Arabo-Andalusian music
The emergence of Arabo-Andalusian music is first linked to the arrival at the court of Cordoba in 822 of Zyriab, whose real name was Abu Al-Hassan Ali ben Nâfi, a musician of Kurdish origin and genius who developed various vocal and poetic techniques, such as Muwashshah, on which flamenco was based. His first decision was to create a music school, the first conservatory in Europe open to all, financed by the Caliph who welcomed him. He also perfected the system of noubas (literally "each to his own"), a sequence of vocal and instrumental pieces on which the Andalusian musical tradition is based. Each musician had to wait his turn to sing before the caliph. Ziryab was the first to link several pieces together in a concert. The idea of a "suite" in music had its origins in this first innovation. Another innovation, which was to have an impact as far afield as the Papal Chapel in Rome, was the inclusion of castrati in the nouba choruses. But he was also a composer and music technician. He developed singing by codifying it and limiting improvisation. Assimilating Christian religious music such as Gregorian chant and secular romanceros, he created nearly a thousand melodic poems that were performed throughout the Mediterranean basin. He is also said to have added a fifth string to theoud, a type of short-necked lute widely used in Arab countries, and to have invented the plectrum, the ancestor of the pick. His work had a huge influence on all medieval European and Arab music.
In southern Spain, from the 10th to the 15th century, Christians, Muslims and Jews successfully coexisted and enriched each other. The Arabo-Andalusian musical tradition thus took shape at the crossroads of Spanish, Jewish and Arab influences. The music is essentially unwritten, yet based on very strict rules. From the 11th century onwards, the Reconquest had also favoured the development of a large-scale musical production, mainly religious in inspiration. To recapture the spirit of this music, visit Seville's Casa de la Memoria, a cultural center that organizes exhibitions, concerts and conferences on flamenco, Sephardic and Arab-Andalusian music. Here you can discover promising young artists.
Classical music
Beaumarchais'novel of the Almaviva family was set in Seville, and has spawned such bel canto monuments as The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. Mozart's Don Giovanni follows the Seville adventures of a Don Juan popularized by the writer Tirso de Molina. In Spain, musicians have always drawn on local folklore to compose their works. This trend became more pronounced in the 19thcentury , and was exported, particularly to French composers trying to break away from Wagnerian musical domination. In the course of the 19th century, French audiences were entertained by a form of Spanishism. But French composers also found material for their modern music, while Spanish composers renewed their artistic proposals. With his opera Carmen and its chimerical folklore, Georges Bizet was one of the very first to propose a picturesque vision of Spain in his music. Strong links were forged between French musicians and their Spanish exile counterparts, attracted by the artistic vitality of Paris: Isaac Albéniz, Joaquín Turina and Manuel de Falla frequented Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Paul Dukas, and their exchanges were fruitful. With La soirée dans Grenade or Iberia, Debussy composed a work representing his dream Spain and his impressions of a country he knew little about in reality, while Ravel integrated his vision of Spanish folklore in the Rhapsodie espagnole, theAlborada del gracioso or the famous Boléro.
This reciprocal appropriation movement enabled Iberian composers to break away from a purely picturesque vision of their country's music and find new artistic directions. Turina's works, for example, use a language rich in harmonies, characteristic of Andalusian folklore, but also reflect the influence of French music. This is also what enabled Manuel de Falla to open up Spanish classical musical aesthetics to that of the 20th century. Instead of following in the footsteps of Debussy or Stravinsky, he let himself be inspired by their musical writing to extract from traditional Spanish music, and especially flamenco, the quintessence of his own musical language. The oriental exuberance of his major orchestral work Nuits dans les jardins d'Espagne, with its three movements inspired by three gardens "Au Generalife", "Danse lointaine" and "Dans les jardins de la Sierra de Cordoue", sums up the impressionist essence of his music. This authentic representative of the Spanish soul had settled in Granada, where he composed many of his most outstanding works, before emigrating to Argentina in 1939, fleeing the dictatorship. His house has been preserved and converted into the Manuel de Falla Cultural Center. The house is open to the public and offers a glimpse into the musician's private life. And don't miss one of the concerts organized on the premises. And don't forget to visit the crypt of Cadiz Cathedral, where Manuel de Falla is laid to rest.
Summer temperatures in Andalusia are particularly high, so do as the Sevillians do and go out in the evening, when the air is less stifling. And if you're visiting Seville in July or August, spend your evening in the gardens of the Real Alcázar to enjoy Noches en los jardines del Real Alcázar, a series of classical music concerts and open-air readings of great literary works, staged in Seville's most beautiful gardens. The Teatro de la Maestranza regularly presents concerts of Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky by the Seville Symphony Orchestra and international orchestras. While the Teatro de la Maestranza is undoubtedly the benchmark for opera, Sevilla de Ópera, a small hall in the El Arenal market, will seduce you with its intimacy. It doesn't offer full operas, but you'll be able to hear opera arias with a connection to the city.
The art of flamenco
Seville is the place to admire flamenco and its variants, such as sevillanas and saetas. If you're in town in September, you can also enjoy the Bienal de Flamenco, Spain's most important flamenco festival. Since the 1950s, flamenco has been reclaiming its roots. A new generation of artists has emerged, with the same passion for flamenco, but also a desire for freedom. More often than not, these artists have evolved the genre, as in the case of "flamenco fusion" or "nuevo flamenco" (new flamenco), which has integrated a variety of sounds from salsa, rock, blues and rumba into flamenco music. In the 1970s, Paco de Lucía was the first to give flamenco a breath of fresh air with a touch of jazz. He went on to welcome Vicente Amigo, an artist who also embodied the next generation of flamenco, without necessarily seeking to break with tradition. Amigo quickly established a flamenco style open to a variety of influences, notably jazz, from which he borrows harmonic freedom and the pleasure of improvisation. Estrella Morente is another great figure of the style. From the Morente gypsy family, she is the daughter of the great Enrique Morente, one of the greatest flamenco singers, who was strongly criticized for his modern, experimental vision of cold-wave flamenco, and of the dancer Aurora Carbonell. In other words, she's been immersed in the style from an early age. Her albums are all huge successes. It was she who lent her voice to Penélope Cruz in Pedro Almodóvar's film Volver. Married to the Malagueño matador Javier Conde, Estrella has quickly established herself as one of the leading lights of the young flamenco generation. Israel Galvan is the most radical and well-known dancer in avant-garde flamenco. Chambao, a group from Málaga renowned for its flamenco chill, which successfully mixes flamenco sounds with those of electronic music, is also a great success. The art of dancer Cristina Hoyos is above all that of flamenco, but with a constant openness, energized by encounters with artists from all horizons, which have led her to renew the forms, steps and gestures of this traditional dance. Since spring 2006, the city of Seville has had a Museo del Baile Flamenco Cristina Hoyos (with dance school and boutique), located between two of Seville's most emblematic monuments, its cathedral and Reales Alcázares.
Seville: the dance of seduction. The layman sometimes confuses the Sevillana with flamenco, or identifies it as one of the many varieties of flamenco dance (like the bulería, for example). And while purists scream sacrilege, the amateur is not the only one responsible for this confusion. In Spanish dance classes in France and the rest of Europe, Sevillana is often associated with flamenco, and the two disciplines are often taught by the same teacher. However, despite a common geographical origin and shared influences, Sevillana is not flamenco and flamenco is not Sevillana. Originally, the dance derives directly from the famous "Seguedilla", evoked by Carmen in Bizet's opera. Its prehistory seems to be rooted in the oriental dances brought to Andalusia by the Arabs, and it begins to take on its own identity in the 17th century, a mixture of Zarabanda and Chacona, rapidly evolving into the almost ritualistic form that has characterized this couple dance ever since.
Granada. The city of Granada hosted the first cante competition in 1922, giving flamenco its first public recognition. This passion for flamenco, combined with the presence of gypsies for hundreds of years, has made the city a particularly active flamenco center since the 19th century. Great flamenco artists such as dancer Manuel Santiago Maya "Manolete", who hails from the mythical Sacromonte district and now heads Granada's international flamenco school, have emerged from here.
Málaga. Málaga is sometimes nicknamed the "Cantaora" (flamenco singer). Malagueños have music in their blood. Music is present everywhere in the city, giving rhythm to the lives of its inhabitants. The verdiales are a good example. This popular festival has taken the name of the verdial, a music played by violins, castanets, tambourines, lutes and guitars, also made to be danced to. Numerous music festivals are held in Málaga. One of the most important is the Fiesta Mayor de Verdiales, held every year on December 28. In November, the Flamenco Biennial fills the city. You can also take part in the Festival de Musique Contemporaine in January. Finally, a major jazz festival takes over the city every year. In Málaga, too, the Customs House Museum has innovated by creating a cycle of concerts on its premises. One Sunday a month, the museum's central courtyard becomes a stage for classical music concerts, with the support of the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra. The concerts are free of charge, and are also intended to showcase local talent.
Cordoba. In July, Cordoba hosts the International Guitar Festival, which enjoys an international reputation thanks to the quality of its guest performers. On the one hand, a program of concerts held in the city's emblematic venues and squares, and on the other, guitar-making and guitar composition courses. Some of the biggest names in flamenco, jazz and classical guitar have performed at the Cordoba Festival.
Rock and hip-hop
In the late sixties and early seventies, a musical movement blending blues and progressive rock with flamenco developed in Andalusia. A whole new musical scene emerged, which came to be known as Andalusian rock. The common denominator was a desire to find new ways for rock, while retaining their Andalusian roots. These included Smash, a pioneering group that only lasted 5 years, but whose influence is still felt today; Alameda, a progressive rock band from Seville; and Veneno, the band of brothers Raimundo and Rafael Amador, who later formed Pata Negra, whose eponymous album left its mark on the Spanish independent scene. Medina Azahara, from Cordoba, is also a reference in the style. But the major group of this scene remains Triana. Music producer Gonzalo García Pelayo has said of Triana that they make the kind of music King Crimson would make if he'd been born in Seville, and the band is considered by many to be the benchmark for Andalusian rock.
With seventeen studio albums to his name, Joaquín Sabina is a child of Andalusia. After living in exile in London as a young man, he returned to his homeland in 1976. Since then, the singer 's success has never waned, not only in Spain, but also in Latin America, where he has sold several million records. His chiseled lyrics, set to a pop-rock soundtrack, and his distinctive husky voice have made him one of Spain's leading artists.
In the 1990s, Spain succumbed to the wave of hip-hop. It became clear that Andalusia was the cradle of a particularly creative and diverse scene. Some of the biggest names in Spanish hip-hop and rap come from the south of Spain. Founded in Seville, SFDK, which stands for Straight From Da Kranny, is one of the pioneering groups of Spanish hip-hop. Taking their cue from old-school American hip-hop, the group went on to forge their own more hardcore and aggressive style with the release of their debut album Siempre Fuertes in 1999. Meanwhile, in the La Macarena district, Tote King and his brother Shotta were betting on a more transgressive style, clearly influenced by what was coming out in the USA. Not far from there, in Mairena del Aljarafe, Dogma Crew offered a rap with a claim, based on social protest and class consciousness. These collectives have maintained a strong link with their region of origin. Some of these artists sampled the instrumentation of acoustic and electric guitars, bass, castanets and various percussion instruments found in Andalusian rock, as in the track The High School with former members Tote King, or the tracks Juanma and El Tralla, composed by rapper Juaninacka. Other cities in southern Spain have developed their own trends. With the gangsta rap of Triple XXX and the rap-reggae of Pinnacle Rockers, Málaga also has a particularly active hip-hop scene. And the city of Granada has become the Atlanta of Spain. Yung Beef, Khaled and Dellafuente make up an artistic scene whose more contemporary sounds come from across the Atlantic.
In Seville, whether you're a fan of indie rock, funk or hip-hop, the music can be heard at Fun Club, one of Seville's oldest live music venues, every Friday and Saturday night. For blues, pop, folk or world music, go to El Cafetal. Finally, for jazz fans, the Jazz Corner is certainly the place with the best program. You can also try your luck at La Bicicleteria, one of Seville's most emblematic live music venues. La Casa de Max also offers live music jam sessions on Thursday evenings. Last but not least, Monkey Week is an annual music festival in Seville, with an emphasis on new discoveries.
Cities of theater
Seville's Teatro Central is a showcase for the performing arts and the latest creative talent. Here, you can attend theater and dance performances chosen from the contemporary repertoire. The theater works in close collaboration with other structures such as the Andalusian Theater Center and the Andalusian Flamenco Ballet. Córdoba's theatrical offering is especially high-level. Different theaters complement each other to provide a diversified offering: the Gran Teatro de Córdoba, the Teatro Axerquía and the Teatro Góngora. The city also boasts a drama school. This is rare in Spain. In Málaga, the Teatro Cervantes boasts exceptional acoustics. If you're visiting Granada, take a look at the programs at Teatro Isabel Católica and Teatro Alhambra, which offer all kinds of shows: from plays to modern dance and circus performances. With the Gran Teatro Falla, Cadiz also boasts a first-rate building.
This is where the famous Cadiz Carnival competition takes place, with more than 100 burlesque groups competing in an entertaining way.
