Music of Spain

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The modern classical guitar and its baroque predecessor were invented in Spain
Since their debut La Oreja de Van Gogh, they have sold more than 8 million albums worldwide.

In

Latin American music. Spanish music is often associated with traditional styles such as flamenco and classical guitar. While these forms of music are common, there are many different traditional musical and dance styles across the regions. For example, music from the north-west regions is heavily reliant on bagpipes, the jota is widespread in the centre and north of the country, and flamenco originated in the south. Spanish music played a notable part in the early developments of western classical music, from the 15th through the early 17th century. The breadth of musical innovation can be seen in composers like Tomás Luis de Victoria, styles like the zarzuela of Spanish opera, the ballet of Manuel de Falla, and the classical guitar music of Francisco Tárrega
. Nowadays commercial pop music dominates.

Origins of the music of Spain

Musical instruments in the Diocesan Museum of Albarracín.

The

Iberian peninsula has had a history of receiving different musical influences from around the Mediterranean Sea and across Europe. In the two centuries before the Christian era, Roman rule brought with it the music and ideas of Ancient Greece; early Christians, who had their own differing versions of church music arrived during the height of the Roman Empire; the Visigoths, a Romanized Germanic people, who took control of the peninsula following the fall of the Roman Empire; the Moors
and Jews in the Middle Ages. Hence, there have been more than two thousand years of internal and external influences and developments that have produced a large number of unique musical traditions.

Medieval period

Cantigas de Santa maría, medieval Spain
Codex Las Huelgas
, a medieval Spanish music manuscript, circa 1300 AD.

Isidore of Seville wrote about the local music in the 6th century. His influences were predominantly Greek, and yet he was an original thinker, and recorded some of the first details about the early music of the Christian church. He perhaps is most famous in musical history for declaring that it was not possible to notate sounds, an assertion which revealed his ignorance of the notational system of ancient Greece, suggesting that this knowledge had been lost with the fall of the Roman Empire in the west.[citation needed]

The

Codex Las Huelgas from Burgos. The so-called Llibre Vermell de Montserrat (red book) is an important devotional collection from the 14th century.[citation needed
]

Renaissance and Baroque periods

Orpheus the vihuela. Frontispiece from the famous work El maestro by Luis de Milán, 1536.

In the early

Ars Nova period. Renaissance song books included the Cancionero de Palacio, the Cancionero de Medinaceli, the Cancionero de Upsala (kept in Carolina Rediviva library), the Cancionero de la Colombina, and the later Cancionero de la Sablonara. The organist Antonio de Cabezón
stands out for his keyboard compositions and mastery.

An early 16th-century polyphonic vocal style developed in Spain was closely related to that of the Franco-Flemish composers. Merging of these styles occurred during the period when the Holy Roman Empire and the Burgundy were part of the dominions under Charles I (king of Spain from 1516 to 1556), since composers from the North of Europe visited Spain, and native Spaniards traveled within the empire, which extended to the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. Music composed for the vihuela by Luis de Milán, Alonso Mudarra and Luis de Narváez was one of the main achievements of the period. The Aragonese Gaspar Sanz authored the first learning method for guitar. Spanish composers of the Renaissance included Francisco Guerrero, Cristóbal de Morales, and Tomás Luis de Victoria (late Renaissance period), all of whom spent a significant portion of their careers in Rome. The latter was said to have reached a level of polyphonic perfection and expressive intensity equal or even superior to Palestrina and Lassus [citation needed]. Most Spanish composers returned home from travels abroad late in their careers to spread their musical knowledge in their native land, or in the late 16th century to serve at the Court of Philip II.

18th to 20th centuries

Front cover of book: Escuela Música según la práctica moderna published in 1723–1724
Antonio Soler's Sonata No. 84, an example of Classical era music in Spain
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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 by Italian models, as in the works of Antonio Soler. Some outstanding Italian composers such as Domenico Scarlatti and Luigi Boccherini were appointed to the Madrid royal court. The short-lived Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga is credited as the main beginner of Romantic sinfonism in Spain. [citation needed]

Although symphonic music was never too important in Spain, chamber, solo instrumental (mainly guitar and piano) vocal and opera (both traditional opera, and the Spanish version of the singspiel) music was written by local composers. Zarzuela, a native form of opera that includes spoken dialogue, is a secular musical genre which developed in the mid-17th century, flourishing most importantly in the century after 1850. Francisco Asenjo Barbieri was a key figure in the development of the romantic zarzuela; whilst later composers such as Ruperto Chapí, Federico Chueca and Tomás Bretón brought the genre to its late 19th-century apogee. Leading 20th-century zarzuela composers included Pablo Sorozábal and Federico Moreno Torroba.

Pablo Sarasate and Jesús de Monasterio
.

Musical creativity mainly moved into areas of popular music until the nationalist revival of the late Romantic era. Spanish composers of this period included

Felipe Pedrell, Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, Joaquín Turina, Manuel de Falla, Jesús Guridi, Ernesto Halffter, Federico Mompou, Salvador Bacarisse, and Joaquín Rodrigo
.

Performers

Main articles: List of Spanish musicians and List of bands from Spain
Raphael recognized for being one of the forerunners of the romantic ballad.

In the field of classical music, Spain has produced a number of noted singers and performers. In Spain there are over forty professional orchestras, including the

El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía
.

Ye-yé

Braulio García Singer-songwriter
Main article: Yé-yé

From the English pop-refrain words "yeah-yeah", ye-yé was a French-coined term which Spanish language appropriated to refer to uptempo, "spirit lifting" pop music. It mainly consisted of fusions of American rock from the early 1960s (such as

Karina (1963). The earliest Spanish pop was an imitation of French pop, which at the time was itself an imitation of American and British pop and rock. Flamenco rhythms, such as in Rosalía's [es
] 1965 single "Flamenco", sometimes made Spanish pop distinctive.

Popular music in Spain

Julio Iglesias is the Latin artist who has sold the most albums in history.
Isabel Pantoja live in Madrid in 2012.
Rocío Dúrcal is one of the best-selling Spanish-speaking women in the industry.

Although Spanish pop music is currently flourishing, the industry suffered for many years under

Real Madrid football player-turned-singer, for example, became the world-famous Julio Iglesias
.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, tourism boomed, bringing yet more musical styles from the rest of the continent and abroad. However, it was not until the 1980s that Spain's burgeoning pop music industry took off with a cultural movement known as

Latin Grammy Awards, includes music from Spain including a category for Best Flamenco Album with voting members living in the country.[5][6] Spanish singer Julio Iglesias holds the world record for being the best-selling Male Latin Artist of all time.[7]

Music by region

The regions of Spain have distinctive musical traditions. There is also a movement of singer-songwriters with politically active lyrics, paralleling similar developments in Latin America and Portugal. The singer and composer Eliseo Parra (b 1949) has recorded traditional folk music from the Basque country and Castile as well as his own compositions inspired from the musical styles of Spain and abroad.

Andalusia

Main article: Music of Andalusia
Flamenco dancing in Seville.
Panda de Verdiales in Málaga.

Though

tabor pipe) music in western Andalusia and a distinct violin and plucked-string type of band music known as panda de verdiales in Málaga
.

Sevillanas is related to flamenco and most flamenco performers have at least one classic sevillana in their repertoire. The style originated as a medieval Castilian dance, called the seguidilla, which was adopted with a flamenco style in the 19th century. Today, this lively couples' dance is popular in most parts of Spain, though the dance is often associated with the city of Seville's famous Easter feria.

The region has also produced singer-songwriters like Javier Ruibal and Carlos Cano [es], 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 Moreno, Luís Delgado and Rosa Zaragoza keep Andalusian Sephardic music alive.

Aragon

Main article: Music of Aragon
Aragonese jota dancing.

tabor pipe). As in the Basque country, Aragonese chiflo can be played along to a chicotén string-drum (psaltery
) rhythm.

Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia

Main article:
Music of Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias
Asturian gaiteros (bagpipe players)

Northwest Spain (

tabor pipe does not play as an important role as it does in Basque music. Traditionally, Galician music included a type of chanting song known as alalas
. Alalas may include instrumental interludes, and were believed to have a very long history, based on legends.

There are local festivals of which Ortigueira's Festival Internacional do Mundo Celta is especially important. Drum and bagpipe couples range among the most beloved kinds of Galician music, that also includes popular bands like Milladoiro. Pandereteiras are traditional groups of women that play tambourines and sing - bands like Tanxugueiras are directly influenced by this tradition. The bagpipe virtuosos Carlos Núñez and Susana Seivane are especially popular performers.

Mieres), "Intercelticu d'Avilés" (Interceltic festival of Avilés, in July), as well as many "Celtic
nights" in Asturias.

Balearic Islands

Main article: Music of the Balearic Islands

In the

nova canço, known for her political and social lyrics. Tomeu Penya, Biel Majoral, Cerebros Exprimidos and Joan Bibiloni
are also popular.

Basque Country

Main article: Basque music
Ezpatadantza of the Basque Country.

The most popular kind of

toacă 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 arches made from vegetation. Other popular dances are the fandango, jota and 5/8 zortziko
.

Basques on both sides of the Spanish-French border have been known for their singing since the

choirs that helped preserve their language and songs. Even during the persecution of the Francisco Franco
era (1939–1975), when the Basque language was outlawed, traditional songs and dances were defiantly preserved in secret, and they continue to thrive despite the popularity of commercially marketed pop music.

Canary Islands

Main article: Music of the Canary Islands

In the

tabor pipe is customary in some ritual dances on the island of Tenerife
.

Castile, Madrid and León

Main article:
Music of Castile, Madrid and León
Children in Castilian folk costume in Soria, Castile.

A large inland region,

Roma influences, but the longstanding influences from the surrounding regions and Portugal
continue to play an important role. Areas within Castile and León generally tend to have more musical affinity with neighboring regions than with more distant parts of the region. This has given the region diverse musical traditions.

chotis music, a local variation to the 19th-century schottische dance. Flamenco
, although not considered native, is popular among some urbanites but is mainly confined to Madrid.

Catalonia

Main article: Music of Catalonia

Though

bagpipe) are traditional folk instruments that make part of some coblas
.

Catalan

rumba catalana
 which is a popular style that's similar to flamenco, but not technically part of the flamenco canon. The rumba catalana originated in Barcelona when the rumba and other Afro-Cuban styles arrived from Cuba in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Catalan performers adapted them to the flamenco format and made it their own. Though often dismissed by aficionados as "fake" flamenco, rumba catalana remains wildly popular to this day.

The

havaneres singers remain popular. Nowadays, young people cultivate Rock català popular music, as some years ago the Nova Cançó
was relevant.

Extremadura

Main article: Music of Extremadura

Having long been the poorest part of Spain,

castanets, guitars, tambourines, accordions
and zambombas.

Murcia

Main article: Music of Murcia

church bells
, and cuadrillas are festive songs primarily played during holidays, like Christmas.

Navarre and La Rioja

Main article: Music of Navarre and La Rioja
Ioaldunak dancers of Navarre.

tabor pipe) and dulzaina
ensembles are very popular in the public celebrations of Navarre.

Valencia

Main article:
Music of Valencia

Traditional music from

Valencia is characteristically Mediterranean in origin. 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. Dolçaina (shawm
) is widely found. Valencia also shares some traditional dances with other Iberian areas, like for instance, the ball de bastons (stick-dances). 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.

References

  1. ISSN 0006-2510
    . Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  2. ^ Llewellyn, Howell (11 November 2000). "The Spanish Market Looks To Export Artists". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 46. p. 78. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  3. ISBN 9780470766026
    .
  4. ISSN 0006-2510
    . Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  5. ISSN 0006-2510
    . Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  6. ^ Garza, Agustin (18 May 2002). "Latin Grammys Struggle With Loss of Momentum". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  7. ^ "Julio Iglesias receives world record certificate in Beijing". Guinness World Record. 2 April 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Music_of_Spain&oldid=1220755687"