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Music of Spain

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical genres, styles,
eras and events

                           Music of Spain
   Andalusia                       Aragon
   Balearic Islands                Basque Country
   Canary Islands                  Castile, Madrid and Leon
   Catalonia                       Extremadura
   Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias Murcia
   Navarre and La Rioja            Valencia
                    Genres: Classical - Flamenco
   Jazz - Folk - Hip hop - Opera - Pop - Rock
                        Timeline and Samples
               Awards              Amigo Awards
               Charts              AFYVE
              Festivals            Benidorm, Eurovision, Sonar
                Media              Fans, La Revista 40, Mundo Joven

   For many people, Spanish music is virtually synonymous with flamenco,
   an Andalusian genre of music. However, regional styles of folk music
   abound, and pop, rock and hip hop are also popular.

Origins

Early history

   In Spain several very different cultural streams came together in the
   first centuries of the Christian era: the Roman culture, which was
   dominant for several hundred years, and which brought with it the music
   and ideas of Ancient Greece; early Christians, who had their own
   version of the Roman Rite; the Visigoths, a Germanic tribe that overran
   the Iberian peninsula in the fifth century; Jews of the diaspora; and
   eventually the Arabs, or the Moors as the group was sometimes known.
   Determining exactly which spices flavored the stew, and in what
   proportion, is difficult after almost two thousand years, but the
   result was a musical style and tradition considerably different from
   what developed in the rest of Europe.

   Isidore of Seville wrote about music in the sixth century. His
   influences were predominantly Greek, and yet he was an original
   thinker, and recorded some of the first information about the early
   music of the Christian church. He perhaps is most famous in music
   history for declaring that it was not possible to notate sounds—an
   assertion which reveals his ignorance of the notational system of
   ancient Greece, so that knowledge had to have been lost by the time he
   was writing.

   Under the Moors, who were usually tolerant of other religions during
   the seven hundred years of their influence, both Christianity and
   Judaism, with their associated music and ritual, flourished. Music
   notation developed in Spain as early as the eighth century (the
   so-called Visigothic neumes) to notate the chant and other sacred music
   of the Christian church, but this obscure notation has not yet been
   deciphered by scholars, and exists only in small fragments. The music
   of the Christian church in Spain was known as the music of the
   Mozarabic Rite, and developed in isolation, not subject to the enforced
   codification of Gregorian chant under the guidance of Rome around the
   time of Charlemagne. At the time of the reconquista, this music was
   almost entirely extirpated: once Rome had control over the Christians
   of the Iberian peninsula, the regular Roman rite was imposed, and
   locally developed sacred music was banned, burned, or otherwise
   eliminated. The style of Spanish popular songs of the time is presumed
   to be closely related to the style of Moorish music. Music of the King
   Alfonso X Cantigas de Santa Maria is considered likely to show
   influence from Islamic sources. Other important medieval sources
   include the Codex Calixtinum collection from Santiago de Compostela and
   the Codex Las Huelgas. The so-called Llibre Vermell de Montserrat (red
   book) is an important devotional collection from the fourteenth
   century.

Renaissance and Baroque

   In the early Renaissance, instrumental music was still influenced by
   Arabic music. Mateo Flecha el viejo and Castillian dramatist Juan del
   Encina rank among composers in the post Ars Nova period. Some
   renaissance songbooks are the Cancionero de Palacio, the Cancionero de
   Medinaceli (also known as cancionero de Uppsala as it is kept in
   Carolina Rediviva library), the Cancionero de la Colombina, and the
   later Cancionero de la Sablonara.

   Early 16th century polyphonic vocal style developed in Spain was
   closely related to the style of the Franco-Flemish composers. Melting
   of styles occurred during the period when Spain was part of the Holy
   Roman Empire, under Charles V (king of Spain from 1516 to 1556), since
   composers from the North both visited Spain, and native Spaniards
   travelled within the empire, which extended to the Netherlands, Germany
   and Italy. Music for vihuela by Luis de Milán, Alonso Mudarra and Luis
   de Narváez stands as one of the main achievements of the period. The
   Aragonese Gaspar Sanz was the author of the first learning method for
   guitar. The great Spanish composers of the Renaissance included
   Francisco Guerrero and Cristóbal de Morales, both of whom spent a
   significant portion of their careers in Rome; and the great Spanish
   composer of the late Renaissance, who reached a level of polyphonic
   perfection and expressive intensity equal to Palestrina and Lassus, was
   Tomás Luis de Victoria, who also spent much of his life in Rome. Most
   Spanish composers returned home late in their careers to spread their
   musical knowledge in their native land.

18th to 20th centuries

   By the end of the 17th century the "classical" musical culture of Spain
   was in decline, and was to remain that way until the 19th century.
   Classicism in Spain, when it arrived, was inspired on Italian models,
   as in the works of Antonio Soler. Some outstanding Italian composers as
   Domenico Scarlatti or Luigi Boccherini were appointed at the Madrid
   court. The short-lived Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga is credited as the main
   beginner of Romantic sinfonism in Spain.

   Fernando Sor, Dionisio Aguado, Francisco Tárrega and Miguel Llobet are
   known as composers of guitar music. Fine literature for violin was
   created by Pablo Sarasate and Jesus de Monasterio.

   Zarzuela, a native form of light opera, is a secular musical form which
   developed in the early 17th century. Some beloved zarzuela composers
   are Ruperto Chapí, Federico Chueca and Tomás Bretón.

   Musical creativity mainly moved into areas of folk and popular music
   until the nationalist revival of the late Romantic era. Spanish
   composers of this period include Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados,
   Manuel de Falla, Jesús Guridi, Ernesto Halffter, Federico Mompou and
   Joaquin Rodrigo.

Pop Music

   Spanish pop radio flourished at the end of Francisco Franco's regime.
   By the late 1950s, a generation of performers were coming of age. At
   the same time American and British music, especially rock and roll, was
   having an impact on Spanish audiences. The Festival de la Canción De
   Benidorm was founded in 1959 in Benidorm, a seaside town attempting to
   boost local tourism. Inspired by the Italian Festival di San Remo, it
   was followed by a wave of similar music festivals in places like
   Barcelona, Majorca and the Canary Islands. First major pop stars were
   all women, and they rose to fame through these music festivals. An
   injured Real Madrid player-turned-singer became the world-famous Julio
   Iglesias. During the 1960s and early 70s, tourism boomed, bringing yet
   more musical styles from the rest of the continent and abroad.

Ye-Yé

   From the English pop-refrain words "yeah-yeah",ye-yé was a
   French-coined term which Spanish language appropriated to refer to
   uptempo pop music. It mainly consisted of a fusion of American rock
   from the early 60s (such as twist) and British beat music. Concha
   Velasco, a singer and movie star, launched the scene with her 1965 hit
   "La Chica Ye-Yé", though there had been hits earlier by female singers
   like Karina ( 1963). The earliest stars were an imitation of French
   pop, at the time itself an imitation of American and British pop and
   rock. Dark passion and flamenco rhythms, however, made the sound
   distinctively Spanish. From this first generation of Spanish pop
   singers, Rosalia's 1965 hit "Flamenco" sounded most distinctively
   Spanish.

Performers

   Some of Spain's most famous singers in alphabetical order are:
     * La Orquesta Mondragón
     * Luis Eduardo Aute
     * David Bisbal
     * Maria del Mar Bonet
     * Miguel Bosé
     * Enrique Bunbury
     * Camarón de la Isla
     * El Chivi
     * Paco de Lucía
     * Pepe de Lucía
     * El Fary
     * Enrique Iglesias
     * Julio Iglesias
     * Paco Ibáñez
     * María Jiménez
     * Lluís Llach
     * Loquillo
     * Antonio Molina
     * Enrique Morente
     * Ramoncín
     * Raphael
     * Miguel Ríos
     * Joaquín Sabina
     * Alejandro Sanz
     * Joan Manuel Serrat
     * Álex Ubago
     * Víctor Manuel

   In addition to these, famous Spanish pop groups include Los Brincos,
   Los Bravos, "Cánovas, Adolfo, Rodrigo y Guzmán", Fórmula V, Triana,
   Orquesta Mondragón, Loquillo y Los Trogloditas, Nacha Pop, El Canto Del
   Loco, Pereza, Pignoise, Sonblue, Falling Kids, Ketama, Los Secretos,
   Siniestro Total, Obús, Burning, Radio Futura, Mecano, Héroes del
   Silencio, El Último de la Fila, Barón Rojo, Estopa, Amaral, La Oreja de
   Van Gogh, Mojinos Escocíos and Gigatron.

   Also from Spain was the famous trio of singing clowns Gaby, Fofó y
   Miliki.

Flamenco

   Flamenco is a mainly Gypsy art-form, strongly influenced by Andalusian
   traditional folk music. It consists of three forms: the song (cante),
   the dance (baile) and the guitar (guitarra). First reference dates back
   to 1774, from Cadalso's "Cartas Marruecas". Flamenco probably
   originated in Cádiz, Jérez de la Frontera and Triana, and could be a
   descendant of musical forms left by Moorish during the 8th-14th
   century. Influences from the Byzantine church music, Egypt, Pakistan
   and India could also have been important in shaping the music. The word
   flamenco is most commonly considered derived from the Spanish word for
   Flemish. Some claim that Spanish Jews in Flanders were allowed to
   perform their music without oppression, and Gypsies that had fought
   there with distinction in war on behalf of Spain were rewarded by being
   allowed to settle in Andalusia. Main stream scholars recognize all
   these early influences but consider flamenco as an earlier 19th century
   performance stage music as tango or fado.

Regional folk music

   Spain's autonomous regions have own distinctive folk traditions. There
   is also a movement of folk-based singer-songwriters with politically
   active lyrics, paralleling similar developments across Latin America
   and Portugal. While the bulk of today's Spanish traditional music can
   only be related as far as early 19th century, only a handful of ritual
   religious music can be dated back to renaissance and middle age eras.
   So-called Iberian, Celtic, Roman, Greek or Phoenician music influence
   only exists in the minds of fanciful dilettanti.

Andalusia

   Though Andalusia is best known for flamenco music (see below for more
   information), folk music features a strong musical tradition for gaita
   rociera ( tabor pipe) in Western Andalusia and a distinct violin and
   plucked-strings band known as panda de verdiales in Málaga. The region
   has also produced singer-songwriters like Javier Ruibal and Carlos
   Cano, who revived a traditional music called copla. Catalan Kiko Veneno
   and Joaquín Sabina are popular performers in a distinctly Spanish-style
   rock music, while Sephardic musicians like Aurora Morena, Luís Delgado
   and Rosa Zaragoza keep alive-and-well Andalusian Sephardic music.

Aragon

   Aragon was inhabited by people of Iberian descent, primarily, though
   Celtic, Moorish and French influences remain. Jota, now popular across
   Spain, could have historical roots in the Southern part of Aragon. Jota
   instruments include the castanets, tambourines and flutes. Aragonese
   music can be characterized by a dense percussive element, that some
   tried to attribute as an inheritance from North African Berbers. The
   guitarro, a unique kind of small guitar also seen in Murcia, seems
   Aragonese in origin. Besides its music for stick-dances and dulzaina (
   shawm), Aragon has its own gaita de boto ( bagpipes) and chiflo ( tabor
   pipe). As in Basque country, Aragonese chiflo can be played along to a
   chicotén string-drum ( psalterium) rhythm.

Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia

   traditional Asturian dancers
   Enlarge
   traditional Asturian dancers

   Northwest Spain (Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria) is home to a distinct
   tradition of bagpipe music that some tried to connect to the 1970s
   commercial label of Celtic-derived culture. All the languages in this
   area are of Latin descent but local festivals celebrating the area's
   so-called "Celtic" influence are common, with Ortigueira's Festival del
   Mundo Celta being especially important. Drum and bagpipe groups are the
   most beloved kind of Galician folk music, and include popular bands
   like Milladoiro. Groups of pandereteiras are another traditional set of
   singing women that play tambourines. Bagpipe virtuoso Carlos Núñez is
   an especially popular performer; he has worked with Ireland's The
   Chieftains and Sinéad O'Connor, United States' Ry Cooder and Cuba's
   Vieja Trova Santiaguera.

   Galician folk music includes characteristical alalas songs. Alalas,
   that may include instrumental interludes, are believed to be
   chant-based popular songs with a long history, perhaps closely related
   to Gregorian chanting. Though connected to jota, some whimsical
   dilettanti also point to a Greek origin, or Phoenician rowing songs.

   Asturias is also home to popular musicians such as José Ángel Hevia (a
   virtuoso bagpiper), and famous Celtic group Llan de Cubel. Circle folk
   dances using a 6/8 tambourine rhythm are also a hallmark of this area.
   Vocal asturianadas show melismatic ornamentations similar to those of
   other parts of the Iberian Peninsula. There are many festivals, such as
   "Folixa na Primavera" (April, in Mieres), "Intercelticu d' Avilés"
   (July, in Avilés), as well as many "Celtic nights" in Asturias.

   As in the Basque Country, Cantabrian folk music features intrincate
   arch and stick dances but tabor pipes did not play such a predominant
   role. Aside with a rich tradition for rebec, a popular instrumental
   setting encompasses drum and alto clarinet (here known as pito or
   requinto) players.

Balearic Islands

   Xeremiers or colla de xeremiers is a traditional ensemble that consists
   of flabiol (a five-hole tabor pipe) and xeremies (bagpipes). Majorca's
   Maria del Mar Bonet was one of the most influential artists of nova
   canço, known for her political and social lyrics. Tomeu Penya, Biel
   Majoral and Joan Bibiloni are also popular.

Basque Country

   The Basques have a unique language, unrelated to any other in the world
   and with uncertain connections abroad. The most popular kind of Basque
   folk music is called after the dance trikitixa , which is based on the
   accordion and tambourine. Popular performers are Joseba Tapia and Kepa
   Junkera. Very appreciated folk instruments are txistu (similar to
   Occitanian galoubet recorder), alboka (a double clarinet played in
   circular-breathing technique, similar to other Mediterranean
   instruments like launeddas) and txalaparta (a huge xylophone, similar
   to Romanian toaca and played by two performers in a fascinating
   game-performance). As in many parts of the Iberian peninsula, there are
   ritual dances with sticks, swords and vegetal arches. There is also
   choral music, as well as Basque stars that sang in Spanish like Luis
   Mariano and Duncan Dhu.

Canary Islands

   The Canary Islands were formerly inhabited by a North African Hamitic
   people called the Guanches. Isa a local kind of Jota is now popular,
   and Latin American musical ( Cuban) influences are especially
   widespread, especially in the presence of the charanga (a kind of
   guitar). Timple, the local name for ukulele / cavaquinho, is commonly
   seen in pluked string bands. A popular set in El Hierro island consists
   of drums and wooden fifes ( pito herreño). Tabor pipe is customary in
   some ritual dances in Tenerife island.

Castile, Madrid and León

   A large inland region, Castile, Madrid and Leon had predominantly
   Celtiberian and Celtic cultural background before the Roman rule,
   showing influences from North African sources. The area has been a
   melting pot, however, and Gypsies, Portuguese, Jewish, Roman,
   Visigothic and Moorish sources could have left a mark on the region's
   music.

   Jota is popular, but uniquely slow in Castile and Leon. Instrumentation
   also varies here much from the one in Aragon. Northern León, that
   shares a language background to Portuguese Miranda do Douro and
   Asturias, also has Galician influences. There are also gaita ( bagpipe)
   and tabor pipe traditions. The Maragatos people, of uncertain origin,
   have a unique musical style and live in Leon, around Astorga. All over
   Castile there is also a strong tradition of dance music for dulzaina (
   shawm) and rondalla groups. Popular rhythms include 5/8 charrada and
   circle dances, jota and habas verdes. As in many other parts of the
   Iberian peninsula, ritual dances include paloteos (stick dances).
   Salamanca is known as the home of tuna, a serenade played with guitars
   and tambourines, mostly by students dressed in medieval clothing.
   Madrid is known for its chotis music, a local variation to the European
   tradition of 19th century schottische dance. Flamenco is also
   widespread.

Catalonia

   Though Catalonia is best known for sardana played by cobla, there are
   other traditional styles of dance music like ball de bastons
   (stick-dances), galops, ball de gitanes. Music takes forefront
   personality in cercaviles and celebrations similar to Patum in Berga.
   Flabiol (a five-hole tabor pipe), gralla or dolçaina (a shawm) and sac
   de gemecs (a local bagpipe) are traditional folk instruments that make
   part of some coblas. The havaneres singers remain popular. Nowadays,
   young people cultivate Rock Català popular music, as some years ago the
   Nova Cançó was relevant. Catalan gipsies have created their own style
   of rumba called rumba catalana.

Extremadura

   Having long been the poorest part of Spain, Extremadura is a largely
   rural region known for Portuguese influence on its music. As in
   Northern regions of Spain, there is a rich repertoire for tabor pipe
   music. The zambomba drum (similar to Portuguese sarronca or Brazilian
   cuica) is played by pulling on a rope which is inside the drum. It is
   found throughout Spain but is characteristic of Extremadura. The jota
   is common, here played with triangles, castanets, guitars, tambourines,
   accordions and zambombas.

Murcia

   Murcia is a dry region which has very strong Moorish influences, as
   well as Andalusian. Flamenco and guitar-accompanied cante jondo is
   especially associated with Murcia as well as rondallas (plucked-string
   bands).

Navarre and La Rioja

   Navarre and La Rioja are small regions that has diverse cultural
   elements. Northern Navarre is Basque in language, while the Southern
   section shares more Aragonese features. The jota, a form of music more
   closely associated with Aragon, is also known in both Navarre and La
   Rioja. Both regions have rich dance and dulzaina ( shawm) traditions.
   Txistu ( tabor pipe) and dulzaina ensembles are very popular to public
   celebrations in Navarra.

Valencia

   Traditional music from Valencia is characteristically Mediterranean in
   origin, with a Moorish influence in it. Valencia also has its local
   kind of Jota. Moreover, Valencia has a high reputation for musical
   innovation, and performing brass bands called bandes are common, with
   one appearing in almost every town. It also shares some traditional
   dances with other catalan speaking people, like for instance, the ball
   de bastons (stick-dance). The group Al Tall is also well-known,
   experimenting with the Berber band Muluk El Hwa, and revitalizing
   traditional valencian music, following the Riproposta Italian musical
   movement..
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