Tablao Flamenco Cordobes Nasrid Architecture
Nasrid Art is also known as the Art of Granada. Its development started between the XIIIth and XVth centuries, during the last period of Hispanic-muslim art. It spread across Berbería, Granada’s Kingdom and some other regions of the Iberian Peninsula and it was a precursor of the mudéjar art.
The Nasrid Dynasty, who dominated Granada for more than 200 years and names this kind of architecture, was able to seize the power thanks to the exhaustion of the Almohad Empire. It allowed the emergence of little kingdoms, such as the Nasrid, who designed Granada as its capital in 1237.
After many years of Christian pressure, the Nasrid dynasty was the last Islamic kingdom of the Peninsula, until they surrendered in 1492. With the disappearance of the Granada Kingdom, the last centre of Islamic influence in the Peninsula also disappeared, which meant the end of the Nasrid Art.
The most renowned and distinguishing work of this art is La Alhambra. It was developed during the Nasrid Dynasty in Granada, it’s a symbol of the Islamic palatial architecture and it was declared World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. The decoration of Tablao Cordobes Flamenco Barcelona restaurant was handcrafted by the official restorers of La Alhambra, resulting in a reproduction of the forms of the Nasrid Architecture, a memory of the influence of the Arabic music in the roots of flamenco.
The construction of La Alhambra was started by Muhammad I, founder of the dynasty, when he decided to build a castle for his residence. From then on, the following sultans expanded and reformed it several times until his current appearance.
The ornamentations, complex and detailed, are meant to cover up the poor materials used in its construction, like stucco plastering or painted decoration. The cylindrical columns with a two body capital are also very distinguishing of the Nasrid Architecture, which you can find on the stage of the tablao.
Even though these days modern flamenco Barcelona is not influenced by Arabic music, it is true that many academics see evident connexions between the Arabic music and flamenco Barcelona roots. The most widely accepted explanation is that flamenco, which started to appear in Andalusia in the beginning of the XIXth century, was developed above a basis of Andalusian and popular music, resulting in big influences of Arabic elements in its melodies and tonalities. In addition to Arabic music, flamenco Barcelona has also been influenced by different musical legacies from the south of Spain, like psalmody melodies and the Jewish musical system, the Ionic and Phrygian modes of Byzantine singing, the ancient Hindi musical system, the Muslim singing and the Mozarab popular songs, which the jarchas and zambras are likely to come from.
