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I've seen a few vids, and heard a few clips of Zambra and Zambra related items.....
but idiomatically speaking... what am i looking at here? what constitutes a zambra?
i see alot of golpe and alot of "interesting" left hand work... but I haven't been really impressed with the information thats out there written on it...
As I understand it, Zambra or Zambra Mora ( moorish Zambra) is a form from Granada. One of the caves in the Sacromonte has a plaque dedicated to the founders of the Zambra (i'll take a photo later and post it this afternoon). It was originally a dance performed by women with Arabic origin or at least heavy arabic influence. Bells were worn on the ankles to accent the compas. Now I'm guessing this bit but Andalucia was a fairly liberal islamic enclave that permitted music and dancing. It is probable that the Zambra is based on an older dance from the moorish courts. The Alternating bass line of drop D (bass string) to D string is reminiscent of the 'Oud. Musically it was greatly advanced by sabicas who wrote at least 4 versions of the Zambra including a wonderful "fantasia". Many Zambra falsetas that are considered "traditional" are actually Sabicas. The Granadian Guitarist Juan maya Marote also performed Zambra on guitar. I was lucky to learn his version before he died. Sadly it is a form that is rarely performed now which is a shame because it is one of the most evocative of moorish spain.
Originally Moorish party music it was adapated by the Gitanos and the word Zambra was used to denote the place and the the show performed in the caves of the Sacromonte. What is left of that are the dances the alboreá, the cachucha and the mosca, said to represent the three stages in a Gitano wedding which are still performed in the Sacromonte today.
According to my 'Guide to Andalusian Music' Manolo Caracol called his own personal style Zambra but it had nothing to do with the above.
Ah ha nothing is safe from the fiendish smoking sticker man. We get one of these stickers a week put on our door, one day I will catch the bugger. Kate
i though the spainish zambra was related to the arabic word for flute called zampra?
Don't know if thats right or wrong Henry but inclined to think it ios coincidence and go for kates version since the music was originally played on the 'Oud. Hemeola - The compas is always simple 2/4 , 4/4 time. Listen to the Sabicas recordings of Zambra or Danza Arabe. "Castillo moro" is another version that closey resembles that of Juan maya marote. Here is first page. Anyone else wanting this version, please send pm. I will be back on the weekend!
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Compas is related to Tientos/Tangos. A few modern guys do it for baile, Viejin and Jesus de Rosario to name two. At first you might assume it is tangos.
Thats a beautiful composition by Viejin but i got to admit that personally, I prefer the old style of Zambra. The modern composition sounds too close to tangos. To my mind Zambra should sound moorish. Here is (one of) the sabicas version
i notce that there's very little in the way of rasgeuo going on. in fact, there's very little exclusively flamenco technique going on. which is what made me wonder about the compas.
can any body count the cycle? i think i'm either thinking to hard or missing some key information. maybe its simpler than i think....
Little ragwado for sure. I would say, Sabicas the inventor is not likely. This type of thing goes back further than Tarrega IMO, when classical guitar and flamenco guitar as playing styles were not so clear cut.
My all time favorite zambra is still Nino Ricardo's version. Paco Pena plays it on his album: Flamenco guitar music of R. Montoya & N. Ricardo. I think I'm going to sit down and actually start learning this one.
I love the way PP plays it but would love to hear a recording of N. Ricardo himself playing it, oh well...
He has a great tremolo but that is about the most unmusical interpretation of a Danza Mora that I've heard. Go find any recording of Sabicas or Mario Escudero to hear the way it should be played.
I was looking for this thread again because I remebered there was a nice collection of Zambra videos here. In the last year or so I have found that the Zambra can be called Zambra Gitana Zambra Mora Zambra Granaina
I believe these to be different names for exactly the same thing. If anyone knows differently I would be happy if they could point out the differences.
Zambras appear in both flamenco and classical repertoire from Sabicas, Niño miguel, Juan maya Marote to Albeniz, Valverde and LLobet. In most cases the guitar is tuned to a Drop D on the bass.Now, there a couple of Zambras where this isnt the case. For example, Enrique Granados wrote a Zambra in C major (spanish dance number 11). However this was composed on piano and so that would explain why he didnt choose the key of D.
Another category relating to Zambras are "Danzas Arabes". Danzas Arabes seem to appear in both Flamenco and classical repertoires. I have found Danzas Arabes by everyone from De Falla, Sabicas, Granados, Angel Barrios, Tarrega, Paco Peña, Albeniz. Sometimes they are in Drop D tuning sometimes in standard tuning. Nearly all have the characteristic of a bass line in octaves D to D or E to E and are in 4/4 time.
Another similar form are the Arabescas or Arabesques. Arabescas appear in classical music and seem to be related to arabic dances. They are themes with an oriental or moorish influence but dont seem to fit any particular form.
My question is really about the relation between zambras and arabescas. Is the arabesca a classical interpretation of a flamenco Zambra? P
PS. It occurs to me that the Zambra comes specifically from Granada whereas the Arabesque could come from anywhere in Spain with a moorish influence. Perhaps that is the difference?
Some time in the early 1980s I was driving from Algeciras to Cadiz along the coast. But when I got to Tarifa, Africa beckoned.
One of my adventures was at an upscale night club in the basement of a hotel outside Tangier, in the company of some wealthy Morrocans. We arrived around midnight in a convoy of Mercedes limos, segregated by gender so as not to fall afoul of the morality police. The women were accompanied by their maids.
Our reserved table for 16 or 20 people was at the edge of the dance floor. Once everyone was seated and served, the band struck up music that could have been straight from Niño Ricardo's Zambra, literally.
The women stood up to dance. Their maids rummaged in their satchels to produce Hermés scarves, which the women wrapped around their hips, over their Chanel and Balenciaga outfits. They stepped out in what looked to me like belly dancing moves. The maids provided a very complex accompaniment of palmas.
I listened carefully to the music, fascinated. Yes, it was literally zambra mora.
I transcribed Niño Ricardo's version. Paul Magnussen did the same, very accurately and nicely set up in scoring software. I came across Paul's somewhere on the net, maybe in the Tabs section here?
My understanding is that the zambra is the slow end of the zambra - tientos - tangos spectrum.
Donn Pohren has separate entries for zambra and danza mora in The Art of Flamenco, although he states that they’re similar. I’m told that one difference is that (assuming a key of A Phrygian), zambra has the Dm-C-Bb-A chord sequence, and danza mora does not.
You don’t seem to hear a pure zambra so much any more, although Carmen Amaya used to do it, and Manolo Caracol recorded several crappy ones.
Sabas’s solos seem to me to be mostly danza mora. I don’t believe danza árabe exists as a different style — it’s just a title or description.
He recorded them in several keys: e.g. D (on Flamenco! with Carmen), E (Sabicas Vol. 2) and A (Gypsy Flamenco.)
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