The soleá or soleares is often referred to as the “mother of flamenco”. Although not strictly true from a historical point of view, the soleá does form the basis from which many other palos have developed. Without the soleá, forms such as alegría and bulería would not have come into existence – all share the same basic compás, which is counted as twelve beats:
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 - 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 1 – 2
Related flamenco forms include la Caña and the Polo, Bambera, Jaleos, Bulerías and the various Cantiñas.
Origins
As is true for many other palos, the origins of the soleá are unknown. It is generally agreed that the first documented singer was known as La Andonda (born c.1850-60), fiancée to the legendary singer Diego El Fillo (c.1820), creator in his turn of the cabales. Nevertheless, other flamencologists disagree, Don Antonio Machado for example maintained that it was developed in the gypsy quarter of Sevilla called Triana before appearing in public around 1840. Other theorists maintain that it was developed from XVI century song called soledades whilst others insist that it was developed from a group of cantes known as jaleos.
La Andona le dijo al Fillo:
¡Anda y vete, pollo ronco,
a cantarle a los chiquillos.
La Andonda said to El Fillo
Go and lose yourself, you old hoarse chicken
and sing to the children.
Whilst all these theories may hold some degree of truth, the most probable one is that put forward by Angel Alvarez Caballero. He maintains that the soleá developed from the cantes polo/caña, which at the start of XVIII century were sang as “national folksongs”. As the songs became flamencofied by gypsies in the XIX century the “laments” or “Ay, Ay, Ay” passages become shorter, eventually being omitted altogether, making the resulting cante more valiant and flamenco. If La Andonda did not actually invent the soleá, she certainly played an important role in its development and was the main person responsible for its popularization in the XIX century.
Towards the end of the XIX century, Loco Mateo and Juaniquí (Juan Moreno Jiménez, Jerez de la Frontera 1.862 – Sanlúcar de Barrameda 1946) consolidated the form into a purely solo more similar to what we hear today.
Other great singers include Mercé la Serneta (Jerez de la Frontera 1.873 – Utrera 1.912) and Joaquín el de la Paula (Alcalá de Guadiara 1.875 – 1.933).
It forms today, together with the siguiriya, the base of flamenco, a form that any singer, dancer or guitarist worth his/her salt interprets.
The Name
Nor is there agreement in the origins of the name. There are three main theories.
- A change in the pronunciation of the word “soledad” (solitude) and the the solitude was sung to make accompany the manual labour on the vast Andalusian estates.
- That the name is an adaptation of the word “sol” (sun) and to “solear” or “soleo” refers to the sunning of various agricultural products.
- Finally that the name is derived from a singer known as Soledad.
All theories and speculations.
The only certain information is that principally it was a ‘cante’ that was developed from the dance known as the Polo. From around 1870, it was started to be sung and without dance.
Themes & Styles
In as far as the words for soleá are concerned one would expect that they deal with profound subjects, such is the nature of this cante. However, this is not often the case, and although there are verses dealing with profound subjects, many verses deal with frivolities.
There are several variations of soleá. To complicate matters further, there are various regional styles from Triana, Alcalá, Utrera, Los Puertos, Jerez and Córdoba (the provinces of Sevilla, Cádiz and Córdoba). A guitarist is naturally expected to differentiate between each of the styles at the drop of a hat, and modify the accompaniment accordingly.
Tonality
The soleá is played “por arriba” or “por abajo”. In other words in the Phrygian Mode see link here for a descrption of this scale. Por arriba refers to the scale starting on Emajor and por medio refers to the scale starting on A major.
Forms and variations
Geographical variations include:
- La soleá de Triana
- La soleá de Alcalá
- La soleá de Cádiz
- La soleá de Jerez
- La soleá de Utrera
Solea Grande
Considered to be the most “serious” of all the forms of soleá - that of Alcalá being the “king” and profoundest of all. It consists of four eight syllable lines of which the second and fourth rhyme:
Cuando paso por tu puerta
saco pan y voy comiendo
pa’ que no diga tu madreque
con verte me mantengo.
When I go past your door
I get some bread out and walk eating
so that you mother doesn’t say anything.
I sustain myself just by seeing you.
A verse which reflects Andalusian life, particularly before the 1960s’: hunger love and wit.
Solea Corta
This style is shorter and easier to interpret than the solea grande. It consists of three lines, the first and third generally rhyme:
Mira, si yo a ti te quiero
que el agua a ti te sobra
con ansias yo me la bebo.
Look, I love you so much
that I am happy to drink
the water you leave
Due to the fact that the soleá corta has fewer lines and is easier to interpret than the soleá grande, many of the verses are humorous:
Duces que sabes cose’(r)
me has hecho unos pantalones
con la bragueta al reve’(r)
You say you know how to sow
but you made me some trousers
with the zip back to front.
Soleariya
This style has a shortened first line, and it is used to end the soleá is known as a macho, remate or cambio. A commonly heard example
Fatigas Miseries
voy por la calle y no lloro
pa’ que la gente no diga.I am so miserable but
walking down the street I don’t cry
so that people won’t talk.
One Comment
You forgot one accent on the twelve
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 1 1– 12