Cante Flamenco: The Art of the Song
While I was watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, where he traveled to Spain to eat, drink, and learn a little history along the way there was a scene where he was invited to see a flamenco performance in a cave in Andalusia. Watching the people sit in a semi-circle, clapping and singing and dancing to the music, it was synchronized and spontaneous, something unique. I felt captivated by the performance, even though I wasn’t witnessing it live.
Reading about fado made me think about cante flamenco (flamenco singing) which is one of the important aspects of flamenco; the other two being guitar and dancing. The flamenco song, and the art of performing a flamenco song transformed over time, carrying over into different venues and other cultures, but never losing its meaning within the gypsy culture in Spain. Cante flamenco is used to evoke the emotion (usually pain or anguish) of the singers, and draw the spectators into the performance. Most themes in cante flamenco are lost love, sorrow, religion, or an intense love for one’s country. What gives cante flamenco its power and significance is that when you listen to it, you can feel what the cantaor is saying, without knowing the language.
There is a lot of emotion that going into cante flamenco because it requires the cantaor (flamenco singer) to draw on their own personal experiences, or to tell the story from their own perspective. An exchange between the cantaor and the audience occurs; where the cantaor emotes and the audience receives the message and reacts to the sound.
I enjoy the way that Lila Ellen Gray depicts the songs and sounds produced by fado singers, and how these sounds give meaning and context to the histories and stories within the lyrics. It was around the time I was in middle school that I began to learn about how bards would use spoken word to pass stories down through generations. It was a form of entertainment, but also played an important part in the preservation of history and culture. In the modern world, this is a lost and forgotten tradition and talent. Many people don’t have the skills, or patience, to memorize the stories told in the verses of the songs; even fewer people have the patience to sit and listen to the songs being performed. But in many places around the world oral storytelling, especially via music and songs, is not only still practiced, but it is a time-honored tradition; respected for its antiquity and cultural significance.
Back in the episode; after the flamenco performance in the cave, while everyone was sitting together having a drink, Anthony asks some of the locals about the gitano (gypsy) culture, from which the flamenco music comes. The cantaor says, “We make music that comes from our roots. It wasn’t created for big spectacles. It’s music that comes from within. When there is pain or joyful laughter… we sing.”
To me, that sums up the feeling and emotion that goes into performing these kinds of music. It comes from a place of honesty and raw emotion because the history behind the music is that which is performed on a personal level, or for one’s own expression. As the singer or performer changes, so does the sound and emotion of the song. Gray used the word “sonorous” to describe the sound of fado. Resonant, deep, and imposing are exactly the way that I think about these different kinds of traditional music. When you listen to the songs as they’re being performed you get transported to a different place, and maybe even a different time because you are so immersed in the sound and story that is being told. It also helps me understand why they became so deeply embedded in the culture and remain so popular today.
