City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Publications and Research CUNY Graduate Center 2003 Flamenco Guitar: History, Style, and Context Peter L. Manuel CUNY Graduate Center How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_pubs/89 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact:
[email protected] .rtists; a )resence 2 Flamencoguitar: history sfle, status bility of rd Rock PETER MANUEL ling, are ring the y (ree6) Flamencoguitar constitutesan instrumental idiom of remarkablerichness ;uitar in and contemporaryvitality.As a musicaltradition, its statusis unique in that age,and while its origins lie in folk music and its practitionersarticulate little in the ruments way of a standardizedtheory, it embodiesa degreeof technicalvirtuosity : Fender and sophisticationcomparable to that of a classicalart form. Flamencocan baroque be seenas comprising s ong (cante), dance (baile), and guitar playrng(toque) . st visible The statusof guitar music within this framework is ambiguousand contra- k historY dictory. Flamenco,in its origins, basic structure, and traditional aesthetic the form orientation, is primarily vocal music, to which guitar accompanimentis a growing secondary(and occasionallyeven dispensable) addition. Nevertheless,the )ecomea guitar hascome to play an increasinglyprominentrole in accompaniment, and flamenco solo guitar has emergedas an independentidiom