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Writer's pictureCochuchi

Origin of the Spanish Fandango and its types in the 18th century

Origin of the Spanish Fandango and its types in the 18th century.


At the request of the Chinese Community (I believe I understand), and due to the general lack of knowledge of what the authentic Fandango represents, I am presenting here different types of Spanish Fandangos in the 18th century.





Referring to the origin of the Fandango in the 18th century, first I would like to point out that in my opinion the Fandango comes from the Spanish Jácara dance, hence why Félix Máximo López (1742-1821) defined it as “Spanish”. All other hypotheses seem crazy to me, since musically there is nothing that relates it to those other dances.


There are foreign enlightened travelers who already refer to having found boleros, seguidillas and fandangos in our country in the 17th century. The Dictionary of the Spanish Language of 1843 defines it as “a certain very old and common joyful dance in Spain. It is also called the ringing or sound with which one dances.” When the Venetian Giacomo Casanova visited Spain in 1767, he was fascinated, describing it as “the most seductive and sensual dance of all… the couple makes gestures of a lasciviousness that admits no comparison… Everything is represented, from the beginning of desire to ecstasy.” From that date on, it seems that the gypsies became the representatives of this dance, thus trivializing the joy of the dance even more, turning it into a forbidden spectacle for the time, going from less to more in sensual and lascivious provocation.



Fandangos in Spanish folklore


The Fandango is a musical form characteristic of Spanish folklore.


Fandangos from Almeria: Fandango from Cuevas, Fandango from Laujar (El Parral), Fandango from Nijar, Fandango from the Region of Vélez and Alto Almanzora, Fandango from Alpujarra, etc... (¿)


The Fandango from Huelva, which can be divided into 32 styles spread over 9 locations: Almonaster la Real, Alosno, Cabezas Rubias, Calañas, Encinasola, El Cerro del Andévalo, Huelva, Santa Bárbara de Casas, Valverde del Camino. (¿)


Galician fandango,


Valencian fandango,


Extremaduran fandango (Badajoz, Villanueva del Fresno),


Old Castilian fandango,


etc., throughout Spain




Fandangos in classical music


Fandango from Santiago de Murcia (¿- ca. 1732)







Fandango, or fandanguillo from Cadiz, related to the flamenco style of the "Alegrías"


Fandango by Scarlatti (1685-1757), linked to the Seguidilla


Fandango by José de Nebra (1702-1768)


Antonio Soler's Fandango, linked to the Bolero. "Abandolao" Fandango.


Fandango in the Jota style


"Malaga" Fandango by Pedro de La Rosa (ca. 1740)


Fandango with variations for the Fortepiano by José Martí (1719-1763)


Fandango by Boccherini (1742-1805)




Variations of the Spanish Fandango, by Félix Máximo López (1742-1821)


Fandango by Chistoph W. Von Gluck (1761) from his ballet "Don Juan ou Le Festin de Pierre"


Fandango in the opera "The Marriage of Figaro" (1785-86) by Mozart


Fandango by Dionisio Aguado (1784-1849), with some influence from Soler's, and from the fandangos Spanish:Hispanic Americans


Fandango that appears at the beginning of the "Great Concert Fantasy on Spanish Themes" (Grosse Konzert-Fantasie Über Spanische Weissen) by Franz Liszt (1811-1886), possibly provided from the Conservatory documents by Soriano Fuertes when Liszt visited Madrid, since Liszt in this work uses pure and authentic Spanish themes, not composed or adulterated by him. Therefore this Fandango should be even earlier than Gluck's,




In the 19th century, other fandangos became famous, such as the Fandango from the zarzuela "Doña Francisquita" with music by maestro Amadeo Vives (1871-1932).



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