The Rhythm of the Romanies

Dance plays a vital role in bringing the spirit of Carmen to life. Exuberant, passionate, and wild, the “Gypsy Song” from Act II gives us a glimpse into Carmen’s character and the principles that guide her way of life.

In this activity, students will learn about the history of the Romani people and the term “Gypsy,” analyze an excerpt from the opera to identify elements of musical exoticism, learn the melody of Carmen’s famous “Gypsy Song” (“Les tringles des sistres tintaient”), and create their own 24-measure body-percussion piece that reflects the driving energy of Bizet’s score and Carmen’s character.

STEP 1. INQUIRE  

On an electronic platform of your choosing, such as Mentimeter, have your students create a word cloud with words that come to mind when they hear the term “Gypsy.” After everyone has had time to submit and read over the generated word cloud, ask students:  

• What similarities do you see? 
• Do any words in the word cloud surprise you or make you think differently about the term “Gypsy?” 
• What preconceived notions do you have about the term “Gypsy?”  

Distribute the included Deep Dive essay, “The World of the Romanies,” and have students read it aloud. The first two paragraphs are excerpted below:  

Although Carrie Cracknell’s staging of Carmen transports the action from 19th-century Seville to a contemporary American border town, in Bizet’s original composition, the title character and her compatriots are explicitly described as “Gypsies,” or in French, bohémiens. This term, which now has largely negative connotations and is considered a slur by some, refers to the Romani people, who are believed to have originally migrated from northern India, reaching the European continent by the 14th century. The English word Gypsy derives from the Middle English term gypcian, or Egipcien (Egyptian). It thus refers to the group’s supposed origins in Egypt or northern Africa, perhaps due to their darker skin. In Spain, the Romanies are referred to as Gitano (or Gitana). Like Gypsy, Gitano is an exonym—that is, a name for a group of people used by those who are not part of that group. The Romanies in Spain refer to themselves by the endonym Calé, from their language Caló, which combines aspects of Latin-derived Romance languages with the Romani language.  

Since the Romani way of life did not seem to conform to notions of Christian morality, they were viewed by Europeans as being ruled by their basest instincts, with no regard for honor or sexual control. In strict 19th-century society, any kind of behavior that did not follow its own austere codes of conduct was seen as morally corrupt. European authors projected lurid attributes upon Romani women. They were portrayed as sexually promiscuous, immodest, and outside of “decent” society. In much of the art, music, and literature of the 19th century, they were stereotyped as free spirited, strong, deviant, demanding, sexually alluring, and impertinent. In reality, Romani culture holds women to strict ethical codes of conduct with respect to sexuality and promiscuity is not tolerated.  

Then, have students listen to Carmen’s Act II aria, “Les tringles des sistres tintaient” (Track 7).  

STEP 3. REFLECT  

Ask students:  

• Have you ever heard of the term “exotic” before?  
• What might that mean when referring to music?  
• How might music be exotic?  
• What about the word “exoticism?” Has anyone ever heard that term before? In what context?  
• How might a composer portray a distant, or exotic, location musically? 

Explain to students that musical exoticism often portrays distant lands by using musical elements that are drawn from a composer’s perceptions of people, places, and cultural practices from cultures other than their own. If students have not already naturally done so, turn the conversation directly back to Bizet’s music. Ask students:  

• How does Bizet portray Romani people in his Act II “Gypsy Song”? (You may want to play the audio a second time.)  

Have students identify specific musical elements they are hearing and ask them to consider what Bizet may have thought of the Romani people and how Carmen is portrayed.  

• Do you think composers depict cultures different from their own positively and accurately, or do you think composers often turn to caricatures of those cultures?  
• In what ways might musical exoticism, or musical caricatures, offend a person that belongs to the culture that is being depicted?  
• Do you think composers should depict cultures outside of their own? Why or why not?  
• What are ways that composers could be more thoughtful, considerate, and intentional when portraying other cultures different from their own?  

STEP 4. RESPOND  

Teach the “Tra la la” melody from the song students have just analyzed, which is included in this guide, in one of three ways:  

• Have students sightread the melody using whichever method they are used to (solfege, numbers, or neutral syllables).  
• Provide students with staff paper, key signature, and time signature and have students dictate the melody on staff paper.  
• Teach the melody by rote.  

Throughout the learning process, ask students if they notice any repeating patterns. Share with students that the repeating pattern they are hearing is called a sequence— a restatement of a motif at a higher, or in this case lower, pitch. Ask students: How many times does the sequence occur? (After the initial statement, the two-bar motif is heard in sequence two more times). How many measures are there in a phrase? (Eight.) What is the form of the melody? (AA’—for upper-level music students, ask them to identify the cadences at the ends of each phrase).  

STEP 5. PERFORM  

Put students in small groups of about four or five and have them use the included handout to create their own 24-measure rhythmic body percussion ensemble with layered ostinati. Students may stomp, pat, clap, and snap. Have students notate their body percussion ensemble on four-line staff paper. Remind students of the following:  

• Focus on simple ideas that can be repeated over and over. Create one rhythmic cell, or building block, that is one measure, and repeat it to create your ostinato. 
• Be mindful of creating direction in your rhythmic ensemble. How will you incorpoate different dynamics, growth of the line, tension, and release? 
• The students’ footwork may include more than just stomping. Ask students, “How might something different than a loud stomp look when notated on the staff?” 
• Encourage the use of syncopation, offbeat accents, and polyrhythms. But...“Boring” is often better; keep it simple.  

Once students have composed, rehearsed, and perfected their body percussion ensemble, it is time to perform them for the class. Instead of going one group at a time, stopping in between each performance, create a new class composition with the “Tra la la” melody as a ritornello—a recurring passage or, in pop music, a chorus. If you have four groups, assuming each group did something different, the form of your class composition will be:

Consider adding to or replacing the stomp, snap, pats, and claps with unpitched percussion instruments. You can also have students create ostinati to complement the “Tra la la” melody. Alternatively, they can add body percussion and/or unpitched percussion instruments to the “Tra la la” melody. Finally, try increasing the tempo toward the end of your class’s composition to add an accelerando reflecting the frenzied nature of this scene.