because the guitar is not changing chords at that time. It occurs just before the entrance, after the F chord of the guitar. It is possible then, to play with the length of the silence and react to the tension that the guitar player left.
- It finishes in A chord. What does it mean? If we were talking with tonal feeling it will be the T. Talking in a modal way we are in the IV grade, which also gives a relaxed feeling (A-E-A).
- Andalucian cadence in the melody and in the accompaniment.
- ‘Falling moment’ (see score).
- Melodically the notes of the cadence are descending (see score) and it finishes off with the notes F-E-F-E (in flamenco language F chord (II grade) equals the Dominant and E the Tonic. So, giving more importance to the cadence through repetition. These notes are played with syncopes.
- Ascending beginning.
- It ends in /c/ resolution of the Secondary Dominant (G7) to C.
- That makes b, really conclusive.
- It is easy to hear that the cantaora is showing a few of her abilities by doing a really long note and that the end of the sentence reminds us to part -a-, lengthening the word /world/ in a very similar way.
- Starts with enough determination and bravery, then quickly climbs a 6th, through the use of a scale.
- Quite short and ends in the 3rd of the F chord, which in flamenco is equivalent to the tension that the Dominant has in the classical world, Therefore, it ends in a tense way, which creates the 'roller coaster' effect.
- Same motive using progression but with other notes (see score)-
- It ends semi-conclusively, resolving to C after the G7 chord, that is, resolving the secondary dominant.
- The singer uses melismas in an agile way as he does in -b-.
- Very similar to b in the melody but shortening it, perhaps because this motivic development has already appeared in c and to compensate the length, since -c- is longer than -a-.
- Descending progression B-F G-C and cadence.
- The cadence part uses syncopation.
- Quite a lot of melismatic movement.
- A descending 5th motive that creates a small progression appears and it will also appear in c and b'.
|
No reniego de la rosa 8 |
A |
|
que me regaló tu mare 8 |
B |
|
reniego de las espinas 8 |
C |
|
Pero no de los rosales 8 |
D |
‘Soleá Grande’: Four eight-syllable verses with assonance rhyme between the 2nd and 4th.
Theme: daily life.
- In part -a- Pepe de la Matrona uses the falsetto resource while Alba Guerrero uses greater intensity in the syllables. What can I use as a cellist to change the color?
- More bow speed
- Sudden octave shift
- Sulponticello
- Sultasto
- More or less vibrato than above
- Take some freedom in timing and/or ornamentation in the parts where there are no guitar chords ( third part of bar 12 and bar 13) (bar 1 and 2). Another possibility is to mark a lot the second part of bar 12 and then let it continue like a rebound.
- Vary the -c- part considerably the second time played, just as they both do:
- higher intensity
- adding ornamentation
- Mark the differences in character in part -a- between: /reniego de los rosales/ (much more marked and also with a stronger character) and /no reniego de la rosa/ with a much more affable character.
- Flexibility to play the words redoblaron (last part of bar 2 and bar 3) and muertos (bars 19-20) with more ornamentation than Pepe de la Matrona or keeping it simple, not adding more ornamentation.
- In the word redoblaron he does a ‘jipio’ effect (bar 3 first note). It would be interesting to experiment with it breaking a bit the sound of the cello.
- Important to have into account that in bar 18, when arriving to the E I still need to keep a bit of tension in my playing, because it will be resolved afterward with the Andalucian cadence.
- In the falling from the climax (bar 17) to E (bar 18), there are many possibilities for the player and because he repeats it twice I can try out two different options.
- Very important to have in consideration when the notes are different syllables or not, to make my playing more concrete although in this solea I can see more freedom in the words than in other soleares as the apolá from José Lorente.
|
campanas redoblaron |
A |
|
y las sepultureras se abrieron |
B |
|
los muertos resucitaron |
C |
AABCBC (in the singing).
This is called ‘Soleá Corta’: three eight-syllable verses with consonant rhyme between the first and third verse.
Theme: Death.
- Cadential formula as I said in -a-, bears a certain resemblance.
- The second time it appears, it is quite embellished by both singers. In the case of Alba, she places a lot of emphasis on the intensity given to the words the second time she repeats them (reinforcing, for example, the sound of the -r-). In the case of Pepe, he does it in a more ornamented way, adding some melismatic movement.
- This solea has a very curious structure since it begins by using a motive that reminds us of the cadential part of soleares (A-G-F-E) (see pink circles). That's why I decided to call this first part -b- as well as for reasons related to the lyrics. In fact, if we look at the soleá of ‘Santa María’ in its part -c- (cadential) it uses a very similar motive, both melodically and rhythmically. In addition, later on, we will see how in c (cadential part) this motive reappears (although not exactly the same). This is something common in flamenco, since the singer has the freedom to change the order of the verses or repeat them to create new structures, but in this case, it is striking that it begins with a cadential motive.
- Repeat -b- twice and in the middle, there is a fairly long falseta, perhaps to balance part A with part B, as happens in the solea de Santa María, so as not to repeat exactly the same thing twice in a row.
- It starts with an ascending jump of a perfect 4th.
- In the word redoblaron (from the third beat of the second bar to the end of the third bar) there is certain flexibility, so he could also have added more notes or he could have removed some of them because they are an ornament (mostly appoggiaturas) to the melody.
- Identification of the ‘Jipio’ in the word redoblaron.
- There is a guitar interlude in between the repetition of both -a-, to make some space in between.
- He repeats -a- doing exactly the same as in the first repetition.
- Finishes in Am creating a semiconclusive phrase.
- Ascending scale at the beginning, as happens in José Lorente.
- The third beat of bar 11 looks like a small cadence (as we would do in Haydn to ornament the ending) B-F. So, in the melody, it would be possible to play only B-F but they both make an ornament out of it. Therefore, in that part, there is a certain freedom.
- Ends in the Dominant, so it needs part c (Andalucian cadence) to conclude.
- Pepe de la Matrona uses the falsetto as a resource, which is quite interesting for the melody, while Alba Guerrero decides to create more intensity. Both make a clear change in timbre and intensity by repeating the lyrics in the high register.
- It starts also with the jump of the perfect 4th but for me it looks like a development of this motive.
- The climax is in this part, when the cantaor arrives to C, then he releases the tension with a downwards drop. We can also listen the guitar doing G7(secondary dominant)- C.
- Finally arriving to the Tonic we can listen to the Andalucian cadence (see pink circles in the score).
- As always in the cadence there is a moment in which the guitar doesn’t play (the second beat of bar 20) and where the cantaor divides the word resu-citaron to make the cadence even more conclusive, holding the tension with the guitarist and releasing it in the next bar with the D-T-D-T.
- The beginning should be very determined but in the last part of bar 2 and the first quaver of bar 3, I can do some small ornaments.
- Be aware to release the tension in bar 3 to take a new impetus in bar 4 with the ascending scale that arrives at the climax.
- Bars 6 and 7 is possible to start slower the semiquavers and speed them up. Is also possible not to play these notes in a really marked way, placing my fingers softly on the fingerboard and avoiding too much articulation, to create a less concrete sound. Playing with this feeling could be an option.
- The second repetition of part B, is possible to do it more intense (as Estrella) or less (as Israel). It will depend on how did I do the passage the first time, but It is also important to have this idea in mind before playing.
- Possible separations- stop playing points- timing: bar 12 last quaver or bar 13 fourth beat. Also a possibility to do this part B without stopping in a more direct way.
This soleá has a very curious poetical analysis because if we look for the rhyme the conclusion is the following: ‘Soleá Corta’ three eight-syllable verses with consonance rhyme between the 1st and 3rd. Nevertheless, in the singing we can also find the verses:
- ‘Candelas del cielo’
- ‘y más candelas’ added after ‘del cielo caigan candelas’. This one is an added part to give even more intensity to the sentence because the melody could have finished in bar 6 first part with the word candelas.
So, this is a good example to see the differences between the text and the rhyme of it and the common practice in the singing in which cantaores often add more lyrics or change some of them, creating their own structures. Besides, is a good example of how oral tradition works because Israel Fernándes changes the lyrics ‘le caigan a tu mare encima, por tener malina lengua’ and instead, keeping the same melody he sings: ‘le caiga a la gente mala, que son los que traen y llevan’.
Theme: enmity.
In this one, I decided to do a separate part with the differences betweeen the cantaores because there are three different versions.
|
vivian las criaturas 8 |
A |
|
con lo que yo te camelo 8 |
B |
|
y mi mal no tiene cura 8 |
C |
‘Soleá Corta’ : three eight-syllable verses with consonance rhyme between the 1st and 3rd. This is called -macho de soleá- and it is usually sung when the voice is already warmed up and the singer feels really brave.
The singer creates the following structure: AABCBC.
Theme: heartbreak.
I consider that this stanza cannot be understood in an isolated way simply by analyzing -a-, as has happened in other soleares already analyzed. I believe that in this case the repetition of the motive is what gives meaning to the motive itself and therefore I am going to analyze section A as a whole.
- Start with a lot of bravery and decision which leads me to play it with a very marked bow stroke.
- The lyrics are choppy (doesn't finish the sentence) in the A section, leaving a lot of tension, so I have to try to finish this 'a' motive in a tense way, perhaps leaving this tension in the air with the position of my bow. No movement in my body.
- Attention to the syncopations, very important to give this character so marked, I must be very strict with the rhythm in the syncopated part, in addition to marking each one of the notes a lot (since they correspond to syllables very marked by the singer)
- Frequently uses the bebeo.
- The second time the cadence appears can be ornamented to give variety.
- Part c is very similar to part a:
- Starts with an ascending jump of a perfect 4th and ends releasing the tension falling to A but instead, the melody is less intense and more cadential because it doesn’t stay in E, it goes directly to the Andalucian cadence. Besides, the harmony is different so it creates another feeling (explained in harmony part-chapter).
Differences between the cantaores:
- Estrella Morente and Israel do it in a more melismatic way playing with the vibrato and small ornaments in the word gente bar 11 second beat until bar 12) (it would be the equivalent to mare in the other versions because as it was said before he changes the lyrics) making it longer than Cobitos, that goes directly to the cadential part.
- On the second repetition, Estrella Morente does a 'jipio' to add more intensity to this part while Israel Fernández does it more piano than the one before.
- Cadential part to E. Is really connected to C but I decided to write it as another part because I always separate the Andalucian cadences in the analysis.
Differences between the cantaores:
- Cobitos and Israel Fernández don't change anything in the second repeat.
- Estrella Morente stops in the word Malina (Mali-na lengua/ last part of bar 12- note G) in the first repetition while in the second one she goes directly.
- Starts with an ascending scale to the highest point in this solea (climax) as happens in Charamusco one.
- This part, as I said before talking about the lyrics, is elongated to make it more intense (bar 6 last beat, bars 7 and 8), ending in E with a lot of intensity to afterward do the ‘answer’ to it and go to the cadence.
Differences between the cantaores:
- Estrella Morente waits a little bit longer to start maybe also because she did the last part (a) a bit more intense with the ornamentation.
- In the added part (y más candelas, bar 6 last beat and bars 7 and eight) she waits a little bit longer to start it, while Israel and Cobitos connect this part with the other one, not breaking the sentence.
- Estrella Morente uses ‘jipio’ in the word candelas and more ornaments in the part that is elongated (bar 6 last beat and bars and 8).
-
Starts with an ascending jump of a perfect 4th and ends releasing the tension falling to A like the one of Santa María. It is a semi-conclusive phrase that needs another one that in classical music could be referred as a question-answer that complete it and finish in E.
Differences between the cantaores:
-
In the second beat of bar 2 and beginning of bar 3 (word cielo) Cobitos and Israel Fernández doesn’t do any ornaments keeping it simple, while Estrella Morente ornament it adding some notes.
- She could have repeated -b- as it happens in other soleares, but in this case, the lyrics of -b- take a new musical direction, and although it bears a certain resemblance to -b-, this time Fernanda de Utrera shows her power in the long notes.
- The phrase is intensified because it does not fall to A creating a longer phrase and less choppy, we can say that it is the conclusion of what -b- wanted to show.
- Quite long cadential part (C-B-A-G-F…-E) is very related to the motive that appears in b (see score), based on the downwards fall.
- Finally resolve this tension by going to A, also twice and clearly using the same motive but this time resolving it downwards.
- It reminds a bit of José Lorente's soleá, with the use of the descending 5th motive in progression.
ABOUT THE MAIN MOTIVE (a):
- starts with an ascending jump of a perfect 4th.
- Constant syncopations cause the motive to be agitated, due to displacement.
- It seems to be incomplete for two reasons:
- The lyrics remain unfinished (cria… missing turas)
- Ends in D, which asks for resolution.
ABOUT THE REPETITION OF THE MOTIVE:
- When the motive reappears after a small guitar interlude, the 4th jump does not appear, that is, the motive is shortened, which gives it even more tension.
- Reappears a third time. Commonly, when something is repeated it is because you want to give more emphasis and it seems that in this cause it is intended to create more and more tension through:
- Constant repetition of the motive ending in a tense, unresolved way.
- Syncopated motive.
- Lyrics are constantly broken and completed with the next motive.
Alluding to the cadential melodic movement of the soleares, the following characteristics can be observed:
- All of them begin with an upward movement (except for Charamusco who begins in part b), many with a perfect fourth jump:
- Santamaría, El Portugués and Paquirri.
- Others with a more or less long ascending scale:
- Andonda and Jose Lorente.
- In the apolás (José Lorente - El Portuguese) there is always a fast ascending scale towards the climax, either at the beginning (José Lorente) or in part b (El Portugués).
|
SOLEARES |
THEMES |
MELODIC RANGE |
POETICAL STRUCTURE |
MUSICAL STRUCTURE |
MELODIC MOVEMENT (ending of thesemi-phrases) |
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|
A |
B |
C |
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|
La Andonda |
Love |
Minor 7th |
Solea grande- ABBBCDCD |
A (abab) B (cdcd) |
A-E |
C-E |
|
|
José Lorente |
Natural disaster |
Major 10th |
Solea grande- ABABCDCD |
A (abab) B (cb'cb'') |
C-E |
C-E |
|
|
Santamaría |
Death |
Minor 9th |
Solea corta- AABCBC |
A (aa) B (bcbc) |
A-A |
C-E |
|
|
Charamusco |
Dailylife |
Major 9th |
Solea grande-BBCCDAAB |
A (bb) B (bcbc) |
E-E |
F-E |
|
|
Paquirri |
Heartbreak |
Major 9th |
Solea Corta-AAABCBC |
A (aaa) B (bc) C (dc) |
D-D (7th of E cord) |
F-E |
B-E |
|
El portugués |
Enmity |
Major 10th |
Solea corta- AABCBC |
A (ab) B (a'da'd) |
A-E |
G-E |
|
- In three of the soleares (La Andonda, Santamaría, and El Portugues), the first semi-phrase ends semi-conclusively on the note A and the second semi-phrase end: two of them conclusively on E with the Andalusian cadence, while one of them (Santamaría) ends again semi-conclusively on the note A since it repeats the same semi-phrase (aa).
- In the case of Charamusco's soleá, due to its curious structure beginning in b and repeating this semi-phrase, the cadential movement of both is the same, both being concluding semi-phrases with the Andalusian cadence towards E.
- In regards to José Lorente, perhaps due to the short duration of the first semi-phrase and also because it acts as a climax, it ends on the note C, going down from there to the Andalusian cadence towards E in the second semi-phrase.
- Lastly, in Paquirri's solea, it begins in a more abrupt and agitated way than the previous ones, since it is a macho de soleá that is used to finish off. In it, the tension is maintained throughout the A part, ending the three semi-phrases (aaa) on the note D, this being the seventh of the E chord. In addition, in this solea there is a motivic shortening, which together with the foregoing generates a restless and tense character, resolving it in part B. This character is expressed not only in the music but also in the lyrics, in which the words appear broken.
The themes are very varied with a special focus on daily life problems from the point of view of sorrow.
As pointed out in chapter 5, all these selected soleares have a wide melodic range because after listening to multiple soleares I decided that, since it is not possible to express the lyrics with the cello, those in which there was more movement in the melody.Therefore, although there are soleares with a lower melodic range (fourth, fifth, or sixth), the chosen ones range from the seventh to the tenth. It is worth highlighting at this point, the two soleares apolás chosen, with a melodic range of 10th (José Lorente and El Portugues). These ones are more complex for the singers since they must have a wide register and therefore, they are more virtuosic. However, this point does not affect the interpretation with the cello, due to the possibilities offered by the instrument to move along the fingerboard without impediments.
I also think it is important to point out that, although in the flamenco world soleares are classified as Solea Grande, Solea Corta, or Solearilla, these denominations refer to the length and number of existing verses and do not influence the musical structure. An example of this can be the comparison between the soleá of el Portugués and Santamaría, both being Solea Corta with the same construction but different musical structures.
In reference to the analysis of the structure, I have found that all of them, except Paquirri's soleá, have an AB musical structure, although the semi-phrases that make up each of these parts do vary in the different soleares.
It is also possible to conclude that in the great majority of cases the two semi-phrases that compose part B are repeated, making some changes in the ornamentation (adding or deleting ornaments) and in the timing (being more or less direct the second time that is interpreted). On the other hand, it is also obvious that in those soleares in which the same semi-phrase (aa), (aaa), or (bb) is repeated in part A, these repetitions are separated by a small guitar falseta, perhaps so as not to sound repetitive and also, to balance part A with part B in length. Proof of this are the soleá by Santamaría, Charamusco and Paquirri.
- Four of them (La Andonda, José Lorente, Santamaría, and El Portugués) carry out the same movement between semi-phrases 3 and 4 (which are repeated, usually ornamented or with different timing). This movement consists of finishing the first semi-phrase in C and concluding the second with the flamenco cadenza towards E, which makes a lot of sense if we observe the harmonic movement of the guitar (see chapter 5), in which in part B It starts with a secondary dominant (G7) that goes to the C chord (Relative Major). It is important to take this relationship into account when interpreting these soleares, since, although it is true that the tension at the beginning of semi-phrase 3 with the G7 chord is resolved in C, there is still a certain tension pending resolution towards the Tonic E, which will appear in the second semi-phrase.
- In the case of the soleá by Paquirri and Charamusco, both perform the cadential movement of the first semi-phrase towards F and the second concludes this Dominant tension with the Andalusian cadence towards E in the second semi-phrase. That is to say, in them, we do not see this change to the relative major, both remaining in the Phrygian mode, although the G7 chord appears incidentally at the end of semi-phrase 3.
