Flamenco music

[JPablo]

Giving an example of a "saeta" by Joan Manel Serrat, today, while answering another thread I got into some more "Spanish flamenco music" and I discovered a singer I had never heard.

So I thought of sharing this incredible talent with all our "foreros".

The lyrics use a "standard" Andalusian/flamenco accent... and listening to these, one can practice Spanish and "detect" de differences of accent in relation to "standard" Castilian/Mexican... etc.

Here you have it... (you can listen to the first "introductory" song... and check her in YouTube too...)
http://www.mariacarrasco.es/

[Perikles]

No doubt an incedible talent, but her voice hurts my ears. Is she really that young? Most of my socks are older than she is.

[JPablo]

Yes, I must recognize that her voice does not sound like Marvin Gaye... (maybe you have to listen with a lower volume... so her "megahertzs" don't pierce and/or burst your tympanum... or eardrum.)

As far as her age... I know as much as you, here is another of her performances from 2007...

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by JPablo

As far as her age... I know as much as you, here is another of her performances from 2007...

Ouch [fingers in ears smiley]

[JPablo]

Well, you made me search for a lullaby by her... but man, oh, man... there she reaches even higher frequencies... I don't know is that maybe up to 2,000 Khertzs?

At any rate... I looked for some soothing lullabies... and while it is not "flamenco" is Spanish with rather good diction... so here is José Guardiola, singing the year I was born... (with some Dutch? introduction)

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by JPablo

Well, you made me search for a lullaby by her... but man, oh, man... there she reaches even higher frequencies... I don't know is that maybe up to 2,000 Khertzs?

The human ear can't hear higher than 20 Khz (actually, I can, but I'm not suppose to)

Originally Posted by JPablo

At any rate... I looked for some soothing lullabies... and while it is not "flamenco" is Spanish with rather good diction... so here is José Guardiola, singing the year I was born... (with some Dutch? introduction)

I really liked that. Here is an example of my kind of lullaby (but I don't want to go off-topic).

[JPablo]

Originally Posted by Perikles

The human ear can't hear higher than 20 Khz (actually, I can, but I'm not suppose to)
I really liked that. Here is an example of my kind of lullaby (but I don't want to go off-topic).

I meant to say 2,000 hertz! (But it is a good [unwitting] Andalusian hyperbolic joke! (We keep on topic here, as one of the semantic characteristics of Andalusian speech is their tendency to give the most unbelievable exaggerations, they are so exaggerated that... I don't know... "te pue[d]en da[r] 50 mil millone[s] de ehemplo[s]" just to give you one example.

Glad that you liked J. Guardiola. As for your kind of lullaby, wow! beautiful music/voice... even if veering 'slightly' off topic, it still is in comparison with the original posting, although I must recognize I didn't go into the significance and articulation of the lyrics...

[Elaina]

She's 15 y/o and I don't particularly like her voice either. She is very pretty though.

[JPablo]

How funny, Elaina!
I think I saw her videos when she was 11 or 12 and I was impressed with her voice! Then I saw the latest site, and yes, she is definitely pretty... but it wasn't really my point...
Bueno, "sobre gustos no hay nada escrito".

At any rate, the "fun part" of this, is actually get the "lyrics" and be able to "make out" exactly what is she saying and how is she "standardly eating" consonants... That should be the "drill" to learn Spanish... and/or get more familiar with it.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

My husband used to have some kind of interest in Flamenco music, and these are some of the singers he liked:

La Niña de los Peines:


Manolo Caracol:




@Perikles: She had a very nice voice!

[JPablo]

Hey, these are the "classics of classics" of Flamenco. But it is funny how it seems to me more difficult to follow the lyrics of these songs (or at least this is how I perceive it)

What surprised me of María Carrasco is the clarity of diction. I'd think that the fact she sings with such a high frequency voice, helps to get every syllable more clearly marked. (That's why I think it may be a good exercise for a person studying Spanish, to listen carefully to these lyrics and "make out" the words...)

At any rate, the "high frequency" pitch may be a factor for some people listening... so while I like it, and I like the way she performs, I understand fully that others may not appreciate it in the same way...

I heard now this one about "el abuelo", whose lyrics are very 'touching' (at least from my viewpoint)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Pablo: She's much more like a pop singer in comparison.
As for understanding the classics, you're right, but I think that's an essential part of it.
(Por cierto, Asterix conoce un cierto bardo que canta parecido, ¿verdad?)

[JPablo]

That's rigth (I've seen some comments on her "flamenco" not being "pure".)
Bueno, Assuranceturix, o "Seguroatodoriesguix", el Bardo, es un músico..., un músico más allá de toda comparación...


Y siguiendo con el tema:
Aquí tenemos a los Gipsy Kings... con una versión rumbosa/aflamencada que los anglos podrán reconocer...

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by JPablo

What surprised me of María Carrasco is the clarity of diction. I'd think that the fact she sings with such a high frequency voice, helps to get every syllable more clearly marked. (That's why I think it may be a good exercise for a person studying Spanish, to listen carefully to these lyrics and "make out" the words...)

The difficulty for me is that despite the talent her voice is strident and extremely painful to the ear, very similar to when somebody treads on a cat. I reckon that 30 seconds of her voice would induce a migraine, but I'm not going to risk the experiment. Why anybody would actually enjoy the experience is a mystery to me, which I find interesting because it shows how different musical traditions can be.

[JPablo]

I totally understand your feeling. I think it is a matter of "traditions" and "perception" "range of". In my case, I got used to that high frequency, and rather than 'pain' it is a pleasure to listen... But there is going to be differences in perception... (I had a friend who would listen heavy metal and punk rock at deafening levels... but he in fact had a perfect hearing... )

As an example in terms of "range of perception"...
When Mohamed Ali was training for a fight against Foreman (I believe) he said he was going to dance all time and "tire out" Foreman... Instead he actually train himself to endure quite a bit of pounding. Foreman would pound with such intensity that the training sac (or whatever is the name you use for the training device for boxers...) would become indented after 20 minutes of pounding... During the actual fight in Manila (I think it was), Ali sustained quite some pounding all over his torso... abs, you name it... (just receiving one of the strikes would have me knocked down, in a split of a second) At round 8, when Foreman had been "winning" the game (he had accumulated some points with the pounding), Ali, connected a couple of hits, I believe an upper-cut with the left and a straight shot with his right (I may have all the details wrong... I saw the video "When we were kings" years ago). Foreman was KO in the eight round... and Ali recovered his title (withdrawn from him because of his refusal to be drafted for Vietnam war...)
What the above has to do with Flamenco, you may think is questionable, but if you follow the thread, I believe you see the connection. Not that Ali was a Flamenco dancer, far from it... he was however "a dancer in his own right". And believe it or not Flamenco has something to do with "sport".
For example the Johan Cruyffj DVD "En un momento dado" has a lot of flamenco guitar... even an interview with the guitarrist... and it is a trilingual production (Subtitles in Spanish, Dutch, English, even Catalan...) (It may be an interesting language exercise... if you like soccer and flamenco...)
http://www.shareseeking.com/Download...Momento%20Dado

[Sasha Reyes]

Very interesting thread, thank you
Here some flamenco themes i like very mach)


Vicente Amigo - best guitar man)

Best dancer flamenco - Farruquito & his small son))

Girl sing very well)) no professional cantaor(singer)

[Sasha Reyes]

Hi, everybody!
A few fresh videos of a flamenco.
Jose Merce & Alejandro Sanz - Corazon partio.

The best dancer flamenco today - Farruquito - espectaculo Improvisao 2015.

Camaron de la Isla por alegrias - rare record.

Sleeping cats & flamenco)))

Beautiful Eva Yerbabuena, 2015 - alegrias.

[Sasha Reyes]

Manuela Barrios 2015 (Baile flamenco a cámara lenta) Slow motion! HD

Russian Paganini - Alexey Arkhipovskiy - Cinderella

Jose Antonio Rodriguez - como tocar por Malagueña

Diego Cigala - Vida Loca. 2015 HD

[Sancho Panther]

Originally Posted by Perikles

No doubt an incedible talent, but her voice hurts my ears. Is she really that young? Most of my socks are older than she is.

I cannot presume to pass comment on the quality of any flamenco music as my Spanish relatives are all in Cataluña and thus are contemptuous of it, plus I don't like it much either.

However, without wishing to be rude I would tentatively recommend that Perikles might seriously consider buying new socks, if only for the benefit of his friends.

[Sancho Panther]

Drunken stamping, clapping, arm-flailing twirling accompanied by caterwauling and thrashing guitars.

Oh and castanets! Mustn't forget them - they're essential!