- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Amadeus Press; Pap/Com edition (15 May 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1574670808
- ISBN-13: 978-1574670806
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 17.4 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
63,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > World Music
- #22 in Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Folk Music
- #38 in Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Performing Arts > Dance
- See Complete Table of Contents
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
Flamenco has taken the world by storm in recent years. From London to New York and Los Angeles to Tokyo, huge crowds come to experience the power of flamenco. Ironically, though, if the performance is authentic - and mnuch in the tourist trade is not - the uninitiated may find it utterly baffling. The music itself, and the use of the voice to sing it, are entirely unfamiliar. The rhythms are exotic and strange, the intensity of feeling startling.
It is the song of the outcasts, the poorest of the poor. Though it is not exclusively the music of the Gypsies, they are its catalysts and spiritual torch-bearers, and so their story helps us to understand the music. Author Robin Totton writes - and offers the music on the accompanying compact disk sampler - from his life among them, for he has come as close to flamenco as any outsider can hope to do. Clearly he has fallen under its spell, and readers will gladly follow as he walks us through the poetic song-forms, the rhythmic guitar, and the flamboyant dance, as well as the vocabulary, names and places of the living art of flamenco. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Author
Most people think flamenco is dance (or guitar). Yet it is song first and foremost. The song is so strange, and the rhythms so complicated, that our western music does not help us to understand it. Much subjective gush has been written about it. And yet it can be explained. I try to do this, both for song and dance, working on the assumption that the reader may have no musical knowledge. Hence the need for a recording of the various song-forms. I also try to help you find the real thing as against what is put on for the tourist trade, and to tell something of the story of the Gypsies of Andalusia. Above all, I have tried to make the book personal and readable - to make you want to turn over the page.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
There are hundreds of books on flamenco in Spanish, dozens in French, and even one or two in English. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
There are hundreds of books on flamenco in Spanish, dozens in French, and even one or two in English. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A flamenco journey (or Ole! Belfast to Jerez & back , sadly),
This review is from: Song of the Outcasts: An Introduction to Flamenco (Paperback)
Song of the Outcasts – Robin Totton – customer reviewMarch 2003, Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, Andalucia. This was the date and the venue for the VII Festival de Jerez and for my first pilgrimage as a student of flamenco guitar to this beautiful little city of orange and jasmine trees, to sit outside the cafes in the sun in March drinking coffee, to see as many as three flamenco performances in a night, and then on to the penas, to witness genuine flamenco Jerez-style in a preferred intimate venue, and to drink copious amounts of delicious local fino, the inevitable consequence of which was to be late for guitar classes the next day and for El Carbonero to laugh and to tell us we were becoming Spanish. After another wonderful performance (this time Belen Maya and Mayte Martin) at the Teatre Villamarta, I heard a friendly yet authoritative English accent behind me and the voice was discussing the regional characteristics of female dancers, or bailoras. I considered that to gain this knowledge firsthand, one would first have to put in some serious study, ie invest a considerable amount of time in lingering over fino, talking to flamencos. The owner of the voice turned out to be one Robin Totton, and I wondered how I might bleed him of a little of his knowledge. The answer was soon to be found. I heard about the book not though his self-promotion but through a poster in the Centro Andaluz de Flamenco, an important research centre of flamenco. Bearing in mind there are very few books in the English language discussing flamenco with any genuine firsthand knowledge, and bearing in mind I had heard this guy talk (I unashamedly eavesdropped, in other words), I was confident that he knew his stuff and I took a note of the ISBN and determined to track it down once I returned home. Song of the Outcasts is described as an ‘introduction to flamenco’ – which is a bit like describing a Secondary Education as a ‘taster session’. It serves well as an introduction, but there is a wealth of essential information to young(ish) confirmed aficionados (or obsessionados) like me. It is a book to be revisited, until the different song forms, or palos, start to become familiar. Or if you already know your Peteneras from your Martinetes then you can allow the book to take you further in your flamenco journey, that you can understand the heritage of this wonderful and beautiful art. The book sets the foundations with a historical, cultural and ethnic analysis of the original evolution of flamenco (why, what, where, who?) and then takes us through the various song forms, through the voice of the cantaores, the singers, who remain of fundamental importance. Then we are given analysis of the dance and of the accompaniment of the guitar. To help us who know little about flamenco, or indeed those of us who should know better, we get an compilation CD which we are advised to listen to as he guides us through the harmonic and rhythmic characteristics of each palo, and helps us to understand the origin and the emotional intent, with some translated examples of the lyrics. Robin Totton is a thoroughly entertaining and informative author. I would enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone with a genuine desire to expand their appreciation of Spanish and Andalucian culture. I would in particular recommend it as indispensable to students of flamenco. A big warm thank you Robin, and see you in Jerez next year!
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Getting Inside Flamenco,
By Jay Upton (Clun, Shropshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Song of the Outcasts: An Introduction to Flamenco (Hardcover)
I enjoy flamenco but have never been able to "get inside it". This book does that job, and it makes enjoyable reading, too. The author has the kind of direct, personal style that makes you feel he is talking to you. He does not assume the reader has learnt to read music yet, thanks to the accompanying CD, he is able to convey the music without ever being patronising. The CD is a real joy. Instead of using famous singers (whom you can hear on CDs at any time) he makes each example of the song-forms personal and often surprising: almost all are used to illustrate a different aspect of flamenco, just as he experienced it. I don't think that there is any other book that does these things. If you want to understand flamenco, or understand it better, then this is the book for you.My own interests include both things Spanish and Gypsies. I am glad that the author devotes a chapter to the Gypsies of Andalusia, among whom he seems to have so many friends.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth it for the CD alone,
By
This review is from: Song of the Outcasts: An Introduction to Flamenco (Paperback)
This is an excellent book, well informed and a good read. The CD is equally good, my favourite being the Tiento y Tangos recorded in Cadiz. Essential material.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Scores, Songbooks & Lyrics > Classical Music
- Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Classical Music > Scores, Songbooks & Lyrics
- Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Folk Music
- Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > World Music
- Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Performing Arts > Dance
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
