Today you’ll read a blog post that you are not expecting from Anıl Uzun.
I will talk about Flamenko!
Ai ai ai!
Flamenco, in other words Andalusian Folk Music, is known as a non-academic European form of music.
Although it is not known exactly where the term flamenco comes from, there are various theories on this subject. Some of these theories are as follows; Spanish Jews immigrated to places where they could sing their religious songs undisturbed, and these songs were called “Flamenco” by the Jews who stayed in Spain. The word flamenco is derived from Arabic words that read “fellah minkum” meaning “farmer from you”. In the beginning of the 19th century, it was used as a slang word meaning arrogant, insulting person.
Another story about the term flamenco is based on the name of Flamo Mengue, an oud artist who lived in Andalusia. Castilian guitarists, who admired Flamo Mengue’s style of playing the oud, created a school in their guitar playing style and named this school as flamomengue. It is claimed that over time, the name of this school has turned into flamenco. However, this story is accepted to be a rumor.
Although the essence of flamenco is song, guitar and improvised dance accompany the song. Flamenco is divided into three classes. The most dignified is “cante jondo” (deep song) which called “cante grande” means the great song and deals with death, grief and religion. In the middle class, there is also a poignant but less dignified “cante intermedio” (middle song), mostly with oriental music. The subjects of “cante chico” (small song), the lightest style, are love, rural life and entertainment. Each style has its own rhythm and chord structure. They differ from each other with emphasis and emotional content differences.
How is it started?
The city of Cadiz, located in the Andalusia region of Spain, is known as the oldest settlement in Europe. Founded by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC, the city came under the control of the ancient Greeks in 550 BC. The city of Cadiz and its region became a part of the Roman Empire. In 711, Arabs, Syrians and Berbers known as Moors (Moroccans) invaded Spain and dominated here for about 800 years. In this process, Arab, Berber and Persian culture greatly affected the cultural, social and artistic structure of Spain.
As the 1400s came to an end, Christian denomination began again in Spain. According to the data obtained; at the same time there were also Gypsy communities in Spain. It is estimated that Andalusian culture and the culture of Gypsy peoples started to blend in this process.
Flamenco, which is a form of art that brings together the cultural mosaic of the Spanish lands as dance and music, has also started to grow in this environment. As the first half of the 1800’s ended, flamenco began to take its current form. Along with music, more emphasis was placed on song lyrics and dance. In the same period, the first known flamenco nightclub was opened in the Spanish city of Seville with the name Cafe Cante. With the nightclub opened in 1842, changes began in both dance figures, and shoes and costumes.
Spreading to the world
The spread of flamenco to the world took place with the departure of many artists and scientists who fled the civil war that started in Spain in 1936.
The popularity of flamenco, which finds a great place in the entertainment and art world from opera to festivals, began to decline in the 1960s, especially with the rise of Blues and Jazz. But in this period, old songs started to be recorded, the history of flamenco began to be researched and its types started to be analyzed. In 1958, “Catedra de Flamencologia” was founded to protect flamenco and to conduct research on flamenco.
At the end of the 1960s, Paco de Lucia’s first album was released, and the revolution of the flamenco guitar really started. His album “Rumba” drew national interest in Spain on flamenco.
In the 1970s, Camaron, the young genius of the “cante” (song) who Paco collaborated with, was the most influential singer. Again in the 1970s, the phenomenon of festival emerged. The sincerity and improvisation in flamenco gave way to mastery and business.
In the 1980s, technical developments took place in every field of art. It brought with it the commercial boom.
Today, with its flexible structure, Flamenco continues to increase its cultural accumulation with opening itself to development.
See you until next!
Anıl Uzun