|
Soleares/Solea
Public Domain, Cante Hondo Flamenco; Richard Matteson C 1986
ARTIST: From Richard Matteson
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7fAt2aFy3c
SHEET MUSIC:
CATEGORY: YouTube Videos by Richard Matteson
DATE: 1960s ; First recorded by
RECORDING INFO:
OTHER NAMES: "Solea"
SOURCES: Folk Index; Meade
NOTES: Soleares is derived from the word from soledad, loneliness/solitude, which in turn comes from the Latin sólitas, - atis, although some modern views argue that it may come from the verb solear, that is, placing something in the sun. It is one of the basic pillars of flamenco and its twelve-beat meter has spread over to other styles. Its majesty, melodic richness and depth of execution, result in it being performed often by artists. It is a solemn dance that is very appropriate for bailaoras (female flamenco dancers), because its main elements are movements of a feminine nature.
Soleares are based on the caña and polo. The music that is played is the same, the only difference is in the chords. Molina and Mairena defined it in 1963 as a cante (style of song) in a minor key that is sometimes modulated to its corresponding major key, and starts again after a brief pause in the subdominant of the minor key, before starting again.
Richard Matteon studied flamenco guitar in Beaufort SC with guitarist Andy Merrill, a flamemco guitarist and classical guitarist who studied classical guitar with Aaron Shearer at American University.
SOLEARES RHYTHM (See Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7fAt2aFy3c)
Soleares, or soleá, is one of the most important styles of flamenco singing, guitar playing and dancing. It has a peculiar rhythm (or compás) that is found in other styles of flamenco such as alegrías, and other members of the cantiñas group. The soleá rhythm consists of twelve beats accented on beats three, six, eight, ten and 12. Tension starts on three, increases on six, peaks on eight and resolves on 10. Because of the irregular distribution of the accents we can interpret the twelve beats in different ways: a full set of twelve; two sets of three and three sets of two (3+3+2+2+2=12); or four sets of three (3+3+3+3=12), with the first two sets of three accented on the third beat (1, 2, *3*), the third set accented on the second beat (1, *2*, 3), and the fourth set accented on the first and third beat (*1*, 2, *3*). Look at the diagrams below:
One set of twelve beats:
Two sets of three beats and three sets of two beats (3+3+2+2+2=12):
Four sets of three beats (3+3+3+3=12):
Most transcriptions of flamenco guitar, including my own, use the last system in order to package the rhythm neatly within a simple 3/4 time signature. Check the soleares sheet music above to see how this notation appears.
The bulerias rhythm is basically a double-time version of soleá.
|