Re: Spanish "Saeta"

[Joel Bresler <jbresler...>]

Chaverim,


"The Music of Israel" by Peter Gradenwitz, recently re-released in an updated version by Amadeus Press, weighs in on the question. A great chapter 4, "The Settlement of the West", says,

> A universally known remnant of ancient Iberian musical tradition is the "Cante jondo" (or "Cante hondo"), literally translated as "deep song." To this day this form inspires Spanish and non-Spanish composers in their musical works and singers and instrumentalists to create their colorful variations. It is most probably the oldest - and remains the most characteristic - type of Andalusian folk song and clearly shows Near Easter melodic traits, such as the distinct use of microtone intervals, frequent sliding from one note to another in singing, and the insistent repetition of tones, usually accompanied by appoggiaturas from above and below. This repetition produces the effect of an incantation, as in the earliest known ritual dances and songs. Msgr. Angles (1) is skeptical regarding a theory put forward by the Spanish scholar Maximo Jose Kahn (2) - who for some time served as Spanish ambassador to Greece - that the "cante jondo" was once a solemn chant of the Jews, for it shows obvious similarities to early synagogal chant. Other scholars speak of Byzantine-Near Eastern roots. Maximo Jose Kahn claims that the term "cante jondo" is a Spanish bowdlerization of the Hebrew "yom-tov" = Holy Day. Kahn supposes that flamenco songs were originally sung by Spanish Jews who had to hide their Jewish identity at the time of the Inquisition. He suggests that they called these songs flamenco to give the impression their singers were Flemish ("flamenco" means Flame or Flemish in Castilian Spanish; Flanders is "Flandes"). The ornate melodic embellishments reflect emotional eagerness to express the religious exuberance elicited by the words of the prayer. These embellishments point to a Near Eastern origin-possibly but not proven to be Hebrew.

Enjoying everyones comments!


Best, 


Joel


(1) Contributions to a Historical Study of Jewish Music, ed. Eric Werner, NY: 1976) 

(2) "Chant populaire Andalou et Musique Synagogale", in Cahiers d'Art, Nos. 5-10, Paris, 1939