Palo (flamenco)

A "palo" is the name traditionally given in the flamenco environment for the different musical forms that constitute the traditional musical heritage of flamenco. Each "palo" is characterized by a variety of musical features such as its rhythmic pattern, its mode, its characteristic motifs, or the type of stanza used for the lyrics, and comprises a series of traditional melodies or songs, generally called "estilos" (styles) in the flamenco jargon. The meaning of "estilo" here has nothing to do with the general meaning of "style" as a series of characteristics that define a musical period, a trend, a genre, or the particular manner of an artist: it refers to a particular composition or song which was created in the past, either anonymously or attributed to a particular singer, and was developed by generations of singers. Any newly composed, non-traditional songs or compositions following the general form of the "palo" are also usually called by the name that "palo".

The word "palo", in Spanish, has several meanings, the main one being "stick", "bar", "pole" or "rod", but in this case it has the sense of "suit of cards". Therefore, it has a metaphorical use meaning category or classification.

The concept of "palo" must not be understood as a rigorous musicological category. It is rather a popular, sometimes inconsistent way of classifying songs according to similar characteristics. For example, to determine that a song belongs to the "palo" called Bulerías, only the rhythm is taken into consideration, no matter its mode or stanza. Fandangos, on the other hand, include a variety of forms in 3/4 or 6/8, but later it developed "free" forms (that is, with no determined rhythm). Most "palos" include dozens of traditional songs, while others like the serrana include only one song. Another interesting example is that of the polo and the caña: they are almost identical and should in fact be classified as variations of the same song, but tradition has classified them as different palos.

Classification of palos

"Palos" have been categorized in different ways, but the most usual one takes into account a variety of characteristics like rhythm, mode, and origin. This choice of characteristics is not necessarily consistent. According to their traditionally attributed origin, they are often classified in the shape of a tree, usually in a rather unscientific way [http://www.tristeyazul.com/histpal/arbol00.htm] ).

Cantes a palo seco (a cappella)

Cantes a palo seco (a cappella) are by some theorists like Demófilo or Molina and Mairena as the origin of the rest of flamenco songs, they are certainly among the oldest documented music forms of flamenco. They include palos like the tonás and martinetes. The debla and the carceleras, also classified as "palos" are in fact varieties of the Martinetes. They are traditionally considered to be of Gypsy origin. The trilla is another form of "cante a palo seco", originated in the songs traditionally sung by peasants during their work ("trilla" means "threshing"). Another important "palo" of this type is the saetas, reserved to Holy Week processions. Some modern flamenco artists have also performed these styles with instrumental accompaniment, a practice that is spurned by purist audiences. However, it has been frequently stated that some other "palos" that are now played with accompaniment were also played "a cappella" in the past. When martinetes are sung as musical support for dance, they are normally accompanied by a siguiriya type percussion, often using a hammer and anvil to evocate their hypothetical origin as "cantes de fragua" (songs from the smiths).

Cantes related to soleá

This group comprises all songs played with the soleá rhythm, that is, following this rhythmic pattern:

The group normally includes the following palos: soleá, bulerías por soleá (also called Soleá por bulería), the cantiñas group (including alegrías, romeras, caracoles, mirabrás and other cantiñas), bulerías, caña and polo. Most of them have traditionally been considered of Gypsy origin.

The bulerías is a special case in this group, as it is not constrained to the typical 12-beat scheme of soleá, but can also incorporate 6-beat and 3-beat sections. The palos caña and polo comprehend only one song each, which is in fact very similar. They are classified in this group owing to their accompaniment, but the melody of the songs is not really related to the soleá songs.

The consideration of bulerías por soleá is problematic. It can be considered as just a way of playing soleá with a regular rhythm (instead of the usual rubato often heard in soleá). For this reason, it is often called "soleá al golpe" (literally, "soleá to the beat"). At other times, it is used to classify a subset of traditional songs in soleá rhythm.

The so-called fandango por soleá is just a regular fandango in which the traditional fandango guitar accompaniment has been replaced by the one typical of soleá (with the necessary adjustments to the rhythm of the song). It is normally classified under the fandangos group.

Cantes related to seguiriya

The "palos" under this classification are: seguiriya, cabales, serrana, livianas, and toná liviana. Although martinetes and other tonás are sometimes played with a seguiriya percussion, they are not included in this group. The only "palo" in this group to have a wide variety of "estilos" is the seguiriya. The livianas "palo" comprises only two songs, and the "serrana" and "tona" liviana only one song. All these palos follow a 12-beat pattern, with a different distribuition of strong beats. However, we could also argue that it is the same rhythm as soléa, starting in a different beat:

In fact, if you start counting the soléa on the eighth beat, you will obtain a seguiriya rhythm.

Cantes derived from fandangos

The fandangos, with many different regional varieties, were immensely popular folkloric dances in large areas of Spain and Ibero-America during the 18th century. They were adopted by several classical musicians like Antonio Soler or Boccherini as a basis for their own compositions. Although they are nowadays often sung as cantes libres, they were originally sung and played to support the dance of the same name. When played with a regular rhythm, they follow a 3/4 or 6/8 time signature. At the end of the 19th century they transcended the folkloric environment and became a flamenco "palo" in their own right. The fandangos group is normally subclassified as follows:
* Fandangos from Huelva. The more traditional styles are rhythmic, but since the beginning of the 20th century they have also been interpreted as cantes libres. Most personal creations by singers, called "Fandangos personales", are based on these varieties of fandango. The variety of traditional local fandangos in the province of Huelva is enormous, but Huelva city and the town of Alosno have been especially prolific.
* Fandangos orientales (eastern fandangos). Originated in the eastern part of Andalusia and Murcia. This subgroup is further classified as:
** Fandangos abandolaos. They are played in regular 3/4 time signature. They include verdiales, jaberas, rondeñas, fandangos de lucena, old malagueñas and other palos.
** Cantes libres (with no regular rhythmic pattern). This category includes modern malagueñas, tarantas, cartageneras, cantes de madrugá, minera, murciana, levantica, granaína and "media granaína".
* Fandangos personales. Any fandango which is not traditional by a creation of a more recent singer. "Fandangos personales" were the predominant flamenco song between the 30s and 50s of the 20th century, and were later deprecated by purists.

Cantes related to tangos

The tangos group comprises most of the flamenco forms in a 4/4 beat. It comprises tangos, tientos, farruca, garrotín and rumba and tanguillos, plus other rare palos such as marianas. The tientos are a slower, more syncopated form of the tangos which recall the rhythm of the habaneras. Many traditional melodies can be sung both in tango and tiento rhythm and, quite often, singers start with a suite of tientos and complete it with one or more stanzas in tango rhythm. The farruca and the garrotín were folkloric songs originated probably in Asturias and Catalonia and brought to Andalusia, where they acquired flamenco characteristics.

Cantes de ida y vuelta (related to Ibero-America)

The Spanish expression ida y vuelta is used to refer to a "return trip". The "palos" classified under this group are supposed to have been exported from Spain to the New World and especially Cuba, where they would have acquired Indian and Negro influences, to be reimported again in Andalusia by returned emigrants. These palos include guajiras, vidalitas, milongas, and colombianas.

Other palos

Flamenco singers often sing several types of folkloric songs, lending them flamenco musical features. Most of these songs are often not considered, properly speaking, as flamenco, although they have long been incorporated to the repertoire of flamenco artists. They include palos such as sevillanas, nanas ("lullabies"), bambera, zambras, zorongo or campanilleros.