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Collection NT nn Bernard» Leblon yeaa and ‘Flamenco O SE cel e meaning OVOeINUMO) Meat athiilem kas The Interface Collection Gypsies and ‘Flamenco The Interface Collection, developed by the Gypsy Research Centre of the Université René Descartes, Paris, is published with the support of the European Commission. Some Collection titles receive Council of Europe support for distribution in Central and Eastern Europe. The views expressed in this work are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, the Gypsy Research Centre of the Université René Descartes or its Working Groups (of historians, linguists, pedagogues...) Cover : Catherine Liégeois, based on photographs by Jean Loustalot. DTP : Franck Desbordes. U University of Hertfordshire Press University of Hertfordshire College Lane Hatfield UK - Hertfordshire ALIO 9AB Tel: + 44 1707 284654 Fax: + 44 1707 284666 © 1995 ISBN : ISBN 0 900 45859 3 Published 1995 Bernard Leblon Gypsies and ‘Flamenco ‘The emergence of the art of flamenco in Andalusia translated from the French by Sinéad ni Shuinéar Gypsy Research Centre University of Hertfordshire Press Bernard Leblon The author’s first contacts with the Gypsy world and with flamenco, in Seville in the 1950’s, were to exert a decisive influence over the rest of his life. From the 1960's onwards he has been engaged in research into the history of the Gypsies of Spain, culminating, in 1980, in his defending a doctoral thesis on the subject, and subsequently in the publication of a number of works and the setting up of a specialised research centre at the University of Perpignan, where he was professor of Hispanic studies until his retirement in 1994. He has been participating in flamenco congresses since 1982, and has been a member of the Andalusian Flamenco Foundation since its inception in 1987. He is a member of the board of directors of the Gypsy Research Centre of the Université René Descartes, and of its associated Research Group on European Gypsy History. His first work on flamenco, Musiques tsiganes et Flamenco (Gypsy Music Styles and Flamenco), was awarded the 1988 Andalusian Flamenco Foundation prize and jointly published by Etudes Tsiganes* and Harmattan in 1990. Table of Contents Introduction 9 I. The Gypsies, Professional Musicians 1. India and Iran 13 2. From East to West 14 3. Turkey and Greece 15 4. Hungary 17 5. Gypsy “Flavour” and the Duende* 19 6. Spain 22 7. The “Gypsy” Repertoire 24 8. Instruments 24 II. Spain and the Gypsies : A Policy of Forced Settlement 1. The Golden Age of the Pilgrims from Little Egypt 27 2. The Intolerance of the Catholic Monarchs* and their Successors 28 3. “There Is No Such Thing as a Gypsy” 30 4. Recipes for Extermination 32 5. The Law of Philip IV (1633) 33 6. Gypsy Hunting and Ecclesiastical Immunity...................... 35 7. The Laws of Forced Assimilation (1695 - 1717 - 1745 - 1746) 37 8. The General Internment of 1749 41 9. A Dark Age of Enlightenment 42 10. The Law of 1783 43 III. Gypsy-Andalusians : The “Flamenco Families” 1. The Lucky Few 47 2. The Moorish Heritage 47 3. The First Sedentary Families 49 4. “Old Castilian” Certificates 51 5. Changes in a Privileged Situation 51 Saved by Their Music 52 D Official Recognition of Gypsy Usefulness... N O After 1783 53 9. The Censuses of 1784 and 1785 54 10. The Case of Andalusia 58 11. The Andalusian Miracle 12. Flamenco : A Philosophy and a Way of Life ................ 59 13. The Geographical Framework 60 14. The Great Flamenco Family 62 IV. The Obscure Origins of Flamenco Art Successful Transculturation L Gypsies’ Professional Music N W Gypsy Ballads The Case of the Seguiriya* RP The Gypsy Ethos M Y The Secrets of Invention N The Case of the Vlax Rom of Hungary AN Gypsy Music and Flamenco CH The Gypsy Signature 10. The Anti-Gypsy Polemic 11. Flamenco Literature and Racial Prejudice ..............0........ 12. Gypsy Andalusia and Payo* Andalusia 13. The Origins Debate 14. The Jewish Theory 15. The Byzantine Theory 16. Arabic Music 17. de Falla’s Demonstration 18. Current Knowledge Conclusion List of Illustrations 98 Bibliography 100 Glossary 104 Recordings of Flamenco Music 110 240 Deceased Gypsy Flamenco Singers 114 Nota Bene : Terms marked with an asterisk* are explained in the Glossary