Question: naming flamenco pieces

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TrickyFish

Posts: 55
Joined: Dec. 7 2018

Question: naming flamenco pieces

I’d like to understand the etiquette regarding the naming of flamenco pieces.

Correct me if I’m wrong : Flamenco solos are assembled from different compas variations, falstettas, llamadas etc. These segments can vary from completely original by the artist to rote-learned from the masters or tradition. Any single performance could be improvised, drawing from multiple sources and unique in its own right. The artist uses his / her own style and taste to assemble their performance.

Given much of a performance comprises existing segments (traditional or otherwise), when can an artist justify naming (and claiming) their own interpretation?

That is, is it appropriate to give a name to a performance that is a (unique) assembly of existing falsettas, llamadas, compas variations?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 6 2022 13:13:19

Ricardo

Posts: 14799
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Question: naming flamenco pieces (in reply to TrickyFish)

quote:

ORIGINAL: TrickyFish

I’d like to understand the etiquette regarding the naming of flamenco pieces.

Correct me if I’m wrong : Flamenco solos are assembled from different compas variations, falstettas, llamadas etc. These segments can vary from completely original by the artist to rote-learned from the masters or tradition. Any single performance could be improvised, drawing from multiple sources and unique in its own right. The artist uses his / her own style and taste to assemble their performance.

Given much of a performance comprises existing segments (traditional or otherwise), when can an artist justify naming (and claiming) their own interpretation?

That is, is it appropriate to give a name to a performance that is a (unique) assembly of existing falsettas, llamadas, compas variations?

Since all flamenco is based on forms, this business of creating a unique title for a composition is simply for the sake of copyright and royalty involved with a sound recording. It is typical for recording artists to label a set of new falsetas…but then if a mixture of old and new material is used in a live performance, what to do? Most aficionados don’t care about the titles, only the FORM and the year or time period it was recorded. For example, Paco’s buleria on 1990 album Zyryab was called “soniquete”, but various different live recordings use that title for bulerias even that contained not a single falseta from the original recording. His live shows starting 2010 started to reincorporate that material as a special section in his bulerias.

Conversely Manolo Sanlucar would play his arrangements from Tauromagia note for note in live shows, so it makes sense to use the original titles instead of song forms.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 7 2022 0:51:26

TrickyFish

Posts: 55
Joined: Dec. 7 2018

RE: Question: naming flamenco pieces (in reply to TrickyFish)

Thanks Ricardo. Great response as always.

There’s lots to think about here. Flamenco seems different to most other forms of music in this regard.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 8 2022 6:46:30

Ricardo

Posts: 14799
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Question: naming flamenco pieces (in reply to TrickyFish)

quote:

Flamenco seems different to most other forms of music in this regard.

The blues has the same issue pretty much. I remember arguing with some friends about “blues en minor” by Django and finally realized we where talking about 2 different tunes. Any music that is based on song form. Like the term “prelude” in classical music, “prelude in D minor”…like which one?? Or “the G minor Fugue”…