Most of the music in the Spanish Spice programme is from Luz y Norte Musical, musical light and guiding star, published in 1677, Madrid, by Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz (b. 1626). This book contains a selection of contemporary dances, composed by Ribayaz and his peers. The full title of the book is ‘Musical light and Guiding Star, [by which] to walk through the tablatures of the Spanish Guitar and Harp [and] to play and sing in time in polyphonic music, and a short exposition of the art [of music, according to] easy and straight forward principles explained with clear rules for theory and practice’. It is presented as a music tutor book for the amateur musicians of the time. It remain a valuable source of information about the Spanish musical style as well as the art of playing harps and guitar in the 17th century.
The Dance
For the upper classes dancing was a very important part of social interaction, being not only a chance to show off their wealth by wearing the fashion of the moment, But also a golden opportunity for introduction to, and physical contact with the opposite sex. In a society locked in strict codes of behaviour and manners, in which marriage and match making was the main aim and focus of life, single men and women holding hands was definitely a unique occasion.
For this reasons the status of the dancing masters of the time was very important. On top of teaching the young gentleman and ladies the correct movements, posture and steps, they also gave useful tips for social behaviour.
Thoinot Arbeau (Orchesographie, 1589), for example, advised ‘spit and blow your nose sparingly’, while Fabrito Caroso (Il Balerino, 1581) warns against tilting a chair too far on its back legs.
Although in the genteel society dancing skills were a ‘must’, ladies and gentlemen had to be careful not to show too great a skill. A virtuosic dance technique could suggest inelegant effort and practice, and it could have been a disgrace to be compared to the less respected professional dancer.
The most detailed information regarding styles of dance in 17th century Spain, survived in the writings of just such a dancing master. It was in Seville, 1642, when Juan de Esquivel Navarro published his dancing treatise “Discurosos sobre el arte del danzando”. His book contains detailed information about Spanish courtly style, combining elements typical to Spain together with traits from other national styles.
Esquivel distinguished between Baile and Danza. The term Baile usually referred to ‘popular’ dances, associated with the lower classes: people who are engaged in physical labour, the poor and uneducated and “outcast” such as the gypsies and beggars. Those dances appear to have the wilder movements of legs, arms, hands, torso, involving jumps, big gestures and maybe some acrobatics, accompanied by castanets and other instruments.
On the other hand, the Danza was defined in the literature of the period as orderly, antique dances, characterised by posture and legs movements taken from a set format of movements that excludes upper body and arm involvement. This dance was associated with the court, the nobility and the socially refined person, and seems to have been more “studied” and less of the spontaneous, joyful, improvised Baile.
Our fusion with flamenco dancing evolved from the love of the flamenco world. Many of the written sources mention foot work and lavish arm and hands movements that seem to resemble flamenco techniques, especially in the Baile sector.
The Music
In our Spanish Fiesta we combine both the Baile and the Danza from Ribayaz’s manuscript. The original print leaves plenty of space for the individual choice and taste of the performer. This enables us to use lots of improvisations, to experiment with different instrumentation and a variety of rhythms.
Our journey into this repertoire led us to research the stories, ideas and rituals behind these titles. The musical interpretation was inspired by the images of the cock–fighting Gallardas, the wild hip movements of the Chaconas and Marionas, the gypsy origin of the Xacaras, the transformative power of the Tarantela and many others.
Historically the instruments accompanying the dance had a stereotypical image: drums reed and woodwind instruments, for example, were considered to be grotesque and ‘peasant like’, and therefore were rarely used in the high society scene. The stringed instruments – lutes, vihuelas, guitars, harps, rebecs and violins, were more associated with upper class dances. |
