Traditional music and dance
What would Seville - and more broadly Andalusia - have left if flamenco was taken away? A beautiful region, certainly, but the heart of its identity would seem to vanish. To tell the truth, this is true and false at the same time. Keeping in mind its importance, it is a shame to reduce the region to this unique aesthetic as Andalusia is full of different ones. Starting with the well-named Sevillana. This dance, which is particularly popular during the ferias, performed by women dressed in beautiful colored dresses with ruffles on platforms in the street, is sometimes confused with flamenco, but it is quite distinct from it. One of the major differences is that Sevillana does not really leave room for improvisation. Practiced by two, one or more couples, in a circle or in a group, these dances are divided into series of four coplas (dances) at the end of which the couple stops, one arm in the air, with a pause of several seconds. This stop, which must be clearly marked, is called the bien parado (" well done stop"). It gives all its cachet to this parade where the approach, the confrontation, the escape and the love are expressed at the same time. The sequence of these four parts, all in imposed figures and ultra-precise codifications, tells a story: the sequences (pasadas seguidas) symbolize the meeting; the steps in the round (pas en redondo), the seduction; the struck steps (zapateado), the dispute and finally comes the confrontation (careos
).El Pali (1928-1988) is recognized as the emblematic interpreter of the field. He was the first soloist in a genre dominated by groups, and he recorded some 200 songs on some twenty albums. Is this a coincidence? 1988, the year of his death, corresponds to the beginning of what has been called the " sevillana boom" , a period in which sevillanas
experienced a sudden peak. Record sales exploded and the genre saw the rise of new stars like María del Monte or Cantores de Híspalis, Los del Guadalquivir or Ecos del Rocio.A privileged time of the year to see Sevillanas is the Feria De Abril, held two weeks after Easter. This very popular event takes place in the recinto ferial
(in the neighborhood of Los Remedios) and includes many concerts and Sevillanas dances until the end of the night.The Sevillana is a descendant of the Seguedilla, another dance whose structure it inherits and which is still widely practiced in Andalusia. Mentioned in Bizet's Carmen, the seguedilla seems to have its roots in the oriental dances brought by the Arabs to Andalusia, before finding its own identity in the 17th century. It is at this time that it finds its current form of mixture of zarabanda and chacona (a passacaglia of Italian origin). The seguedilla then quickly evolved into its current form, with varied steps, borrowed from the fandango and the Aragonese jota, with majestic arches of the body and arms. In this dance, the heels are regularly struck noisily on the ground, as a complementary percussion to the clapping of the castanets, it is the zapateado
. The zapateado is a pillar of flamenco grammar, and indeed of Andalusian dance as a whole.This heel step is also found in the fandango, a couple's dance accompanied by castanets and guitar, sometimes sung. The fandango is one of the oldest and most common Spanish dances, recognizable by its fast tempo and lively, voluptuous movements.
Some of the events where Sevillian folklore can be found are: the Osuna fair, where there is a parade of giants and a Sevillian dance competition; the thoroughbred show in Ecija, which also includes a Sevillian dance competition; and Corpus Christi, the Thursday after Pentecost, where dances and songs join the Corpus procession through the city.Flamenco
In the collective unconscious, Andalusia is synonymous with flamenco. Over time, the genre has become the national aesthetic. Flamenco originated in Lower Andalusia, within the historical triangle of Málaga - Cádiz - Seville, and is the result of the fusion of gypsy and Andalusian culture. Flamenco is divided into three main elements: song, dance and guitar. The rhythms are beaten by the feet, the zapateado - discussed earlier - and the hands of the dancers, whose steps differ depending on whether they are performed by a man (more vigor) or a woman (more softness and sensuality in the movements). A dance of passion and a song of great expressivity expressing the depths of the soul that has been magnified by the many legends of the field: Paco de Lucía, Camarón de la Isla, Tomatito, Agujetas, Vicente Amigo, Lola Florès, Cristina Hoyos, José Mercé, Antonio Molina, Enrique Morente, La Niña de los Peines or Niño Ricardo
...While in Seville, there are three main routes to go in search of flamenco. The first one proposes to stroll through the Triana neighborhood. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Seville was the capital of southern Spain and still the great port of connection with the Americas. At the foot of the Guadalquivir River, this neighborhood was the cradle, but also the crucible of flamenco, the point of arrival and departure of different currents. Since then, Triana has been the flamenco district par excellence, with excellent addresses where music lovers are spoilt for choice to spend a pleasant evening and be enchanted by this music. Among them are Es3ncia Tablao Flamenco, a small traditional bodega that offers a passionate puro flamenco show, just like in a typical peña, or the Flamenqueria
, where you can see shows by top-level dancers.The second itinerary suggests a stroll through the Alameda de Hércules neighborhood. This is where the bohemian flamenco atmosphere was established at the beginning of the 20th century and where many of the most important figures in the field were born. A circuit in several stages allows us to discover the place where the golden age of flamenco flourished via the house where Niño Ricardo was born and numerous colmaos
, cafés where flamenco was sung.The last route goes through the Centro, Santa Cruz and El Arenal. Here, we discover a more touristic - and therefore commercial - side of flamenco by passing through the commercial streets of the city. In the Centro, restaurants like Bodeguita Fabiola or La Monda offer almost daily flamenco performances and places like La Casa de la Memoria - a cultural center that organizes exhibitions, concerts and conferences on flamenco - or the Museo del Baile Flamenco Sevilla Cristina Hoyos are still places of reference (especially the last one) to see good flamenco. In El Arenal, the Groucho is the place to go, while in Santa Cruz, La Carbonería and the Casa del Flamenco
are the best places to see flamenco. Apart from these addresses, one event is a must for lovers of the genre: the Flamenco Biennial. On this occasion, the whole city celebrates this art form in the most beautiful places in the city (including the Maestranza and Lope de Vega theaters ), taverns and flamenco halls. Most of the well-known artists in this field are present, to the delight of flamenco lovers. Much less known but also very interesting, between Seville and Jerez de la Frontera, in Lebrija, there is a good flamenco festival every end of July called Caracolá Lebrijana.Classical music
Andalusia has played a special role in Spanish classical music. In the early nineteenth century, during the Spanish War of Independence, awareness of a national identity began to emerge among local artists and intellectuals. These artists and intellectuals began to focus more and more on regional and popular heritage and traditions in order to create a national aesthetic and to counter the influence of foreign music. As part of European Romanticism, this wave of musical Pintoresquismo (picturesque) was particularly important in Andalusia, where local traditional aesthetics fed many works of the time. Emilio Arrieta (1823-1894), who is best remembered for his role in the establishment of the zarzuela, composed, for example, La conquista di Granata in 1850, which is permeated by Hispanic soul and Arab-Andalusian influences. Also, whether it is in Adiós a la Alhambra (1855) by Jesús de Monasterio or Recuerdos de viaje (1886-1887), Alhambra Suite No. 1 (1898-1899), the Suite Morisca by Isaac Albéniz or in the serenade by Tomás Bretón entitled En la Alhambra
(1881), we find these cadences typical of Andalusian folklore and Arab-Andalusia music.It is also worth noting that many of the greatest names in Spanish art music come from Andalusia, such as Cristóbal de Morales and Francisco Guerrero, the two most important composers of the Renaissance, or Manuel de Falla, the leading Iberian musical figure of the 20th century, whose work is steeped in Spanish folklore.
Two privileged places to see classical music in the city: the Maestranza Theater, home of the Seville Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Lope de Vega Theater.
