A Rondeña is a ''palo'' or

musical form In music, ''form'' refers to the structure of a musical composition or performance. In his book, ''Worlds of Music'', Jeff Todd Titon suggests that a number of organizational elements may determine the formal structure of a piece of music, such ...

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura a ...

originating in the town of

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

in the province of

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most po ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. In common with other ''palos'' originating in Málaga, the rondeña antedated flamenco proper and became incorporated into it during the 19th century.

History

The rondeña has its origin in the '' fandango malagueño'' and it is said that it is "the oldest fandango actually known". According to the experts, the name does not derive from "nocturnal rounds", as some have suggested, but is based solely on the name of the town Ronda. The rondeña spread enormously throughout Andalusia in the 19th century, to such an extent that numerous foreign observers, touring the region at the time, referred to it later in their writings.

''Cante'' (Songs)

The rondeña has evolved in recent times, with a decrease in

melisma Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is refer ...

tic ornamentation, and generally the tempo is somewhat slower than was previously the case. It is a composition with an ''ad lib''

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

( '' compás'' ), and the lyrics are frequently about rustic life. A verse consists of four

octosyllabic The octosyllable or octosyllabic verse is a line of verse with eight syllables. It is equivalent to tetrameter verse in trochees in languages with a stress accent. Its first occurrence is in a 10th-century Old French saint's legend, the '' Vie ...

lines which sometimes become five through repetition of the second line.

''Baile'' (Dances)

In dance, having had no time signature at one time, the rondeña displays a rhythm of wild abandon. Some dancers have used the rhythm of the ''

taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label=Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important comme ...

'', which has many similarities but, being rondeña, more open and evocative.

Exponents

Among its higher representer we can find: Miguel Borrull senior, who was one of its forerunners, and Ramón Montoya, the first big interpreter to ennoble the genre. Once in the 20th Century, we can highlight

Manolo Sanlúcar Manolo Sanlúcar (born Manuel Muñoz Alcón, 24 November 1943 – 27 August 2022) was a Spanish flamenco composer and guitarist. He was considered one of the most important Spanish composers of recent times, and together with Paco de Lucía, ...

as a player, and ''cantaores'' (singers) like Fosforito, Antonio de Canillas, Alfredo Arrebola, Jacinto Almadén, Juan de la Loma, Enrique Orozco, Antonio Ranchal, Rafael Romero, José Menese and Cándido de Málaga.

Popular rondeñas

Rondeñas vienen cantando, sobre la cama me siento, porque, en oyendo rondeñas, se me alegra el pensamiento. Las rondeñas malagueñas cántamelas, primo mio, que al son de las malagueñas me voy quedando dormío.

Recommended bibliography

*''Diccionario Enciclopédico Ilustrado del Flamenco''. Ed. Cinterco. *MANFREDI CANO, Domingo. ''Geografía del Cante Flamenco''. Ed. Serv. Publicaciones de la Universidad de Cádiz. 1988. *NÚÑEZ, Faustino. ''Todo el Flamenco''. Club Internacional del libro, Madrid. 1988. *DVD: ''Paso a Paso. Los palos del flamenco. Rondeña'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rondena Flamenco Province of Málaga Andalusian culture