MUSIC

THE SOUND OF A STONE THROWN AT/BY A BOY

A cross-disciplinary thesis involving writing, music and scents, completed for my PhD at Cardiff University.

The musical element develops as an exploration of flamenco involving arrangement, creation, and performance in collaboration with guitarist Haydn Bonadie. Some of the pieces are interpretations of traditional cantes (song models), some are new lyrics set to traditional forms and modes (palos), while others mix existing and new lyrics, offer new versions of known cantes, experiments with flamenco and other musical forms or entirely new creations. All these possibilities fit into flamenco, an art that continually drinks from the past while opening pathways in the present for the future, and where the territory of each specific cante (type of song) allows space for personal creation and even (within the internal logic of each mode) for improvisation.

This will be a space to share some of the songs recorded as part of this project.

SEGUIRIYA ‘SIERRA DE ARMENIA’

Traditional.

Guitar: H. Bonadie.

Voice: C.Navazo-Eguía Newton.

SOLEÁ DEL CANTO RODAO

A machine made up with melodies from various traditional flamenco artists: verse 1, Noriega (with nods to Talega); verse 2, Serneta (variant 2); verse 3, Yllanda; verse 4, Machango; verse 5, Paquirri (variant 3) and José de la Paula; verse 6 taking off with Enrique el Mellizo 2, holding its flight with Joaquín El de la Paula 3 and landing in the style of Paquirri 2).

‘Canto’ in Spanish is both a song and a stone. Here, a rolling stone, smoothed by the knocks of life and time.

Guitar: H. Bonadie.

Voice and lyrics for verses 3, 4 and 5, C. Navazo-Eguía Newton.

FANDANGOS DE LAS CENIZAS

Fandango natural based on the fandango de Macandé – Gabriel Macandé aka El Loco Macandé).

Guitar: H. Bonadie.

Voice and lyrics: C. Navazo-Eguía Newton.

PAVANAS DEL ALOSNO

Experimental fandangos del Alosno, with lyrics by Elena Bermúdez, and a Renaissance-style version as intro.

Guitar and arrangements: H. Bonadie.

Voice and arrangements, C. Navazo-Eguía Newton.

MALAGUEÑAS DEL DELIRIO Y LAS CAMPANAS

Malagueñas de Antonio Chacón.

Guitar: H. Bonadie.

Voice: C. Navazo-Eguía Newton.

GRANAÍNA DE LOS MANZANOS SECOS

In a style often referred to as a ‘media granaína’.

Guitar: H. Bonadie.

Voice and lyrics: C. Navazo-Eguía Newton.

TARANTA ‘PIEDRA QUE A LA TERRERA’

Taranta by the ‘trovero’ (improviser) José Marín, originally from Campo de Cartagena (Murcia province).

Guitar: H. Bonadie.

Voice: C. Navazo-Eguía Newton.

TARANTOS DEL HERMANO

Traditional. In memoriam Fermín Navazo-Eguía.

Guitar: H. Bonadie.

Voice and grief: C. Navazo-Eguía Newton.

MALAGUEÑAS ‘LOS CAMINOS DE LA VÍA’

Malagueñas de La Trini (Trinidad Navarro Carrillo, 1866-1930s).

‘La vía’ is both a path ow way, and ‘life’, when pronounced in Andalusian accent (as should be in flamenco). I have changed the original ‘El camino’ to ‘Los caminos’, as I always found multiple paths in life.

Guitar: H. Bonadie.

Voice: C. Navazo-Eguía Newton.

CANTIGAS PLAÑIDERAS

This is really the cantiga ‘Ondas do Mar de Vigo’ (lyrics by Martín Codax, 13th c), but set to seguiriyas, or as said in flamenco, ‘por seguiriyas’. ‘Plañideras’ are antedecents of the seguiriya. Often also appearing as ‘playeras’ or ‘beach songs’, of the type sung for a sunk ship and a sailor lost at sea.

Guitar: H. Bonadie.

Voice and arrangements: C. Navazo-Eguía Newton.

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