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Part 3 PDF
Part 3 PDF
whereas TP moves directly into a series of Cs (3-c4), which function as pickups to the material at
letter 3-D.
Letter 3-D: GE and TP both move to C with upper/lower neighbor approach tones (3-
d1). They then fall back to A with relatively elaborate embellishments (3-d2). Again, GE
Letter 3-E: My transcription of GE splits into two staves for a contrapuntal figure in the
horns that very closely matches the triplet falseta in MdM (a guitar staff which briefly replaces
TP). In both recordings, this figure serves as a launching point into a climactic moment. This is
the strongest point of similarity between the two recordings, and one of the primary reasons for
selecting “Tengo el Gusto” as the most likely flamenco model for “Solea.” I have not found
another performance of soleares from this era of flamenco in which the triplet falseta so clearly
Letters 3-F and 3-F’: Immediately following the figure at rehearsal letter E, both
recordings launch into a climactic phrase starting on G. In TP, this climactic moment lasts for
several phrases; they comprise an entire copla text, including a half-cadence to D (end of phrase
at rehearsal letter 3-F) before falling back to A (3-f3, end of phrase at rehearsal letter 3-F’). GE
presents this climax in summary form, consisting of a single phrase that descends relatively
quickly from G to A. For this reason, GE is aligned with the TP’s second phrase in this section at
3-F’. Letters 3-f1 and 3-f2 emphasize the similarity between two sub-phrases in which GE
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Letter 3-A: Phrase that rises from to D, falling back to A. Upper and/or lower neighbor
ornamentation of final A.
Letter 3-B: Phrase that begins with lower-neighbor pickup to D before falling back to A.
Letter 3-C: Phrase that rises to D, falls to A, quickly rising back to D before falling to A
again.
Letters 3-F and 2-F’: Climactic phrase beginning on G and falling back to A.
Overall, these similarities are of a different quality than those presented in Example 2.3
of the “Saeta” chapter. There, Evans often matched La Macarena’s performance note-for-note,
containing allusions to nearly every musical gesture present in La M. In the case of “Solea”
Sequence 3, GE generally presents the melodic skeleton of TP with less concern for matching
each individual gesture. The most significant departure is the rhythmic weight Evans places on
the lower/upper neighbor elaborations of every tonic resolution in rehearsal letters 3-A through
3-D. These differences can be explained as artistic decisions by Evans to make the melody more
Rubato intro
One of the most vexing details I encountered while seeking flamenco parallels to “Solea”
was the opening phrase of Evans’s composition—a simple A major triad, rising from the root to
the fifth, with an upper neighbor F-natural decorating the fifth before falling back to the major
3rd, C#. Such a triadic gesture simply did not exist in any of the numerous soleares I
encountered by artists such as Tomás Pavón, Pastora Pavón, Antonio Mairena, or any other
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