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How possible do you think it is to write flamenco songs in English?
It strikes me that certain palos..tangos, fandangos, sevillanas and rumbas..would be an easier match than the more "gypsy" ones like soleas, sigiuiriyas, bulerias etc
Its something we never see though. I know the open vowels at the end of words in Spanish make it a better fit, but I would think there would be some experimentation in English ( or maybe there has been)...Marc Anthony did some Salsa in English and had some limited success, but I never hear flamenco or flamenco-pop in English
How possible do you think it is to write flamenco songs in English?
It strikes me that certain palos..tangos, fandangos, sevillanas and rumbas..would be an easier match than the more "gypsy" ones like soleas, sigiuiriyas, bulerias etc
Its something we never see though. I know the open vowels at the end of words in Spanish make it a better fit, but I would think there would be some experimentation in English ( or maybe there has been)...Marc Anthony did some Salsa in English and had some limited success, but I never hear flamenco or flamenco-pop in English
Bad idea. It is meant to have a flow and rhyme and rhythm. Translations even a problem unless you have the back story in context too. Lets first try to find people that can actually SING the melodies correct before it all disappears.
One of my old classmates, Johan Frauenfelder happens to be a very funny guy, so it was no surprise that on top of his more serious flamenco work he also started a fun-flamenco group called "de Régâhs". Living in the Dutch city Den Haag they sing parodies of Rumba and Sevillanas in the local dialect" (Règâhs is haags for Reiger which means Heron, like the flamingo a member of the waders). They have very funny lyrics like
bèna bèna bèna, ze ging bèna bèna mee t'was al voor 50% geregeld, ik wilde wel maar zij zei nee
almost,almost,almost, she almost went with me, 't was 50% covered, i said yes but she said no
agreed , it just wouldnt be nice on so many levels .....not only the context and use of ' a different more poetic way of putting things ' but also from the point of English is a time based language and Spanish is syllable based , and a lot more things that would make it sound 'not quite right '
beside why would you want to ??, wouldnt you be loosing something important ?
I suppose we could change all the words to English .. and maybe the chords to...say .... E maj , A7 abd B7. and change it to 12 bars of 4 beats , instead of the 12 beat system that has been there for a few centuries ...and change the harmony to suit , like with a few minor 3rds and 7th in here and there ... I wonder how that would sound .??..certainly more accessible
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