A complete playlist study of Fernanda de Utrera's soleá

Calixto Li, a dear friend of Space expoflamenco who follows us from Taiwan, has sent us a compilation about the cante by Fernanda Jiménez Peña, the illustrious lady of the cante Ms. Fernanda de Utrera. The author wishes to publish it in order to share its contents and also to address concerns and questions so that, together, we can complete the catalog she has sent us.

In reality, we are facing a sampling recordings; many of which have been uploaded from the YouTube platform in playlist format. Regardless of the final result, the truth is that this is an excellent cataloging and systematization of all the published works on the soleá of Doña Fernanda de Utrera. It goes without saying that its fundamental basis is the classification of styles and variations published by Luis and Ramón Soler (uncle and nephew) in the book "Antonio Mairena in the World of Siguiriya and Soleá." This reference book was published by the Antonio Mairena Foundation and the Regional Government of Andalusia in 1992, with a prologue by Manuel Martín Martín.

The author comments from the sender of this meticulous work that 'I have collected 54 Soleá videos by Fernanda de Utrera (two of which are by her sister Bernarda) on YouTube and I have edited more than 370 clips. Below I detail my research and organization.

Key points of Calixto Li's research:

1.- I have classified these 54 cantes according to the different styles of soleá and I have created a playlist to identify the 10 most common styles that Fernanda sings. 54 cantes:

Compilation of 54 canteFernanda de Utrera's videos on YouTube

The soleá styles and variations most sung by Fernanda de Utrera:

The styles most sung by Fernanda: (In the attached file I have also included a PDF, whose name is The Soleá that Fernanda de Utrera sings the most)

001.Bulerías por Soleá (a) | Fernanda de Utrera 

002.- The soleá of La Andonda

003.- Juaniquí's soleá:

004.- Juan Talega's soleá

005.- Soleá by Joaquín el de la Paula

006.- Soleá de la Serneta (cante short development, correspondence with the so-called style 5)

Note regarding the closing styles attributed to Joaquín el de la Paula, which are set out below (*):

(*) After carefully comparing and analyzing two batches of canteYes, I've noticed that they show significant differences in the melody of the second line of the lyrics: one has a higher and more expressive tone, while the other maintains a more stable and calm melodic line. For this reason, although both belong to the same style, I have decided to classify them into two categories: a) and b). Furthermore, this classification is also reflected in the order in which they are usually performed when both are sung together.

007 Soleá by Joaquín el de la Paula (closing style or known as 3 A)

008.- Soleá by Joaquín el de la Paula (closing or known as 3B)

009 Soleá de la Serneta (short development also known as Serneta 4)

010.- Soleá from Manchango (Triana)

011. Soleá de Paquirrí el Guanté (closing or brave, also called 3 within the Cadiz styles)

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Next Calixto Li, raises a number of questions about some lesser-known variants in Fernanda de Utrera's soleá repertoire. Namely:

012 Noriega's soleá

013 The soleá of Frijones:

014 Joaquín el de la Paula's closing soleá (because it's more similar to what everyone else does):

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To finish Calixto Li raises some doubts:

a) While searching for the lyrics, I discovered that Fernanda used a great deal of flexibility in her lyrics, employing various verb tenses, inversions, omissions or additions of words, and substitutions. So I've compiled the most frequently used Soleá lyrics into a playlist titled "Same Lyrics, Different Melody." 

b) Is my classification of Soleás correct? Why did Fernanda usually start her Soleás with bulerías por soleá? I've noticed that her earliest recordings don't. Is this for some particular reason or is it a common way of singing that emerged during a certain period? I've also heard that Camarón I did it the same way…

c) Was Fernanda the first female singer with such a hoarse voice?

d) Fernanda and Bernarda have a repeated rhythm that's a bit different from what we're used to. While we usually use the 3-6-8-10-12 rhythm, they frequently use 1-2-3 5-7-8 10, and it sounds quite fluid. Is there a special reason for this? I also noticed that this has some similarity to the bulería rhythm…

e) Fernanda's fandango por soleá recordings have unusual melodies. I wonder if these melodies are a product of her personal style.

Another resources:

R 1.- The author has transcribed the soleás most sung by Fernanda into sheet music, along with guitar recordings, to make learning easier for others;

Author of the article Calixto Li from Taiwan