Palos flamencos: Soleá

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Get to know the flamenco forms

Alegrías

Bulerías

Cantiñas

Soleá

Flamenco Forms
Soleá (o soleares)
by Susana Navalón
Translated by Yasha Maccanico

(From soledad, solitude, which in turn comes from the Latin sólitas, - atis, although some modern views argue that it may come from the verb solear, that is, placing something in the sun). It is one of the basic pillars of flamenco and its twelve-beat meter has spread over to other styles. Its majesty, melodic richness and depth of execution, result in it being performed often by artists. It is a solemn dance that is very appropriate for bailaoras (female flamenco dancers), because its main elements are movements of a feminine nature.

Movements that are typically feminine, such as arm movements, undulating hips and swerving waistlines, are of great importance.

Dance

It is a leading dance that is currently considered to be one of the most meaningful and is very well suited for women, as movements that are typically feminine, such as arm movements, undulating hips and swerving waistlines, are of great importance. It is the dance that is most suited for marcajes (steps marking the lyrics), figuras (set positions) and paseíllos (ceremonial entrance or a series of steps, somewhat like a stroll). Nonetheless, at present, the zapateado (a rhythmic combination of sounds made by stepping with the toe, sole and heel of the foot) and pateos (hard stepping movements) also play an important role. Some flamenco experts deplore the excessive use of heel-stepping in the soleá, but in spite of this the escobilla, which consists of a progressive increase in the speed and complexity of the zapateado in the central section of the dance, is one of its structural elements. It can be distinguished from other flamenco palos (forms) by the solemnity which characterises its performance; feelings move to the foreground.
The meter of the soleá is a basic scheme in twelve beats that can be extended to other flamenco styles from the same category. There are two ways to mark its meter:

123 456 78 910 1112

Or else:

123 456 78 9 y 10 1112

The meter of the soleá is a basic scheme in twelve beats that can be extended to other flamenco styles from the same category.

Guitar

Soleares are based on the caña and polo. The music that is played is the same, the only difference is in the chords. Molina and Mairena defined it in 1963 as a cante (style of song) in a minor key that is sometimes modulated to its corresponding major key, and starts again after a brief pause in the subdominant of the minor key, before starting again. The guitar accompaniment is most frequently played at the top. Based on the Andalusian scale, its keys are usually the following:
At the top: E – B
In the middle: LA major – B flat

Singing

Its origins appear to lie in the first third of the nineteenth century, to accompany dancing in a jaleo style, although it later became a cante for listening to, to the point where it became considered one of the basic pillars of flamenco. The lyrics touch on several subjects, from inconsequential to tragic ones. Its main characteristics are references to life, love and death. Strictly speaking, one should not speak of the soleá, but rather of singing in a soleá style, or in a soleares style, due to the number of variations and nuances that it possesses. They can come from Cadiz, from Jerez, from Sevilla, from Triana, from Alcalá, from Lebrija ... Between 1875 (the time of Loco Mateo, La Serneta and Enrique El Mellizo) and 1915 (the time of Juaquiní and Joaquín de La Paula), it was progressively becoming a great and solemn cante. At present, the soleá is one of the styles that is most frequently performed by cantaores (singers) in festivals and recitals, as today's genuine flamenco enthusiasts value its interpretative difficulty and wide-ranging variations greatly.
It is a cante with coplas (poetic compositions, in verse, used as lyrics) made up of three or four eight-syllable verses, with consonant or assonant rhymes.