Gypsies and Flamenco

About the book

"the whole book is great … All in all, a must-have for anyone interested in flamenco, Spain or Gypsy history and culture" Songlines

"presents a compelling argument as to the huge debt Flamenco owed to the Gypsy musicians of Europe and in particular of Andalusia. . . . This is an exemplary work and the author deserves acclaim for his contribution to research in this, until recently, uncharted area." Karen Abbott, Brio

This expanded and updated edition, heavily illustrated, traces the development of Gypsy music during the long migration of professional Gypsy musicians from India to Spain and the decisive role of a small number of Gypsy families in Lower Andalusia in the development of flamenco music. The tragic history of the Gypsies’ forced settlement and repression is also covered.

The second half of the book comprises a biographical dictionary of the foremost Gypsy flamenco artists past and present and a listing of key audio and video recordings, which make the book an indispensable resource for flamenco enthusiasts.

View the table of contents

	Picture credits	ix
	Part One
	Introduction	xiii
1	The Gypsies, professional musicians	1
	From East to West	3
	Turkey and Greece	5
	Hungary	6
	Gypsy ‘flavour’ and the duende	8
	Spain	10
	The ‘Gypsy’ repertoire	11
	Instruments	13
2	Spain and the Gypsies: a policy of forced settlement	14
	The intolerance of the Catholic monarchs and their successors	17
	‘There is no such thing as a gypsy’	19
	Recipes for extermination	20
	The law of Philip IV, 1633	21
	Gypsy hunting and ecclesiastical immunity	22
	The laws of forced assimilation, 1695, 1717, 1745 and 1746	24
	The general internment of 1749	29
	A dark age of enlightenment	30
	The law of 1783	31
3	Gypsy-Andalusians: the ‘flamenco families’	32
	The Moorish heritage	33
	The first settled families	34
	‘Old Castilian’ certificates	36
	Changes in a privileged situation	37
	Saved by their music	37
	Official recognition of the Gypsies' contribution to society	37
	After 1783	39
	The censuses of 1784 and 1785	39
	The case of Andalusia	42
	The Andalusian miracle	42
	Flamenco: a philosophy and a way of life	43
	The geographical framework	44
	The great flamenco family	45
4	The obscure origins of flamenco art	47
	Gypsies' professional music	47
	Gypsy ballads	49
	The Seguiriya	51
	The Gypsy ethos	55
	The Vlax Rom of Hungary	57
	The Gypsy signature	61
	The anti-Gypsy polemic	62
	Gypsy Andalusia and Payo Andalusia	65
	The origins debate	66
	The Jewish theory	66
	The Byzantine theory	67
	Arabic music	69
	de Falla's demonstration	70
	Current knowledge	71
	Conclusion	73
	Part Two
	Two hundred Gitano flamenco artists	85
	Glossary	129
	Select bibliography	134
	Select discography	136
	Videos	137

About the Author/s:

Bernard Leblon

Bernard Leblon, retired professor of Hispanic Studies at the at the University of Perpignan, is a member of the Andalusian Flamenco Foundation, a member of the Gypsy Research Centre of the Universite Rene Descartes, and of its associated Research Group on European Gypsy History.
His first work on flamenco, "Gypsy Music Styles and Flamenco" was awarded the 1988 Andalusian Flamenco Foundation prize.

ISBN: 978-1-902806-05-1 Format: Paperback, 158pp Published: Dec 2003

Gypsies and Flamenco

The emergence of the art of flamenco in Andalusia

About the book

Contents

Part One

Part Two

Bernard Leblon

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