Made in Spain: Studies in Popular Music will serve as a comprehensive and rigorous introduction to the history, sociology and musicology of 20th century Spanish popular music. The volume will consist of 16 essays by leading scholars of Spanish music and will cover the major figures, styles and social contexts of pop music in Spain. Although all the contributors are Spanish, the essays will be expressly written for an international English-speaking audience. No knowledge of Spanish music or culture will be assumed. Each section will feature a brief introduction by the volume editors, while each essay will provide adequate context so readers understand why the figure or genre under discussion is of lasting significance to Spanish popular music. The book first presents a general description of the history and background of popular music, followed by essays organized into thematic sections.

English with excerpts in Spanish and French.

From its earliest appearance in the mid-1600s, the lyric theater form of zarzuela captivated Spanish audiences with its witty writing and lively musical scores. Clinton D. Young’s Music Theater and Popular Nationalism in Spain, 1880–1930 persuasively links zarzuela’s celebration of Spanish history and culture to the development of concepts of nationalism and national identity at the dawn of the twentieth century. As a weak Spanish government focused its energy on preventing a recurrence of mid-nineteenth-century political upheavals, the project of articulating a national identity occurred at the popular level, particularly in cultural venues such as the theater. Zarzuela suited this aim well, depicting the lives of everyday citizens amid the rapidly changing norms brought about by industrialization and urbanization. It also integrated regional differences into a unified vision of Spanish national identity: a zarzuela performance set in Madrid could incorporate forms of music and folk dancing native to areas of the country as far distant as Andalucía and Catalonia. A true “music of the people” (música popular), zarzuela offered its audiences an image of what a more modern Spain might look like. Zarzuela alone could not create a unified concept of Spanish identity, particularly with competition from new forms of mass culture and the rise of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship in the 1920s. Yet, as this riveting study shows, it made an indelible contribution to popular culture and nationalism. Young’s history brings to life the stories, songs, and evolving contexts of a uniquely Spanish art form.

The precision of the tango…the rhythmic excitement of a flamenco guitarist…the clicking of wooden castanets…the whirling of great dancers. Such impressions of Spain are captured effectively by Catherine Rollin in this fantastic sequel to Sounds of Spain Book 1. Seven intermediate solos explore many of the diverse dance and harmonic elements that make up the colorful Spanish music tradition. All are very manageable technically, yet contain dramatic sections that sound difficult and showy. Great crowd-pleasers!

When Flory's ancestors are forced to leave Spain during the time of the Spanish Inquisition, they take with them their two most precious possessions—the key to their old house and the Ladino language. When Flory flees Europe during World War II to begin a new life in the United States, she carries Ladino with her, along with her other precious possessions—her harmoniku and her music. But what of the key? Discover the story of Ladino singer Flory Jagoda.

My main purpose has been to open the ears of the world to these new sounds, to create curiosity regarding the music of the Iberian Peninsula. When more of this music is familiar will be time enough to write a more critical and more comprehensive work. - Preface.