Representation of the Flamenco Tradition in ‘El Amor Brujo’ by Manuel de Falla

Abstract

The article analyses The Song of Love Longing from the ballet Love the Magician (El Amor brujo) by Manuel de Falla – a piece combining academic compositional technique and folkloric features of the flamenco genre. This work is a unique model of timbre reconstruction of folk tradition within symphonic music. The relevance of the study arises from the current interest of musicology in musical identity and sonic memory. The role of timbre reaches a higher level as a mean of authentic national sound in the context of post-folkloric consciousness. Against this background Falla’s reference to seguiriyas as a profound canon of cante jondo becomes not a mere stylisation but an artistic act of cultural code interpretation. The scientific novelty identifies mechanisms of timbral transmission of folkloric intonations articulation and rhythms by means of academic music. The structure of folkloric form emerges for the first time as a foundation of academic movement construction and the representation of genre elements such as llamada, remate and marcaje in orchestration and vocal line. The methodology of the study incorporates timbral and modal‑harmonic analysis of rhythmic structure and vocal tessitura in comparison with Andalusian folk traditions. The results of the study demonstrate that The Song of Love Longing constitutes a unified carefully devised composition where timbre rhythm and form function as a coherent expressive system conveying the affective essence of cante jondo and unveiling new perspectives of folkloric dramaturgy in academic art.