Ritmos de tonadilla: algunas consideraciones a partir de la obra conservada de Jacinto Valledor

Abstract

Rhythm is one of the most important elements in the tonadilla during the second half of the eighteenth century, not only as a manner of representing fashionable tunes and dances, but of organising the theatrical story and as an effective manner of transmitting ideas to the audience. In my doctoral research into Jacinto Valledor’s tonadillas, I identified certain rhythmic patterns that very regularly appear in the tonadilla repertoire: amphibrachic and iambic in triple time and, especially, compound duple time, which create changes in the accents. The objective of this article is to trace various aspects of these rhythms, such as their possible relationship to the tango or habanera rhythm or to the step known as the topetillo, typical of the Spanish choreutic repertory of the period. The fact that these rhythms may even be identified with the very concept of tonadilla is also considered.