"Castanets"
Flamenco Dancers
Speaking to a friend now living in Spain. I said, “that I had not heard the sound of castanets for years”
What I should have said, was that I had forgotten to listen for them.
I remember as a small child leaving with my brother and parents for a holiday in Spain.
We boarded the ferry to cross the English channel where my father left his precious Rover chained, and in the hands of strangers.
Our hotel in Spain was white and very tall with a court yard in the centre, and tonight we were going there for a Spanish”Fiesta.”
I wore my favourite dress and my brother wore long trousers.
There was so much food my brothers eyes were as big as saucers.
My Mother had lots of odd things on her plate she said they were mussels, claws,and tentacles!
She enjoyed them very much and my father went back for seconds.
After my brother and I had finished the biggest serve of ice cream,
the lights went bright, the chatter stopped, and in came the Spanish dancers.
Arms, legs,and petticoats, the music bounced around the court yard walls.
His arm held her round the waist, the other, he tossed above his head.
Her fingers trembled over her castanets as he gazed deeply into her beautiful face.
Glued to the spot, I was completely mesmerized by the talking clicking castanets.
They clicked across to the xylophone and under the guitar strings.
I remember thinking that my brother looked very handsome that night.
To my Mother’s horror he stood with his hands in his pockets trying to keep his trouser creases straight.
I remember wishing he was older and taller than myself, and I bent my knees trying to shrink a little bit.
( He never did reach my height, but he did grow up very handsome).
In the morning my Mother bought some castanets. They were made of wood. Mine were painted red;
they were in two pieces held together with a piece of string.
I slipped my thumb under the string holding them against my palm. I tried to make them click.
It was very hard, but I did the best I could.
After re-kindling the light of my love affair with castanets I wondered about their history.
I cherry picked some information which I found very interesting.
I thought you might like to share what I discovered with me.
They are centuries-old. Their earliest recorded history dated to over 1000 B.C.
Castanets are considered perhaps the most sophisticated of percussion instruments.
They thrived in the countries surrounding the basin of the Mediterranean: Greece,
Turkey, Italy,and Spain. Over the cause of history Spain has conversed and developed their use,
and they are now considered the national instrument of the country.
They consist of two pairs of cup shaped pieces of special wood, chestnut is commonly used.
They are drilled to receive a cord, which is looped round the thumb.
They usually differ slightly in pitch the lower (male) and higher (female).
The cups hang downwards in the hand and are manipulated by the fingers.
Each instrument is hand crafted and moulded to fit the size of the hand of its user.
I read that there were only 4,( how amazing is this?) or less professional castanet players in the world!
and that in an orchestral selling a castanet machine, although their sound is slightly different, is often used.
The castanets are secured by elastic to a central piece of wood ending in a handle which is held and shaken.
Not as romantic as Spanish dancing! Castanets help to capture the Spanish character, experienced by me as a small child.
They inspire romance and atmosphere to the music, and Spanish dancing under the warm Mediterranean skies.
I still have my castanets, maybe one day I will return to Spain and relive my childhood memories.
- Castanets
Writer Dianna Collen who lives in Australia, is a lover of all things Spanish and a regular visitor to the Marbella Marbella site. She has generously submitted her charming article “Castanets” for us to enjoy and share!
Disclaimer: The views, opinions and positions expressed within this guest article are those of the author Dianna Collen alone and do not represent those of the Marbella Marbella website. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to Dianna Collen and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with the author.
