Tientos
The tientos are, like the tangos, a primitive cante and one of the basic pillars on which flamenco rests. They have their own forms in Cádiz and in Jerez, and are considered the musical trunk from which the tangos derive, with which they keep a close kinship in rhythm and compás.
Origin and history
The tientos took shape during the 19th century within the Gitano-Andalusian milieu, probably through a slow settling of the primitive tangos towards a more measured tempo and a greater melodic density. Its name alludes precisely to that manner of “tentar” or feeling out the cante, advancing calmly before settling into the definitive compás.
Cádiz and Jerez de la Frontera were the two great centres of development of the style, each with its own imprint: the Cádiz tientos, of more broken melody, and the Jerez ones, of markedly Gitano flavour. Over time the cante became fixed in different schools and coplas that today form part of the essential repertoire of any flamenco cantaor, and it was also incorporated into dance as one of the most solemn and expressive palos of the female and male repertoire.
Musical characteristics and compás
The tientos are sung in binary compás, the same twelve-beat rhythmic scheme they share with the tangos, but performed at a considerably slower and more solemn tempo. This slowness allows a much broader melodic and interpretive display, which is why they are considered a cante of great technical and expressive demand.
They are accompanied by guitar “por medio”, with a toque that combines the marked strumming of the compás with more lyrical passages, and they admit palmas and dance. It is common for a performance of tientos to conclude by accelerating the compás to flow into a tango, a resolution known as “tientos por tangos” or “salida por tangos”.
Representative cantaores and performers
The tientos have historical figures clearly associated with their development, such as Enrique el Mellizo in Cádiz, considered the creator of one of the most influential schools of the style, and Manuel Torre in Jerez, whose Jerez version is also an essential reference. Throughout the 20th century numerous cantaores have kept this repertoire alive within their recitals.
Relationship with other palos
The tientos form, together with the tangos, one of the primitive trunks of flamenco, and are in fact considered the musical origin from which the flamenco tango derived as its compás accelerated. They also share kinship of atmosphere and binary compás with other Gitano festive cantes, standing at the meeting point between the depth of the basic cantes and the rhythmic vitality of the compás cantes.