Soleá

Soleares (plural of soleá, pronounced [soleˈa]) is one of the most basic forms or palos of Flamenco music, probably originating among the Calé Romani people of Cádiz or Seville in Andalusia, the most southern region of Spain.

It is very demanding for singers, as they have to strive to be creative and, at the same time, respectful of the tradition, and they have to succeed in finding a good balance between melodic and rhythmic sides, both extremely difficult.

Nevertheless, this is just an underlying structure, like a foundation, a kind of grid where flamenco artists creatively draw the rhythm by means of subdivisions, articulation, and less commonly, syncopation and accent displacement.

To adapt to the singer's vocal range, guitarists can use a "cejilla" (capo) to play in any key while preserving the known chord positions.

Modern guitarists often play soleá using other chord positions or even changing the tuning of the guitar to experiment with new sounds, especially in solo instrumental pieces.

The typical flamenco progression iv, III, II, I (an altered Phrygian cadence) is heard several times during the development of the song.

Folklorist Demófilo assured, as early as 1879, that they derived from the "coplas de jaleo", a kind festive song style in a very lively rhythm, apparently very popular in the mid 19th century.

These facts contradict other views according to which the soleá would be the origin of the rest of flamenco "palos" and was from the beginning a serious and solemn style.

In their primitive stages, soléa, as well as jaleo, seem to have been linked to Gypsy environments in several towns of the provinces of Cádiz and Seville.

With the turn of the century, other "palos" like those belonging to the group "cantes libres" like malagueña, tarantas, or Cartageneras took the supremacy.

At the times of the "Ópera Flamenca", it was further displaced by Fandangos, popular songs fashioned to the Bulerías rhythm and "cantes de ida y vuelta" like the Guajiras.

During the 1950s to 1970s, at the time of the neo-traditionalism of Antonio Mairena and his school, the style went back into favour, becoming, together with Seguiriyas and Tonás one of the most valued by flamenco artists, critics and public.

Followers of Camarón de la Isla and his school tend to pay less attention to traditional, "hard" styles, and favour other more festive "palos" like Bulerías or tangos, which are easier to mix with pop and commercial music influences.

Many times, these attributions rely solely on the oral tradition and the beliefs of singers and the flamenco environment, but rarely on evidence.