Gypsies and flamenco: The emergence of the art of flamenco in Andalusia

120 Pages·1995·8.914 MB·English

by  Bernard Leblon

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The Interface Collection
Gypsies and ‘Flamenco
The Interface Collection, developed by the Gypsy Research Centre of the Université
René Descartes, Paris, is published with the support of the European Commission.
Some Collection titles receive Council of Europe support for distribution in Central and
Eastern Europe.
The views expressed in this work are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect
those of the Editor, the Gypsy Research Centre of the Université René Descartes or its
Working Groups (of historians, linguists, pedagogues...)
Cover : Catherine Liégeois,
based on photographs by Jean Loustalot.
DTP : Franck Desbordes.
U University of
Hertfordshire Press
University of Hertfordshire
College Lane
Hatfield
UK - Hertfordshire ALIO 9AB
Tel: + 44 1707 284654
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© 1995
ISBN : ISBN 0 900 45859 3
Published 1995
Bernard Leblon
Gypsies
and ‘Flamenco
‘The emergence of the art of flamenco
in Andalusia
translated from the French by Sinéad ni Shuinéar
Gypsy Research Centre
University of Hertfordshire Press
Bernard Leblon
The author’s first contacts with the Gypsy world and with flamenco, in Seville in the
1950’s, were to exert a decisive influence over the rest of his life. From the 1960's
onwards he has been engaged in research into the history of the Gypsies of Spain,
culminating, in 1980, in his defending a doctoral thesis on the subject, and subsequently
in the publication of a number of works and the setting up of a specialised research
centre at the University of Perpignan, where he was professor of Hispanic studies
until his retirement in 1994.
He has been participating in flamenco congresses since 1982, and has been a member
of the Andalusian Flamenco Foundation since its inception in 1987. He is a member
of the board of directors of the Gypsy Research Centre of the Université René
Descartes, and of its associated Research Group on European Gypsy History.
His first work on flamenco, Musiques tsiganes et Flamenco (Gypsy Music Styles and
Flamenco), was awarded the 1988 Andalusian Flamenco Foundation prize and jointly
published by Etudes Tsiganes* and Harmattan in 1990.
Table of Contents
Introduction 9
I. The Gypsies, Professional Musicians
1. India and Iran 13
2. From East to West 14
3. Turkey and Greece 15
4. Hungary 17
5. Gypsy “Flavour” and the Duende* 19
6. Spain 22
7. The “Gypsy” Repertoire 24
8. Instruments 24
II. Spain and the Gypsies : A Policy of Forced Settlement
1. The Golden Age of the Pilgrims
from Little Egypt 27
2. The Intolerance of the Catholic Monarchs*
and their Successors 28
3. “There Is No Such Thing as a Gypsy” 30
4. Recipes for Extermination 32
5. The Law of Philip IV (1633) 33
6. Gypsy Hunting and Ecclesiastical Immunity...................... 35
7. The Laws of Forced Assimilation
(1695 - 1717 - 1745 - 1746) 37
8. The General Internment of 1749 41
9. A Dark Age of Enlightenment 42
10. The Law of 1783 43
III. Gypsy-Andalusians : The “Flamenco Families”
1. The Lucky Few 47
2. The Moorish Heritage 47
3. The First Sedentary Families 49
4. “Old Castilian” Certificates 51
5. Changes in a Privileged Situation 51
Saved by Their Music 52
D Official Recognition of Gypsy Usefulness...
N
O After 1783 53
9. The Censuses of 1784 and 1785 54
10. The Case of Andalusia 58
11. The Andalusian Miracle
12. Flamenco : A Philosophy and a Way of Life ................ 59
13. The Geographical Framework 60
14. The Great Flamenco Family 62
IV. The Obscure Origins of Flamenco Art
Successful Transculturation
L Gypsies’ Professional Music
N
W Gypsy Ballads
The Case of the Seguiriya*
RP The Gypsy Ethos
M
Y The Secrets of Invention
N
The Case of the Vlax Rom of Hungary
AN Gypsy Music and Flamenco
CH The Gypsy Signature
10. The Anti-Gypsy Polemic
11. Flamenco Literature and Racial Prejudice ..............0........
12. Gypsy Andalusia and Payo* Andalusia
13. The Origins Debate
14. The Jewish Theory
15. The Byzantine Theory
16. Arabic Music
17. de Falla’s Demonstration
18. Current Knowledge
Conclusion
List of Illustrations 98
Bibliography 100
Glossary 104
Recordings of Flamenco Music 110
240 Deceased Gypsy Flamenco Singers 114
Nota Bene : Terms marked with an asterisk* are explained in the Glossary