A fundamental step for the cellist is to begin the practice of being aware of the scales that he/she is going to play, as well as having ease in transporting different keys because depending on the singer he/she is with, he/she will have to transport quickly. I also consider fundamental the practice with a base of the compás in order to, later on, be able to find the moments of flexibility.
The multiple syncopations are one of the essential elements to provide that typical flamenco character in which it seems that everything is slipping. That is why it is relevant for the cellist to pay special attention to their articulation, as well as to the rhythmic accuracy when they appear. To provoke this counter-tempo effect, one of the techniques that give good results is to mark the beginning of the syncopated note and then stop holding the sound. Especially important are these in the endings of the Andalusian cadence, highlighting the relationship of tension-distension between -F-E.
These endings of the Andalucian cadence usually have common melodic patterns in the different soleares, since they always go from a higher note descending towards E. To offer variety to this cadence I have found several options with the cello:
- Option 1: sliding down with a glissando.
- Option 2: Slide down with a glissando but mark each note of the glissando, putting more weight on the finger.
- Option 3: ornamenting with descending scales on the main notes but trying not to put weight on the left hand, thus giving it a less articulate and clear sound.
- Option 4: make acciaccaturas on the main notes of the descent.
- Option 5: Mordents of three notes with different rhythms.
As has been mentioned before, it is important for the cellist to stay connected to the guitar on beats 3 and 10 of the solea compás and to maintain a certain connection also on beats 7 and 8. In the rest of the beats, there is greater rhythmic freedom. On the other hand, it is important to have awareness of what happens in beat 12, in which the guitarist hits the guitar gives us certain clues about when to start the phrase again.
It is pretty obvious that each cantaor/a has a different type of voice (hoarse, melismatic, powerful...) and with this, they will sing trying to enhance this timbre. These, in the cello, can be achieved through the bow and vibrato. In this sense, it is possible to imitate a more powerful voice using a sostenuto sound, more melismatic by moving quickly and not marking the notes too much or more hoarsely, using more air in the arch. There are endless possibilities and it all depends on the performer and what sound they want to use in the performance. Regarding all these differences, I have found some ways of interpretation with the cello that facilitate the translation to the instrument of the voice, making it sound flamenco:
- Distortion of the sound with a lot of speed to the bridge (Jipio).
- Changing the string and making a glissando towards the one we changed, produces a micro detuning and an articulation similar to that of the voice, which sometimes does not go cleanly and clearly from one note to another.
- When the syllables are extended, try not to articulate each note of it, playing them legato, if possible in the same arcade.
- Various options with the vibrato: the possible combinations are innumerable, but one of the ones that offer very good results is the one in which a slow vibrato is combined with a slow bow at the beginning of a note that we want to highlight and in which little by little the vibrato becomes more and more narrow.
- Move the pitch of the ending note a third-down a bit to create a quarter-tone effect.
- When notes are repeated, to avoid monotony it is possible to add an acciaccatura with the next finger at a distance that is not precise.
This research has served as motivation to begin to investigate a world in which I was always interested, but as with jazz or the classical world, it is not easy to learn a language in a year. It has been a very enriching and satisfying process, as it has opened doors to the future and has sparked my interest. That is why one of the challenges for next year is to study for the master of flamencology in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), in order to continue training with experts on the subject. With this, I will also get to know the rest of the styles and of course, continue investigating the world of soleares. As a performer, I would also like to approach the language of guitarists and see how it can be applied to the cello at the same time that I have a special interest in collaborating with dancers and thus learning to play for them. Looking even further afield, I would love to be able to create my own songs as well as go from traditional to something more fusion.
The theme is varied, although in general, it usually deals with everyday problems, prevailing a point of view of sorrow. It is obvious that with the cello it is not possible to express the lyrics, but it is important to know them since they inspire the interpretation, due to the relationship between the musical expression and the meaning of the text. In addition, knowledge of the text and its articulation also helps the cellist to know the moments in which the articulation should be more marked (example sound -t- or -r-) and allows criteria when embellishing the main melody, since there are times when the syllables follow each other quickly, leaving no room for ornamentation, and others when syllables are lengthened, leaving space for greater interpretive flexibility. These moments usually coincide with those in which the guitar does not change the harmony.
It is not often that a solea is sung in isolation, but when we speak of cante por soleares we must refer to the cante of successive soleares. For this reason, we distinguish within this conclusion the structure of the cante por soleares from the solea (as a unit).
The structure of cante por soleares is shared by other styles such as bulerias and is as follows: INTRO GUITAR- AYEO- CANTE- FALSETA-CANTE-FALSETA…- CANTE DE REMATE (being able to do more or fewer cantes at the discretion of the musicians). There are soleares that are used to begin when the voice is not yet very warm, others as transitions and finally, others as closings. Commonly, those that are sung at the beginning have a lower melodic range and usually have four verses. Except in the case of soleas apolás, which although they are sung at the beginning we always observe a wide melodic range.
Focusing on the internal structure of soleares, the following statements are made:
- We usually find two quite regular parts A and B.
- The cante begins at the upbeat on the second beat.
- We find progressions frequently. Commonly at the beginning of the sentence B.
- In the B section, as I mentioned before, on many occasions the relative major ( C ) is passed through the secondary dominant of G7, both in the melody and in the guitar. Referring to the lyrics, this change usually happens in the second line of a short soleá or in the third line of a large solea.
- When two identical semi-phrases are repeated there is always a guitar interlude in the middle to separate them.
- The Andalusian cadence appears in all of them, always in the second semi-sentence of B and sometimes in the second semi-sentence of A.
- Commonly the two semi-sentences of part B are repeated, forming a structure of four semi-sentences in this section. This repetition is sometimes ornate or goes more or less directly towards the end.
- There is a certain freedom to create structures, as we have seen in the case of Charamusco, who begins the melody with the flamenco cadence (b), instead of with a part.
The guitar is commonly the instrument that sustains the harmony, as has been explained in chapter four. This one emerged after the cante in order to sustain it and that is why, knowing the movement and harmonic rhythm allows cellists to approach the structure and movement of cante. Some conclusions about the harmonic language of the guitar are the following:
- Always perform the same harmonic rhythm, thus marking the moments of greater flexibility or rigor in the cante.
- The moments of the greatest connection between the guitarist and the singer are always found on beats 3 and 10 (end of the phrases).
- There is usually a moment of movement towards the relative major (C), usually in the B section, through the secondary dominant of G7, both in the melody and in the guitar. Referring to the lyrics, this change usually happens in the second line of a short soleá or in the third line of a large soleá.
- The Andalucian cadence is always found in tempos 1 2 3 of the second and fourth semi-phrases and is reinforced in tempos 7-8-9-10.
In general terms, I would like to point out that after listening to multiple soleares and transcribing six of them, I have arrived to the conclusion that the best way to transfer flamenco singing to the cello is by assimilating the language. This assimilation, in my opinion, should never arise from the score to the practice, since it is tremendously complex to capture every detail of the cante and, furthermore, it would be meaningless since even the same singers do not perform the same version twice. Therefore, from my point of view, listening, imitation, and practice are the best way to be able to make interpretive decisions and create an own musical identity. At the same time, due in part to this lack of scores, I believe that flexibility and improvisation are very important factors in flamenco and that this flexibility is created through listening to others and paying full attention to the present moment, which is only possible if rhythm and melody are part of our vocabulary. However, I do believe that the transcriptions, as well as the analysis of the characteristics of this language, can speed up the process and be useful for finding common ground between melodies, facilitating an approach to the flamenco language, and helping to understand the issues that raises this musical style.
So, to the Research Question:
'What are the melodic, rhythmical, harmonic, and structural characteristics of the cante por soleares and what tools can cellists use to imitate it in order to become a singing voice?'
I have arrived to the following answers:
The rhythmic pattern of the soleares is made up of twelve pulses, in which the mixture of the 3x4 + 6x8 bars is joined, so we find a contrast between the binary and the ternary. The fundamental rhythmic role is played by the guitar, which is sometimes joined by marking with the knuckles on the table or with palms. It is important to point out that, contrary to what happens in other more rhythmic and faster styles such as bulerías, clapping is not characteristic of this style, since, due to its flexible nature and because it is less rhythmic music, very marked clapping is not used to accompany, since it would break the conversation between guitar and cante and the flexibility that it offers.
All of the melodies are different because they are created by different people but we can see two types according to the notes used and the chords:
- The ones that stay in the Phrygian mode.
- The ones that go to the Major in part B.
It is also possible to find two types of scales:
- Phrygian scale.
- Phrygian scale with the G#.