Soleá

Soleares (plural of soleá, pronounced ) is one of the most basic forms or palos of Flamenco music, probably originated around Cádiz or Seville in Andalusia, the most southern region of Spain. It is usually accompanied by one guitar only, in phrygian mode 'por arriba' (fundamental on the 6th string); 'Bulerías por soleá' is usually played 'por medio' (fundamental on the 5th string). Soleares is sometimes called 'mother of palos' although it is not the oldest one (e.g. siguiriyas is older than soleares) and not even related to every other palo (e.g. fandangos family is from a different origin) Soleares (plural of soleá, pronounced ) is one of the most basic forms or palos of Flamenco music, probably originated around Cádiz or Seville in Andalusia, the most southern region of Spain. It is usually accompanied by one guitar only, in phrygian mode 'por arriba' (fundamental on the 6th string); 'Bulerías por soleá' is usually played 'por medio' (fundamental on the 5th string). Soleares is sometimes called 'mother of palos' although it is not the oldest one (e.g. siguiriyas is older than soleares) and not even related to every other palo (e.g. fandangos family is from a different origin) When singers sing soleá, as with most palos, they normally choose different 'coplas' (stanzas), with different melody, and combine them according to the inspiration of the moment or to a previous plan. Even if the singer has a previous plan, it is often altered on the spur of the moment. These stanzas are independent in subject matter from one another. The content of the lyrics is generally serious in nature, as appropriate to the solemn air of the music. They often have a sententious tone and convey a feeling of intimate pain. Sometimes despair, more typical of seguiriya, can also appear. However, it is difficult to generalize: sometimes a less serious stanza can turn up in the middle of other serious ones, and irony is frequent. The stanza of the soleá has three or four lines. In four-line stanzas, the second and fourth line are in assonant rhyme, while the first and third are free. In three-line stanzas, the assonance is between the first and the third. Some examples: This type of stanza is the cuarteta romanceada, one of the oldest and most frequent in Spanish poetry, and is derived from the medieval 'Romance' poetic form, a type of traditional epic poetry that has survived in both learned and popular literature to our days.