Flamenco Guide To Sources

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Metrical and Rhythmic Interpretations in "Cante Flamenco"

Author(s): Eva Ordóñez Flores and Marc Jeannin
Source: The World of Music, Vol. 50, No. 1, Music, Language and Dance: The Articulation of
Structures and Systems (2008), pp. 49-62
Published by: VWB - Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung
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the world of music 50(1) - 2008 : 49-62
Metrical and Rhythmic Interpretations

in Cante Flamenco
Eva Ordóñez Flores and Marc Jeannin
Abstract
This article presents a study of the metrical and rhythmic interpretations in cante
flamenco. Although interpretations of the copla flamenca seem chaotic, it is show
that particular metrical and rhythmical structures precisely underlie its organisation
By analysing the means used by performers, it is possible to determine the structure
on which cante flamenco is based. The organisation of metrical patterns in flamenco
music suggests primary configurations between linguistic and musical accentuation.
In this article, the authors attempt to demonstrate that specific fundamental structures
govern the hierarchical system resulting from the association of linguistic and musica
elements. Correlations between typical forms of coplas are made by analysing metri
cal patterns from both a linguistic and a musical perspective. Furthermore, impro
visation in flamenco music, which is a major characteristic of this musical style, ap-
pears to be confined to relative freedom only, since the framework in which it evolve
is partly defined by deep organisational structures. Finally, it is suggested that the
interpretations of the cante flamenco echo fundamental patterns of Spanish poetry.
Cante flamenco , or cante , is an independent artistic form. It is, so to speak

raw material of flamenco. The original form of flamenco was solely oral, deliv
through singing. Then came the guitar, first as a percussive instrument and th
accompany singers. Actually, in the beginning, the guitar player was not alw
able to accompany the singer because the capo, which enables the guitar to ada
tonality to the singer's voice, did not exist yet. That is the reason why the cant
menco repertoire has a huge range of ad libitum cante. The rhythmical element of
guitars allowed the integration of dance. The combination of those three mea
artistic expression is the most well-known form of flamenco nowadays worldw
though it can be performed according to its previous forms, or even only thr
guitar. A song belonging to cante flamenco repertoire is traditionally made of c
that are presented one after another without a real thematic thread.1 It is not a m
of pre-established songs but one of successive and concise messages which are
50 • the world of music 50(1) - 2008
ceived in the composer's mind following specific patterns. Although the structures
of cante flamenco forms are flexible, very adaptable to specific situations, or even in-
terchangeable, it seems that they share an essential common ground at a metrical and
rhythmical level. Our interest lies in trying to interpret what gives them those quali-
ties. To achieve our goal, we present some aspects of cante flamenco by describ-
ing its structures, by establishing a classification based on metrical and rhythmical
shapes, and by drawing a parallel between its forms and the Spanish poetic ones.
1. Cante Flamenco Structures
The flamenco repertoire comprises almost fifty formats in all. Some of them can
danced and some others can only be sung traditionally. First of all, the interpret
is free to choose the coplas he or she performs and the order in which they app
Then the form of the sung coplas is partly characterised by certain variations wh
are associated with different ornaments. Those ornaments are firstly linked to the i
terpreter's style, then characterised by the type of repertoire, and finally condition
by whether the song accompanies the dance or is interpreted by only one sing
The main distinction made here between those different formats, accompanying
dancer or not, is the existence or non-existence of a rhythmic accompaniment. T
key rhythmic feature is essential to a dance performance and is manifested by t
accompaniment of a guitar, or other forms of percussion such as cajón or palm
Figure 1 shows a brief summary of the main categories making up the flamen
repertoire. Figure la presents the categories of flamenco basic repertoire that can
danced and Figure lb those that can only be sung:
Rhythmical cycle Category

Binary (4, 8 or 16 beats)2 Tangos
Tientos
Taranto
Farruca
Garrotín
Mixed ( 1 2 beats)3 Alegrías group4

Soleares group5
Soleares por bulerías group6
Bulerías group7
Fandangos de Huelva
Mixed (5 strong beats)8 Martinetes and seguiriyas group 9
Figure la. Flamenco repertoire that can be danced.
E. O. Flores & M. Jeannin. Metrical and Rhythmic Interpretations *51
Rhythmical cycle Category

"A palo seco " (ad libitum) Fandangos from Levante
Fandangos from Málaga10
Fandangos from Granada
Fandangos libres
Tonás group11
Cantes del campo y de labor (Songs of
the countryside and of work)
Cantes de ida y vuelta 13
Figure lb. Flamenco repertoire that is sung only.
When the song is meant to accompany the dancer, it must follow rules com
from choreographic requirements. The alegría is one of the most representative
egories of the flamenco repertoire, with the following structure, showing how
number of structural discrepancies will depend on whether it is made to accom
dance or not.
Alegría structure when it is sung:

1 . Sung introduction, for instance tirititrán
2. Letra: the development of the song made of several coplas sung the one af
the other or of coplas and coletillas separated by a rhythmic passage from
guitar
3. Coletilla : short verse that ends the song
Alegría employed as a dance accompaniment:

1 . Sung introduction
2. Letra
3. Castellana : characterised by a quick tempo

4. Silencio : characterised by a very slow tempo
5. Escobilla : structural part of the choreography in which the dancer perfor
his or her footsteps. It displays the dancer's technical qualities
6. Bulería de Cádiz : piece of repertoire usually used to end a danced alegría
In the particular case of the alegría, there is a significant structural metamor

sis between those two forms. The ability to change the structure according t
danced or sung performance is common to all the other palos.13 The following s
ture offers a basic model of reference for the whole flamenco danced repertoire
1 . Sung introduction
2. Copla : there can be several coplas, one after another separated by rhyth
patterns played on guitar
3. Escobilla
4. End: generally, the rhythm speeds up to mark the end of a performance
1.1. Dance and Rhythmic Landmarks
In order to accompany the dancer the song must contain "landmarks" in sound, es-
pecially when the dancer taps on the floor. This is the reason why the rhythm of the
guitar and that of the singing melody must be synchronised. It is imperative that
rhythmical precision be achieved. Melody and rhythm co-ordination must be perfect
in order to produce very precise taps. When a singer performs a song and superposes
lyrics to the music, he or she may add syllables that do not exist in the original copla
in order to create rhythmic variations at a phonetic and musical level. As for dance,
the main element around which song revolves is rhythm.
1.2. Tempo Variations
Tempo is subject to much more variation where dance is concerned. Speeding up,
cuts and silences are an inherent characteristic of the choreography. As far as song
not accompanying the dance is concerned - besides compulsory intrinsic tempo
variations of the palo as in petenera 14 - one cannot really perceive tempo variations
except at the end of the sung performance, where the tendency is to speed up a bit.
There are three kinds of ending. In the first the interpreter speeds up or slows down
the palo. A tango can be ended by speeding up or by slowing down. The second kind
occurs when the interpreter uses a different palo often used with an ending function.
For instance, a soleá can finish with a buleria : this last piece of the flamenco reper-
toire is often used as an ending in all palos that have a twelve-beat mixed rhythmic
cycle. The third case consists in using a palo with a specific ending function. This is
the case with the caña that always ends with a macho}5
2. Spanish Metrics and Cante Flamenco Metrical Structures
In Spanish poetry, it appears that stanzas (estrofas), or verses, are typically divided
up into individual lines of poetry (versos). In theory and although specific patterns
or schemes exist (thus giving an underlying structure to the poetic text), the creative
singer can freely order rhymes in cante flamenco. In practice, many rhyme structures
are encountered for a given copla. For instance, in some poems each stanza can have
a different rhyme scheme, that is, new rhymes may appear in each stanza, but each
stanza is ruled by an underlying pattern.
The metrics of copla flamenca obey rules corresponding to the rhythmic system
of Spanish poetry. Some essential principles need to be mentioned in order to go
further with an analysis of cante flamenco. First, accentual characteristics of Spanish
have to be taken into account. According to the stressing of words, four categories
can be distinguished. Words are said to be agudos when they are stressed on the last
syllable (for example, acción ), as also happens in French. They are said to be llanos
when the stress falls on the penultimate syllable (for example, lápiz), esdrújulos
E. O. Flores & M. Jeannin. Metrical and Rhythmic Interpretations • 53
when the stress is on the antepenultimate syllable (for example, esdrújulo ), and so-
bresdrújulos when they are stressed on the syllable preceding the antepenultimate
one (for example, cómetelo)}6 Those distinctions are important because the nature
of the word that is placed at the end of the line of verse determines the number of
syllables that the line actually contains. For instance, if the last word of the line is of
the agudo type, one syllable has to be added to the original count. In other cases, if
the word is a llano type, the count remains unchanged, whereas if it is an esdrújulo
or a sobresdrújulo type, one syllable has to be subtracted from the initial count (Fig-
ure 2).
Stress placement Metrical counting

last syllable +1
penultimate syllable unchanged
antepenultimate syllable -1
Fig . 2. Stress placement and metrical counting in copla flamenco.
Moreover, the linking of adjacent vowels must be considered. As a matt

fact, when a word ends with a vowel and is followed by another word beg
with a vowel, the adjacent vowels are pronounced as if within a single sylla
example, in the poem entitled "Los encuentros de un caracol aventurero "
counters of an Adventurous Nail) by Federico García Lorca (1943:175), the
ing of syllables is as indicated below, with an underscore to mark each pair
vowels and bold text to show the placement of stress:
En la Alameda = 5 In Alameda
un manantial recita = 7 a spring recites

su canto entre las hierbas = 7 its song between grasses
Y el caracol, pacífico = (8-1)7 And the nail, peaceful
burgués de la vereda, = 7 bourgeois,
ignorado v humilde, = 7 ignored and humble,
el paisaje contempla. = 7 contemplates the landscape.
La divina quietud = (6+1 ) 7 The divine peace
de la Naturaleza = 7 of Nature
le dio valor y fe, = (6+1) 7 gave him courage and faith,

y_olvidando las penas = 7 and forgetting its sadness
de su hogar, deseó = (6+1) 7 from its home, he wished
ver el fin de la senda. = ! to see the end of the road.
This counting system remains the same in cante flamenco poetry, k

mind all the phonetic mutations that arise in the accent of Andalusian p
accompanying dance, the singer does not merely superpose the text on
rhythm but endeavours to rhythmically decorate the text. From the orig
the copla to that actually performed there are several transformations
analysed at different levels. Firstly, the construction of the copla is the
singer's creative mind. This first mental representation, somewhat unconscious, is

what we call the original form. Secondly, the stanza is the result of an adaptation of
the text to a melody and format of the palo. In other words, at this stage, lines of
verse repeat themselves one or several times and their positions are modified. Fi-
nally, the level corresponding to the interpretation, is the one in which the interpreter
adds a personal touch.
From a musical and linguistic point of view, the analysis of word placement
within the score reveals several aspects which are very characteristic of the cante
flamenco. To begin with, each line of text occupies no more than three bars and each
begins on an off-beat. The last stressed syllable of each sentence very often corre-
sponds to a syncopated note. The following model of tiento is an excerpt from the
recording by Antonio Valdepeñas taken from the Gran antología flamenco (Cabal-
lero Bonald n.d., vol. II, side B).
Basic form
Ya te he dicho que el entierro I have already told you

no lo pases por mi puerta. Do not let the procession pass by my door
Porque ni viva, ni muerta, For dead or alive
la cara quiero mirarle. I do not want to see her face
Adapted form corresponding to the tiento

No lo pases por mi puerta. Do not let it pass by my door.
Por mi puerta no lo pases. In front of my door, do not let it pass by.
Ya te he dicho que el entierro I have already told you not to let the procession
No lo pases por mi puerta. Pass by my door,
porque ni viva, ni muerta, For dead or alive,
la carita quiero mirarle. I do not want to see her little face
Optional refrain (< coletilla )

¿ Qué quieres de mí? What do you want from me?
¿ Qué quieres de mí? What do you want from me?
Que hasta el agüita que bebo Even the water I drink
te la tengo que pedí... I need to beg you for it
The score in Figure 3 has been transcribed from the recording mentioned above.
Fig. 3. Tiento performed by Antonio Valdepeñas.
2.1. Varying the Tiento
The tiento is a representative piece of the flamenco repertoire because it shows s

al common phenomena of the cante flamenco. Before attempting to analyse the
rical and rhythmical structures of the tiento , it has to be borne in mind that vari
and improvisations are fundamental parameters related to the cante flamenco s
Interactions between words, rhythm and dance are made through multiple orna
tation and encrustation, which greatly deviate from the original text. The singer,
traditionally adds extra notes, modifies the melody of the text. Stanzas resulting f
a copia are characterised in flamenco by the inversion and the repetition of lines of
verse. From the original copla to the final version produced in performance, many
transformations and phenomena occur. Several stages can be distinguished. Firstly,
interpreters improvise by modifying the structure of the copla. Secondly, the struc-
ture of the stanza is derived from a text set to music and a formal model of the palo.
That is to say, lines of verse may be repeated one or several times and are bound to be
differently placed within the score. Thirdly and finally, the stanzas derived from the
copia are very often characterised in flamenco by the inversion and the repetition of
the line of verse.The following example illustrates the basic form of the tiento. This
way of counting corresponds to the standard way of counting in Spanish poetry.
Original copla
Ya te he dicho que el entierro 8 I have already told you the procession,
No lo pases por mi puerta 8 Do not let it pass by my door
Porque ni viva, ni muerta 8 For dead or alive
La cara quiero mirarle 8 I do not want to see her face
Several types of rhythmical and metrical ornamentation can be distinguished

when compared to the original copla , involving the use of synonyms, diminutives,
flourishes and inlays, together with personal contributions to the copia. An account
of each of those types is given in the following paragraphs.
2.2. Synonyms
The text can be partially sung in its original metric form but it is more common to
directly sing it with ornamentation. That is the reason why, on first analysis, the
text does not seem to have a precise metrical structure. The means used by the per-
former are primarily based on phonetic rhythmical effects. It is obvious that these
means work all the more if the rhythmic profile is dynamic, as is also the case for the
alegría and buleria. Thus, it is possible to distinguish several types of rhythmic and
metrical ornamentation. In the following example, the word casa (line 4) replaces
puerta (line 1), an alteration which an informed audience is normally aware of from
the start. The sentence appears to be inverted but the meaning remains the same.
Indeed, such discrepancies allow listeners to appreciate the singer's mastery as com-
pared to other performers. In this way, the singer calls for the memory and the im-
plicit knowledge of the connoisseur. In general, the audience partly knows the reper-
toire and easily recognises the original structure of the copla that has been sung.
Model of variations (the 1st and 4th lines are synonymous with the 2nd):
No lo pases por mi puerta 8 Do not let it pass by my door
Por mi casa no lo pases 8 In front of my home, do not let it pass by.
Ya te he dicho que el entierro 8 I have already told you the procession
No lo pases por mi casa 8 Must not pass by my house,
Porque ni viva ni muerta 8 For dead or alive,
La carita quiero mirarle 8+1 -> 9 I do not want to see her little face.
Variations of the text can be shaped within the frame of rhythmic and metrical
ornamentation when the informed audience compares it to an already sung stanza
of the text.17
2.3. Diminutives
Diminutive words generally add one syllable to individual lines. Singers are able to
place this extra syllable within the required pattern by dividing beats with notes in
order to include a rhythmic figure as triplets or something else. It is the same for syn-
onyms whose length is different from that of the original word of the copla. Those
effects are more tangible when the line in its original metric has been given once.
Nevertheless, if it is a very well-known copla the informed audience appreciates
those effects all the more.
2.4. Flourishes and Inlays: ¡que! and ¡ay!
Flourishes can be justified at a musical level but not at a semantic one because they
do not change the original meaning. Moreover, when they appear, most of the time,
the sentence becomes grammatically wrong. In practice, the song commonly be-
gins with an exclamatory word (e.g. ¡que! or ¡ay!) which does not belong to the
original copla placed before the first line to avoid marring its syntactic construction.
Such exclamations are assimilated as ornaments into the flamenco song, and are
used obligatorily at the start of the tango del Piyayo (one of several variants of the
tango). Actually, this category of repertoire begins with a series of ¡ay!, ¡ay! ¡que!,
which can be instantly recognised. During the rendition of a song with a very quick
tempo, it is possible that performers inlay songs with syllables such as ¡que! within
a word - even if this syllable does not belong to it - deforming the word to such an
extent it becomes hardly intelligible. For example, "Dime tú dónde te metes que a
tí te ando buscando de las cinco las siete" sung by Enrique El Extremeño becomes
"Dime tú dónde te metes que a tí que a tí te ando buscando que de que las cinco a
las siete".18
There are other inlays, such as:
Babeos : a phonetic means comprising giving several repetitive points of emphasis to a pro-
longed vowel by inserting plosives. The last vowel of a verse, for instance an "f ,
becomes " ibibibiiiiF, or "guegueguiiF.
Lalies : interjections or syllable sequences with no meaning, used in flamenco song for their
rhythmical function as: " loleilo , bleib..", " laib , lailo, lolailo..." or "tirititrán...".
Jaleo : flourishes that give a rhythmic effect to the text, as used at all levels of the flamen-
co main genre and style. The support given by the cuadro flamenco members in-
clude meaningful words, such as ¡guapa! (beautiful), ¡bonita! (nice), or just empha-
sise rhythmic effects with words such as ¡Toma, toma, toma, ya! (take, take, take,
now),/7bma, que toma, que toma! (take, and take, and take), or meaningless words
similar to lalies , such as / Sa-sá ! ¡Sa-sa-sa-sá!, or finally a combination of the last

two, such as ÎEje, toma !
2.5. Personal Contributions to the Copla
Sometimes singers ornament the end of a line of verse by adding a personal touch
that has a link with the line but does not belong to it. There is a kind of "verbal or-
namental encrustation" which functions in the same way as a musical ornament. A
musical ornament is an element which does not interfere with the evolution of the
melody and, when it is present, does not imply a slower tempo. In other words, there
is no rhythmical and melodic deformation whether it is exists or not. It is also true
for those verbal ornamental flourishes of style. Nevertheless, as personal music or-
naments, their function is to rhythmically embellish the song. For a connoisseur, the
meaning of the copla does not change anything. For instance, the following orna-
mental form gives a hint of humour or expressiveness in the final result given by El
Flecha de Cádiz when he sings this alegría :
Dime de que te ha servido = 8 Tell me what you got
el saber lo que tu sabes, = 8 From knowing all that you know,
dime de que te ha servido = 8 Tell me what you got
yo me he burlaíto de tí, niña tonta = 8+4 I took you for a fool, silly girl
y tú no lo has comprendido. = 8 And you didn't even realise it.
Yo me he burlaíto de tí, = 8 I took you for a fool,
y tú no lo has comprendido. = 8 And you didn't even realise it.
Another illustration of this phenomenon can be observed when José Mercé re-
places the last two syllables of the last copla of a soleá with clicking of the fingers.19
This kind of "insolence" is generally very much appreciated by the audience.
Diez años después de muerto And my body is eaten by worms

Y de gusanos comido My bones will have signs
Letreros tendrán mis huesos Of how long I loved you
Del tiempo que te he queXX Ten years after my death
Sometimes, inlayed sentences claim their own place within the verse by replac-
ing lines. Those are standard sentences such as "Valgame Diós compañera" (God
willing) and "Primita de mis entrañas" (my beloved partner) that can also be used
in such internal transformations, as is also the case with full lines. For example,
"Primita de mis entrañas" becomes "Primita mía de mis entrañas". Here is a very
widespread example of this phenomenon in the petenera with the sentence "Madre
de mi corazón".
Original form of the copla :

Condenado estoy a muerte I am sentenced to death
si me ven hablar contigo. If they see me talking to you.
Ya pueden los matadores The matadors can already
prevenir a los cuchillos. Anticipate stabs.
Fig. 4. Transcription of Tiento.
Adapted stanza (performance of the peteneras):

Ya pueden los matadors The matadors can already
madre de mi corazón Beloved mother
Ya pueden los matadors The matadors can already
prevenir a los cuchillos. Anticipate stabs.
Figure 4 has been transcribed according to the original recording mentioned above.
3. Conclusion
Even though musical and linguistic forms in coplas do not seem to refer a pri
an organised frame (odd or partial repetitions, inversions, ornamentation, abn
metrical structures, etc.), an analysis of structures reveals the contrary. It is prec
because there is an underlying structure at a metrical and rhythmical level that v
tions of the organisation of coplas are made possible. Indeed, the variations of
structures are actually the fundamental requirements of this repertoire. Varian
practically the same when one compares and cross-checks them. Different pat
observed in various examples of rhythmical and musical ornamentation funda
tally reflect Spanish poetic structures. Some phonetic ornamentation can be devel-
oped according to somewhat fixed metrical patterns acting as rhythmical models.
The abnormalities induced by those variations are the norm in flamenco. Those as-
pects are recurrent. This can be partly interpreted by the fact that the passing on of
the cante flamenco practice of these forms remains oral up to now, implying, on the
one hand, a complete freedom and important differences of interpretation according
to the performer but, on the other hand, suggesting that an implicit reference is made
to underlying structures belonging to the common core representations of flamenco.
It seems that in order to be developed, flamenco music needs to make reference to
an implicit structural metrical and rhythmic background. This reference is so subtle
that the informed audience always rediscovers it through variations. Therefore, the
interactive relation between the performer and the audience also defines flamenco.
The audience has to find the structural roots on which the performance is developed
in order to really appreciate the subtleties of the show. Finally it can be added that,
from the complex association of linguistic and musical elements, flamenco music
has developed its own semiotics built on special relations between poetry, music and
dance, which explains its particular aesthetics.
Notes
1 Coplas generally correspond to a verse containing between four and six lines.
2 When a binary rhythm is used, cycles can be counted in a multiple of 4, e.g. 4, 8 or 16.
3 A mixed rhythmic cycle contains dances that always have the same rhythmical cycle and al-
most the same choreographic structure. They can be differentiated by the content of their rhyth-
mic cycle. The rhythmical cycle is made of 12 beats. In the following scheme, a cycle begins
with "<" and ends on ">" and stress falls on the underlined beats: </12 1 2/3 45/67/89 /JJ3
1 1/ 12 1 2/3 4 5 /6 7/ 8 9 /10>. Thus, the cycle begins on the 12th beat and ends on the 10th
one.
4 This group includes alegrías , alegrías de Cordoba , caracoles , romeras , can

brás.
5 This group includes soleares , caña , polo and fandango .

6 This group includes soleares por bulerías , bambera and romance (also called
times also alboreá , petenera and guajira that can have the same rhythmic cycle
1 This group includes bulerías , sometimes fandango , alboreá , petenera and gu
the same rhythmic cycle as the soleá por buleria.
8 The rhythmic cycle has 12 beats. In the following scheme, a cycle begins with "
">" and stress falls on the numbered beats, weak beats are represented her
- - 4 - - 5 - 1 - 2- 3- -4--5> (only strong beats are counted in the traditional m
ing)
9 This group includes martinetes , seguiriyas , serranas , cabales , liviana and sometimes any song
from the tonás group arranged for a dance accompaniment.
10 Some of them are not sung ad libitum but nevertheless they still cannot be danced. Some fan-
dangos from Málaga are accompanied by a guitar player.
1 1 This group includes toná grande , toná chica , debía , carcelera and martinete when it is sung ad
libitum.
12 Those songs, as well as vidalita and milonga , have not any obvious rhythmic accompaniment.
The two others pieces of this group, colombiana and guajira can be danced. The first one be-
longs to the binary group while the second one belongs to the bulerías group.
1 3 A palo is a piece of repertoire that generally refers to singing.
14 Petenera : piece of flamenco repertoire belonging to the soleares por bulerías or bulerías
group.
15 A macho is a specific form of flamenco song especially used to end caña and polo. It is always
made of the same melody and letra : "To' el mundo le pide a Dios / la salí, la libertà / y yo que
le pi 'o la muerte / no me la quiere mandá " (Everybody asks god / for health, freedom / And I
ask only for death / yet he does not want to send it to me).
16 According to Quilis 2001, only 2,76% of Spanish words are stressed on the syllable preceding
the antepenultimate one. All of them correspond to palabras compuestas (lexical words bound
to a pronoun) and they are very unusual in Spanish poetry. It has to be added that there is a lack
of explanation about why the metric counting of verses ending with sobresdrújula words is tra-
ditionally not different from the one used for words stressed on the antepenultimate syllable.
1 7 Spanish accentuation can vary from one word to another and so contribute to the emphasis of
small rhythmic changes.
1 8 From the song Dáme de tu boca-Buleríay (From Give Me of Your Mouth-Bulerias).
19 Snaps are represented here with "X". The audience can guess the word " querido " from the
topic of the copla and the rhyme that should occur.
References
Caballero Bonald, José Manuel, dir. and prod.

n.d. Gran antología flamenco. RCA Records, Ariola Eurodisc, S.A., CL-35220, M 8245-
1979.
García Lorca, Federico

1 943 Romancero gitano. Buenos Aires: Collection Biblioteca Contemporánea, édition Losa-
da.
Quilis, Antonio
2001 Métrica española, edición actualizada y ampliada. Barcelona: Editions Ariel.
Appendix: Discography
Chano Lobato
1996 La nuez moscá. París: Collección Flamenco Vivo, Auvidis/Ethnic.
2000 Azúcar candé. Madrid: Muxxic Records SA.
Enrique "El Extremeño"

1999 ¡Ay qué!. Madrid: Label Senador.
Various Authors
1976 Gran antología del flamenco. Madrid: RCA Records.
1988 Medio siglo de cante flamenco. Madrid: Ariola Eurodisc.

Flamenco Guide To Sources

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Metrical and Rhythmic Interpretations in "Cante Flamenco"

Metrical and Rhythmic Interpretations

Eva Ordóñez Flores and Marc Jeannin

Cante flamenco , or cante , is an independent artistic form. It is, so to speak

1. Cante Flamenco Structures

Rhythmical cycle Category

Mixed ( 1 2 beats)3 Alegrías group4

Figure la. Flamenco repertoire that can be danced.

Rhythmical cycle Category

Figure lb. Flamenco repertoire that is sung only.

Alegría structure when it is sung:

Alegría employed as a dance accompaniment:

3. Castellana : characterised by a quick tempo

In the particular case of the alegría, there is a significant structural metamor

1.1. Dance and Rhythmic Landmarks

1.2. Tempo Variations

2. Spanish Metrics and Cante Flamenco Metrical Structures

Stress placement Metrical counting

Fig . 2. Stress placement and metrical counting in copla flamenco.

Moreover, the linking of adjacent vowels must be considered. As a matt

un manantial recita = 7 a spring recites

le dio valor y fe, = (6+1) 7 gave him courage and faith,

This counting system remains the same in cante flamenco poetry, k

singer's creative mind. This first mental representation, somewhat unconscious, is

Ya te he dicho que el entierro I have already told you

Adapted form corresponding to the tiento

Optional refrain (< coletilla )

Fig. 3. Tiento performed by Antonio Valdepeñas.

2.1. Varying the Tiento

The tiento is a representative piece of the flamenco repertoire because it shows s

Several types of rhythmical and metrical ornamentation can be distinguished

2.4. Flourishes and Inlays: ¡que! and ¡ay!

similar to lalies , such as / Sa-sá ! ¡Sa-sa-sa-sá!, or finally a combination of the last

2.5. Personal Contributions to the Copla

Diez años después de muerto And my body is eaten by worms

Original form of the copla :

Fig. 4. Transcription of Tiento.

Adapted stanza (performance of the peteneras):

4 This group includes alegrías , alegrías de Cordoba , caracoles , romeras , can

5 This group includes soleares , caña , polo and fandango .

Caballero Bonald, José Manuel, dir. and prod.

García Lorca, Federico

Enrique "El Extremeño"

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