LA TRAMPA - El poeta dice la verdad (En vivo en el Teatro de Verano de M...

Problematic

I remember the first person I knew who used the word problematic to mean simply objectionable. To me, the word had always meant complex and difficult to untangle. This person's use of the word sent a shiver down my spine, because it seemed almost the opposite meaning. Slavery, for example, is not "problematic," it is wrong. I feel the same way about "inappropriate." To me, the word should be used for burping at the table, not for violent, harassing behavior. You shouldn't use the word fragility to describe racism, either, while I'm at it.  The problem is not people feeling defensive when you accuse them of racism. Who wouldn't be defensive in that situation? Please stop using these words wrong. Thanks. 

Serenata

In a radio interview I listend to, Montero mentions that the Song of Belisa from Perlimplín is the same text as the poem "Serenata" from Canciones. Sure enough, it is, with the name changed to "Lolita." I didn't even know that myself. 

Phrygian dominant

Take the Phrygian mode, change the minor third to a major third, and you have the scale Lorca used for the Canción de Belisa and "Depierte la novia" from Bodas de sangre. It's called the dominant Phrygian. It's found a lot in flamenco. You can find it on the piano by playing all the white notes from E to E (that's the Phrygian mode), and then putting in G# instead of G. The melodies of these two songs are very similar too. Germaine Montero sings them on radio and record BEFORE the publication of the sheet music in 1960, in transcriptions by Pittaluga. Her musical arrange and conductor for for these songs is Bacarisse, who along with Pittaluga belonged to the Grupo de los ocho, disciples of Manuel de Falla and friends of Lorca. I'm sure other people aside from me know about these things, but I had to go into deep research mode to find them. I ordered a copy of the Pittaluga book of Lorca songs, and the bookseller sent me something else. Then I ordered it again from another seller, and it came. A lot of the secondary sources on Lorca and music don't even cite this book, and I didn't even know it existed until a year and half into my project.

Inconsistency

I'm finding some conflicting information when researching Germaine Montero. I think it is a good thing when you find inconsistencies. It means you have consulted independent sources and that you have noticed when things don't line up exactly and care about small details.  You don't always have to decide what to believe; you can state factually that the information is incomplete or inconsistent. If it is a minor point, then don't belabor it. I find it necessary not to make assertions of which I am not confident.  

I haven't found that she exaggerates her closeness to Lorca. He was important for her, whereas for him she was one of many people that came under his sway. Choosing her for the female lead in Así que pasen cinco años was a vote of confidence for a young and not yet very experienced actress, though she had performed as a child. 

Rearranging the furniture

I found another radio interview with Montero. She says that Lorca, one day, at some friends' house, moved the living room furniture to the bedroom and vice-versa as a practical joke. I had to listen several times to get the story right with my imperfect comprehension of spoken French. I need to just listen to French for hours to practice. 

Germaine Montero's pronunciation is so clear that it helps a lot. She speaks with as much confidence as though she were reciting a dramatic speech that she had memorized. It is quite amazing. She never hesitates, misspeaks, goes back to correct herself. She never uses conversational "fillers." I wish I could speak like that in any language. 

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Another anecdote from Lorca's  biography.  He called the oil and vinegar cruets "Ortega" and "Gasset." 

"Anfistora" was the humorous name he gave to the theater club. Lorca's humor is often overlooked. Someone should write an article about that. What I like about it is its witty, metaphorical quality. 

Not a Hybrid

Song is not a hybrid genre, a weird and problematic combination of two separate art forms, poetry and music. Song is song, and always has words and music. If words are prior to music in some sense, it is because of the weight of a certain understanding of the literary tradition. We are always thinking of setting preexisting words to new music, but this ignores the fact that these words are already musical, already inscribed in a musical and / or performative tradition. We are always thinking of "Song" as the title of a poem a kind of purely conventional nod in the direction of music, but what if songs actually were songs?

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Now I'm coming to realize the importance of Falla's neoclassical period. That was what influenced the Grupo de los Ocho. That is the context for understanding Lorca's own musical context. It is not just Andalusianism.