Tonás

Tonás (Spanish pronunciation: [toˈnas]) is a palo or type of flamenco songs. It belongs to the wider category of Cantes a palo seco, palos that are sung a cappella.[1] Owing to this feature, they are considered by traditional flamencology to be the oldest surviving musical form of flamenco. This musical form originated in the Calé Romani subculture of Southern Spain.[2] The first known flamenco singer, Tío Luis el de la Juliana, who lived in Jerez de la Frontera in the last third of the 18th century, was said to have excelled in this palo.[3]

Other cantes a palo seco, such as martinetes and debla, are sometimes classified under tonás,[4][5] while at other times they are referred to as palos on their own.

The tonás were almost in disuse by the end of the 19th century. The reason seems to be that they were considered a difficult style by the general public, and resulted in Tonás on the near verge of disappearing.[6]

During the 1950s the tonás came back into use,[6] with singers like Antonio Mairena,[7] and came to be considered one of the main flamenco styles together with seguiriya and soleá.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ Loren Chuse (2013). Cantaoras: Music, Gender and Identity in Flamenco Song. Routledge. p. 32. ISBN 9781135382049. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  2. ^ Manuel, Peter (1986). "Evolution and Structure in Flamenco Harmony". Current Musicology. 42 (42). Columbia University Press: 46–47. doi:10.7916/D88051HJ. S2CID 193937795. Other cantes, although Andalusian in a general sense, originated from Gypsy subculture and lack non-Gypsy counterparts; these would include siguiriyas, soleares, bulerias, and tonas
  3. ^ Andrés Bernal Montesinos (2013). Origen y evolución del Flamenco. Lulu Press. p. 32. ISBN 9781291242447. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  4. ^ An Analysis of Federico García Lorca's Poema Del Cante Jondo. University of California. 1971. p. 47. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  5. ^ Ninotchka Bennahum (2000). Antonia Merce,́ "La Argentina": Flamenco and the Spanish Avant Garde. Wesleyan University Press. p. 117. ISBN 9780819563835. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  6. ^ a b D. E. Pohren (2005). The Art of Flamenco. Bold Strummer. p. 25. ISBN 9780933224025. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  7. ^ a b Emma Martinez (2011). Flamenco – All You Wanted to Know. Mel Bay Publications. p. 38. ISBN 9781609744700. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  8. ^ Juan Serrano (2016). Flamenco Guitar Basic Techniques. Mel Bay Publications. p. 10. ISBN 9781610654302. Retrieved 2020-01-27.


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