Description
A significant number of Catalan manuscript songbooks from the Eighteenth century have been preserved, testifying to a vibrant popular singing tradition that is still little known. These songbooks contain only the lyrics of the songs, but not their music, which has led to their marginalisation in musicological studies.
Fortunately, some of the melodies to which these songs were performed are known, as they are indicated with the expression "to the tune of." This paper examines songs with the designation "to the tune of Folías de España" found in Catalan literary manuscript songbooks from the 18th century.
Richard Hudson distinguishes between the early folia and the later folia. The former, mentioned by Salinas in 1577, would be of Portuguese origin but would become popular in Spain and reach Italy around 1600. The later emerged at the French court and spread throughout much of the European continent, including Spain. As demonstrated in the works of Ramón Pelinski, Pepe Rey, and Giuseppe Fiorentino, Renaissance and Baroque folías manifested in various forms within vocal performance. The Catalan vocal folías found are more modern and possess distinct characteristics that warrant thorough analysis.
The first objective of this paper is to determine what these Catalan songbooks are referring to when they mention the 'folías de España'. Secondly, a musical reconstruction of these songs is proposed. Finally, the transformation and polysemy of this term has influenced the Catalan imaginary associated with the concept of 'folia', so it seems appropriate to examine the intertextual processes - both literary and musical - in these songs, which will contribute to a deeper understanding of the creation, dissemination and cultural significance of popular songs in the Eighteenth century.
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