The seguidilla is a quick, triple-time old Castillian

Crown of Castile

The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...

 folksong and dance form. (The dance portion is spelt in the plural, as seguidillas.) The song is generally in the major key and often begins on an off-beat. The name is actually a diminutive of seguida (from seguir: to follow ).

Song

In general, seguidilla folksongs begin with a brief instrumental introduction, often played on guitar, followed by a salida, which is a small portion of the song text acting as a false start. The remaining sections are free and varied, consisting of instrumental interludios and the vocal sections called coplas.

Dance

The dance is performed in pairs with animated footwork reflecting the rhythm of the guitar and percussion, yet restrained upper body movement. One technique characteristic of the dance is known as bien parado, wherein the dancers stop motion at the end of a section of the music or stanza of text while the instruments continue playing into the next section.

Types

The earliest and most influential of the types of seguidilla is thought to be the Castilian style, in particular the seguidillas manchengas, which originated in La Mancha

La Mancha

La Mancha is a natural and historical region or greater comarca located on an arid, fertile, elevated plateau of central Spain, south of Madrid, stretching between the Montes de Toledo and the western spurs of the Serrania de Cuenca. It is bounded on the south by the Sierra Morena and on the north...

. Other variants include the murcianas from Murcia

Murcia

-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...

, and the slightly faster sevillanas

Sevillanas

Sevillanas are a type of folk music, sung and written in Seville in Spain. Historically, they are a derivative of Castilian folk music . They have a relatively limited musical pattern, but rich lyrics, based on country side life, virgins, towns, neighborhoods, pilgrimage, and love themes...

 of Seville

Seville

Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

. One of the most complex styles of seguidilla is the gypsy seguidilla (also known as the seguiriya

Siguiriyas

Siguiriyas is a form of flamenco music belonging to the cante jondo category. Its deep, expressive style is among the most important in flamenco...

 or the seguidilla gitana), which is used in flamenco

Flamenco

Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....

 music.

Seguidilla aria

The Seguidilla aria forms part of Act I of the French opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

, Carmen

Carmen

Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...

by Georges Bizet

Georges Bizet

Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...

. The beautiful gypsy, Carmen, sings it in an attempt to seduce her captor, the soldier Don José, into going with her to her friend Lillas Pastia's inn. It is likely also that the "Veil Song" (Act II, scene 1, of Don Carlos

Don Carlos

Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...

) by Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...

 is meant to evoke the style of a seguidilla. Moreover, in Verdi's La forza del destino

La forza del destino

La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...

, the composer inserts a folkdance at the beginning of Act II, and calls it seguidilla on the score: nevertheless, this passage is written in 4/4, not in triple time as seguidilla traditionally is. A Seguidilla aria also features in Paisiello's opera Il barbiere di Siviglia

Il barbiere di Siviglia (Paisiello)

Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile is a comic opera by Giovanni Paisiello from a libretto by Giuseppe Petrosellini, even though his name is not identified on the score's title page....

.