Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

'
lla
—:
—
to various districts.
This gives us the authentic
age of many tunes still heard in Spain, such as
Ex. 4.
Ca - sd-me il
^^i
Sgtgjgf^g
pa-dre con un ca-ba • lle-ro Ca-da ho - ra ml
. ma hi - ja di un pe - chero 7 yo no lo say.
The national songs of Spain widely differ in
the several provinces, and it is the easiest plan
to divide them into four geographical groups :
(1) those of Biscay and Navarre ; (2) Galioia
and Old Castile ; (3) Southern Spain (Andalusia,
etc.) ; (4) Eastern Spain (Catalonia). In the
first of these groups are the songs of the
Basq[ues, who are believed to be the oldest
inhabitants of the Peninsula.
(1) The exclusiveness with which the Basques
have kept themselves a distinct and separate
race has made it difficult, if not impossible, to
trace their music to any primeval source. ' Even
at first glance we see that the Basque songs and
dances have nothing in common with the Greco-
Roman or mediaeval music. ^ Therefore if the
music of the Basques is of great antiquity, it
must have sprung up under wholly different
conditions from that of other nations. It has
a strange affinity with modern music, but this
modern effect may be due to the constant use
of the leading note and the rapid and incessant
changes of key. The Basque melodies are not
founded on any particular scale ; augmented
intervals, whole tones, semitones, ajid even
quarter -tones are freely intermixed, and a
curious result is obtained by the constant repetition
of a short phrase with alternating major
and minor thirds. The time and rhythm of the
Basque songs are irregular and complicated. The
zorHco, for instance, is in 5-8 or 7-4 time thus:
^^^i
Idogoi-poz-coa no3 eQ.sen el-Ua-can-cion .
But generally the bar has two beats, a weak and
strong, which alternate in position. The first
note of a song is usually surrounded by a
grupMo,^ which gives it an indefinite and uncertain
effect. The grupetto, though less elaborate,
also sometimes occurs before, or on the
last note of a song (see above), but usually the
last note has a firm, loud, and long-sustained
SONG 549
sound . The rhythmical grouping of the phrases
is absolutely irregular ; the periods are unequal
in number, and none corresponds with the other.
In many cases the last bar of a, period is at
the same time the beginning of a new melodic
phrase. Even the short and comparatively
simple 'Sant Basque,' which F. Michel quotes
(ie Fays Basque, p. 541) as the most popular
tune which the Basques possess, is surprisingly
irregular. This imperfect description gives,
however, little idea of the originality and
peculiar charm of the music bf this people ;
like their language it stands apart.
In Aragon and Navarre the popular dance is
tbejota, and according to the usage of Spain
it is also the popular song. The jota is almost
always sung in thirds, and has the peculiarity
that in the ascending scale the minor seventh
is sung in place of the major. (See Jota.)
(2) The songs of the second group are less
interesting. The rule of the Moors over Galicia
and Old Castile was too brief to impart an
Eastern colouring to the music of those provinces.
It is, however, gay and bright, and of a
strongly accented dance-rhythm. The words of
the songs are lively, like the music, and in perfect
accord with it. To this geographical group
belong the boleros, manchegas, and seguidillas,
but this last class of songs is also heard in the
Moorish provinces. Examples are given in
every collection, and as they are also referred
to under their own headings in this work, it is
not necessary to dwell on them here.
(3) The third group is the most worthy of
study. Of all true Spanish songs those of Andalusia
are the most beautiful. In them the
Eastern element is richest and deepest, and the
unmistakable sign of its presence are the following
traits : first, a profusion of ornaments around
the central melody ; secondly, a 'polyrhythmio'
cast of music—the simultaneous existence of
different rhythms in different parts ; and thirdly
the peculiarity of the melodies being based on
a curious scale, founded apparently on the
Phrygian and Mixolydian modes.* Another
indication of the oriental element is the
guttural sound of the voices. Of these characteristics
the most obvious is the rhythm. In the
Andalusian songs there are often three different
rhythms in one bar, none predominating, but
each equally important as the different voices are
in real polyphonic music. For example :
Ex. 6.
1 There has been a good deal of Bpecnlation on thla point. It is
not necessary to pot forward the nmnerous conjectures as to its
origin or to Its relationship with other European nations, hut the
writer has noticed a certain likeness between the Basque tunes and
those of other nations of Tumnian origin, such as the Hungarians
and Finns. M. Oeorges Amd, in an article on Iztueta'a collection
of Basque dance-tunes, remarks that many remind him of Haydn,
'
which is quite possible when we think how many of Haydn's
melodies are borrowed from Hungarian themes.'
2 These remarks are taken from Emkara, an oiganiuthe interest
of the Basque Society, and quoted by W. Brambach.
9 Madame
*
de Villiihtflio '
speaks in her collection of Airs Basques
of '
une sorts de grupetto intraduisible, qui est 4 la phrase muaicale
ce qu'est une pai-aphe prtjcurseur d'une majuscule dans certaines
exercises calligraphiques.'
1 Introduction to the Study of Jfational Music, C. Engel.