zata -> RE: Solea' in Eminor...More odds and ends... (Apr. 26 2013 11:11:39)
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Ricardo stated my father and i think like guitar soloists (indeed our main course) and as such i tend to believe "solea"and "solea por bulerias"demand a different kind of approach of the guitar player, both in accompanying as in SOLO playing. A “guitar solo of soleá por bulería” is an oxymoron, but the term circulates because record companies don’t like to see titles repeated. It’s like 50 years ago when Cádiz singer Manolo Vargas recorded both “alegrías” and “cantinas” on a record, and when asked what the difference was (flamenco fans didn’t used to distinguish between the two) he answered it was only because the record company wouldn’t let him record two “alegrías”. Flamenco forms, like word definitions, depend on who, when and where. Slow and phrased soleá is a relatively recent creation that came about in the tablao area beginning around the early sixties. Decades ago when I started singing for classes at Amor de Dios, I was shocked at how slowly dance teacher María Rosa was giving her students soleá, and adapting to the pace was unbelievably difficult. Now I’m quite convinced such excesses detract from the cante (while possibly favoring the drama of the dance), because the verse and music lose coherence, and even compás ceases to work as glue. I was very glad they asked me to do a plain soleares (por arriba) and not one of my angstgegners "solea por medio"or "solea por bulias". I had the privilege to experience both palos in the years preceding my final exam, Por medio and por arriba are positions, not palos. Soleá is a palo. A singer may sing soleá without musical accompaniment, or a guitarist may come along and accompany their cante. Depending on the singer’s register, the guitarist might choose to play por arriba, por medio or any combination of contemporary positions and harmonies. This is when the singer’s “true tone” becomes relevant…not “por arriba on 3”, but “G” for example, and I hear younger guitarists speak in these terms…although hell would probably have to freeze over and defrost a few times before most singers could grasp that. Personally i found it very difficult to play "solea por medio"because (like many others) i always tended to mutate to "solea por bulerias" which (as i understood ) was considered to have a different kind of swing (regardless the speed). Anyone who tells you that, is simplifying to make it easier for you. I know from experience students want clear-cut explanations, not blurry statements about “sometimes…often…there are people who…”, I don’t blame teachers who resort to simplification, but then it’s up to the individual to discover the nuances. As soon as i tended to mutate swing from Solea por medio> solea por buleria both my father, paco, the singer and the dancer would correct me, inviting me to try it again...and again...and again....i never got a hang of it. It makes sense, they want you to be sensitive to different “aires”. It also lends more variety to a solo repertoire. In Lebrija, which is on the border between Jerez flamenco (slow soleá) and Sevilla flamenco (clippy soleá), it was becoming fashionable for a few years for guitarists to refer to “soleá rítmica” to indicate soleá as interpreted in Sevilla province. But singers aren’t taking to it (last year I saw Inés Bacán announce “soleá rítmica” and then crack up right on stage), so I don’t think it’s going to stick, and you need to be sensitive to which accompaniment your singer wants. If it’s a guitar solo, do whatever you like, and call it whatever you like. When i listen to the really great players accompanying "por medio"or "por bulerias"i do indeed detect and appreciate a difference in the swing and approach and admire there ability not to mutate from 1 form to the other unintended. The same subtle difference in playing style and rhythmic approach i also tend to detect when they play SOLO, but only with the really great players. You’re looking for something that doesn’t exist. There are not two forms but a variety of interpretations of soleá. By contrast, soleá por bulería (bulería por soleá, bulerías al golpe, bulería pa’escuchá) does always have that unphrased feel (which is also used for soleá)…not necessarily faster, just unphrased and march-like. The bottom line is, the cante, not the tempo or interpretation, is what determines the “palo” (forgive quote marks, my generation is still uncomfortable with that word), and there is no substitute for listening to a lot of cante and distinguishing the forms.
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