7 Song-shaped cinema
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Rob Stone
Abstract
This chapter analyses the influence of the cantaor, the singer of cante jondo on films about flamenco, specifically Sevillanas and Flamenco. It examines the influence of the bertsolari, the improvising Basque poet, on a peculiarly Basque tradition of composition that led to the unique collage of the full-length documentaries Ama Lur and La pelota vasca: la piel contra la piedra. In addition to analysing the performance systems of the cantaor and the bertsolari, the chapter explores the empathetic relationship between film and music as art forms that, perhaps uniquely, have the ability to express a sense of the variable duration of time. When possessed by the particular Gypsy muse called duende, the cantaor operates as a seer within a complex performance system that sees him draw on a repertory of collective thought in order to invoke mythical resonance in his cante.
Abstract
This chapter analyses the influence of the cantaor, the singer of cante jondo on films about flamenco, specifically Sevillanas and Flamenco. It examines the influence of the bertsolari, the improvising Basque poet, on a peculiarly Basque tradition of composition that led to the unique collage of the full-length documentaries Ama Lur and La pelota vasca: la piel contra la piedra. In addition to analysing the performance systems of the cantaor and the bertsolari, the chapter explores the empathetic relationship between film and music as art forms that, perhaps uniquely, have the ability to express a sense of the variable duration of time. When possessed by the particular Gypsy muse called duende, the cantaor operates as a seer within a complex performance system that sees him draw on a repertory of collective thought in order to invoke mythical resonance in his cante.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- Contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xvi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Singing of dubious desire 17
- 2 Voicing gender 30
- 3 Bien pagá 51
- 4 El otro lado de la cama 66
- 5 On the function of punk aesthetics in Salto al vacío and Historias del Kronen 83
- 6 Mobile soundscapes in the quinqui film 98
- 7 Song-shaped cinema 114
- 8 Travelling song 134
- 9 Sound moves 151
- 10 The Afro-Cuban soundscape of Mexico City 167
- 11 Blues traveller 189
- 12 Dancing in the dark 206
- 13 Re-making Frida Kahlo through song in Frida 220
- 14 ‘Silence! Fado is about to be sung’ 235
- 15 Sounds from Brazil 249
- 16 Soundtrack to roguery 264
- 17 The Brazilian chanchada’s musical moments and the performance of identity 283
- 18 Orpheus in Babylon 298
- Index 315
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- Contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xvi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Singing of dubious desire 17
- 2 Voicing gender 30
- 3 Bien pagá 51
- 4 El otro lado de la cama 66
- 5 On the function of punk aesthetics in Salto al vacío and Historias del Kronen 83
- 6 Mobile soundscapes in the quinqui film 98
- 7 Song-shaped cinema 114
- 8 Travelling song 134
- 9 Sound moves 151
- 10 The Afro-Cuban soundscape of Mexico City 167
- 11 Blues traveller 189
- 12 Dancing in the dark 206
- 13 Re-making Frida Kahlo through song in Frida 220
- 14 ‘Silence! Fado is about to be sung’ 235
- 15 Sounds from Brazil 249
- 16 Soundtrack to roguery 264
- 17 The Brazilian chanchada’s musical moments and the performance of identity 283
- 18 Orpheus in Babylon 298
- Index 315
