Tonás () is a
palo or type of
flamenco
Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...
songs. It belongs to the wider category of
Cantes a palo seco The Spanish term Cantes a palo seco refers to a category of flamenco palo (flamenco), palos (musical forms) traditionally sung a cappella or, in some cases, with some sort of percussion. The category comprises the following palos:
* Tonás
* Martin ...
, ''palos'' that are sung
a cappella
Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
. Owing to this feature, they are considered by traditional
flamencology to be the oldest surviving
musical form
In music, ''form'' refers to the structure of a musical composition or musical improvisation, performance. In his book, ''Worlds of Music'', Jeff Todd Titon suggests that a number of organizational elements may determine the formal structure of a ...
of flamenco. This musical form originated in the
Calé Romani subculture of Southern Spain. The first known flamenco singer,
Tío Luis el de la Juliana, who lived in
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...
in the last third of the 18th century, was said to have excelled in this ''palo''.
Other ''cantes a palo seco'', such as
martinetes and debla, are sometimes classified under ''tonás'', while at other times they are referred to as ''palos'' on their own.
The ''tonás'' were almost in disuse by the end of the 19th century. The reason seems to be that they were considered a difficult style by the general public, and resulted in Tonás on the near verge of disappearing.
During the 1950s the tonás came back into use,
[ with singers like Antonio Mairena,]
References
Flamenco styles
Music of Spain
Music of Andalusia
Vocal music
{{Music-genre-stub