Soleá
Origin and history
The soleá is considered the queen of gypsy cante and one of the central pillars on which the whole edifice of flamenco rests. Its birth is placed in the early 19th century, in the very period when what we today understand as flamenco was taking shape, and its origin is traditionally attributed to the great cantaora La Andonda, a founding figure around whom much of the legendary history of the style has been woven.
It was the gypsies of Lower Andalusia, and especially those of Seville’s Triana neighborhood, who developed and perfected this cante until it became one of the deepest and most heartfelt expressions in the entire flamenco repertoire. Triana, with its intense gypsy and artisan life on the banks of the Guadalquivir, acted as one of the great laboratories where the different variants of soleá we know today were forged.
From that Triana core, the soleá spread and branched into numerous local schools, each associated with an area or a lineage of cantaores, which has given rise to an enormous richness of styles within this same palo.
Musical characteristics and compás
The soleá is sung in an amalgam compás of twelve beats, the same rhythmic scheme it shares with the seguiriya and the bulería, though with its own accentuation and tempo that give it its distinctive character, generally more measured and solemn than the bulería. It is a cante jondo, in tonalidades por medio and of great melismatic richness, traditionally accompanied by flamenco guitar.
Its lyrics, brief and of great poetic density, usually deal with themes of solitude, loss and existential reflection, in keeping with the popular etymology of the style’s own name. The soleá also lends itself to dance, being one of the fundamental bases of jondo flamenco dance par excellence.
Representative cantaores and performers
La Andonda appears in tradition as the founding figure of this style, the cantaora to whom its creation is attributed at the origins of nineteenth-century flamenco. From her, successive generations of cantaores and cantaoras from Triana and other hubs of Lower Andalusia developed their own schools of soleá, contributing to the enormous variety of personal styles now grouped under this same name.
Relationship with other palos
The soleá is part, together with the seguiriya, of the core of gypsy and primitive cantes that make up the central trunk of flamenco. Styles such as the bulería derive from or are closely related to the soleá, sharing with it the same amalgam compás at a faster, more festive tempo, as do the caña and the polo, considered old variants close to the soleá itself.