This is a new edition of an account of the contribution of the Gypsies of Andalucia to the development of flamenco. It provides a fuller explanation of some of the technical terms and a biographical dictionary of the foremost Gyspy flamenco artists of the past. About the Author Bernard Leblon's first contacts with the Gypsy world and with flamenco, in Seville in the 1950s, had a profound influence on his life. Since the 1960s he has been engaged in research into the history of the Gypsies of Spain, culminating, in 1980, in a doctoral thesis on the subject. He set up a specialised research centre at the University of Perpignan, where he was professor of Hispanic studies until his retirement in 1994. A participant in flamenco congresses since 1982, and a member of the Andalucian Flamenco Foundation since its inception in 1987, he was a member of the board of directors of the Gypsy Research Centre of the University Descartes and of its associated Research Group on the European Gypsy History. Leblon's first work on flamenco, Musiques tsiganes et Flamenco (Gypsy Music Styles and Flamenco), co-published by Etudes Tsiganes* and Harmattan, 1990, was awarded the 1988 Andalusian Flamenco Foundation prize.

Despite its seemingly compact size, Leblon's book focuses intensely on aspects of Flamenco and gypsies in Spain. He discusses the historical pressures on the survival of the gypsies in Spain, detailing the laws, such as that of Philip IV in 1633 and later laws of forced assimilation from 1695 to 1746, and the more hopeful law of 1783. Leblon tackles the unresolved theories of the origin of flamenco, examining the arguments for making a connection between the Seguidilla form in Spanish music with the flamenco form of seguiriya, and justifies his view thoroughly. He examines the music of the Hungarian gypsies and the possible connections between flamenco and then continues on to explain the theories of flamenco's connections with Jewish music, Byzantine music, Arabic music, and discusses the musicological work of Manuel de Falla. The book includes short biographies of two hundred flamenco artists, including significant artists from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries such as Tafao Luis el de La Juliana and El Fillo (1820-1878). TWS http://myflamencodiary.com

Bernard Leblon was a guitar player first and a flamenco enthusiast second. As a visitor to Spain since the 1950s, he has accumulated an impressive amount of knowledge and historical material about the relationship between the gypsies and the art form. Many writers on flamenco fail to deal with this correlation effectively, but here it is, patiently laid out.

In reality it is impossible to be interested in flamenco while ignoring the fact that it was developed by the Andalucian gypsies. Non-gypsy practitioners are rare. In fairness the gypsy race in Spain does not make any extravagant claims for their involvement in flamenco, and there is considerable respect between performers of whatever race.

Leblon has no doubt that the gypsies settled in Spain around 1425 after travelling from North West India. Ever resourceful, they presented themselves as a form of unusual aristocracy, often referring to themselves as counts and dukes of Little Egypt. In this way they were well received – initially – but by 1478 their welcome had unsurprisingly worn thin and they were being targeted by the Inquisition, along with all other non-Catholics. They were given 60 days to either settle in a fixed abode and engage in a trade, or to leave Spain. In 1560 Philip II signed a law specifying that any gypsy man caught on the roads would be sent to the galleys. Women wearing gypsy attire were to be whipped and banished for life.

It didn’t get any better either. After the Moors had been expelled in 1633 the gypsies were ordered to integrate with the Spanish population and to live in cities. They were not even allowed to socialise among themselves, and their traditional trades such as horse-dealing were banned for them. The word gypsy was expunged from the language. This was ethnic cleansing of an early European type, as the aim was unquestionably to eradicate any reference to the gypsy race from history.

Any gypsy still around in his or her natural form in 1783 must have breathed a sigh of relief when Charles III lifted many of the previous restrictions, and gypsies were allowed to go back to their old trades and live where they wanted. But they were still not permitted to refer to themselves as gypsies, on pain of branding and death for repeat offenders.

Earlier historians of the period often confused gypsies with moors, based on hard-to-prove stories of moors disguising themselves as gypsies in order to avoid compulsory deportation – surely only a marginally less dodgy tactic, but there is no doubt that the gypsies did became adept at the trades practised by the moors, including masonry, shoemaking, rope and mat weaving, baking and butchery. Around 1570 the period of gradual permanent integration began, (although there was a hiccup in 1783) and for the first time gypsies began to b e treated like normal Spaniards, helped by such incidents as their military record while serving with the Spanish forces defending Cádiz and Gibraltar from the Dutch and English. Interestingly, gypsies often played the tambourine and fife free of charge for companies of militia, but since by law they were expressly forbidden from playing musical instruments, municipal authorities took it upon themselves to seek exemptions for them so the practice could continue.

The conversion of the race to flamenco artists par excellence came about unhurriedly. Gypsies limited themselves initially to performing the local styles of song and dance, but it is not easy to show how flamenco as we know it today developed from this Andalucian traditional music. It unquestionably did, although the argument mooted by some so-called experts in the 1950s to the effect that gypsies ‘stole’ flamenco is more of an emotional than a historical argument.  Nor is the Moorish-flamenco connection proved. ‘The issue of Arabic influence [on flamenco] is far from resolved’, as Leblon convincingly argues, ‘It is in any case pointless to look for correspondence between it and Arabic music which, to all intents and purposes, died out in Spain in the course of the 16^th century, and another musical style that came into being among the Gypsies of Lower Andalusia at least two centuries later.’

Part Two of the book is an exhaustive compilation of 200 gypsy artists ‘from the beginning of flamenco to the present’, that is particularly useful for tracing blood lines and inter-family relationships. It is an admirable work of reference.

There is nothing particularly ground-breaking here, but Leblon treats his subject with patient reverence and authority, and although in many respects an academic work, flamenco aficionados of all levels will find it easy to read and keep at hand as reference book.

Review by Andrew Linn.  Andrew Linn has lived in Spain for 40 years and even before shaking the dust of his native England from his shoes was an irredeemable aficionado of flamenco, bullfighting, wine, and Spanish culture. He writes regularly on wine and food in both English and Spanish-language publications and regularly visits wine regions.

© Books4Spain Ltd 2012 This review may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of Books4Spain or Andrew Linn.