Sound

Question 1

What instruments could Lorca play?

Answer 1

He was a talented musician playing the guitar as well as the piano.

Question 2

What traditional Spanish dances/songs was Lorca interested in and what significance do they have?

Answer 2

He was fascinated by flamenco dance as well as cante jondo, the songs and lullabies of his native area. ‘Deep song’, is said to deal with love, pain and death. It was the simplicity of the form and the strength of emotions contained in these poems that appealed to Lorca.

Question 3

What is the significance of sound in Yerma?

Answer 3

Throughout the play the use of music, song, sound is crucial to reflect the style, atmosphere, setting and the distinctive moods for each scene.

Question 4

What are some examples of sound?

Answer 4

Act 1, Scene 1 opens will a lullaby sung offstage as Yerma wakes from her dream. Later in the same scene singing is heard whilst Yerma sews. Act 1, Scene 2 a haunting lament is sung by Victor. Act 2, Scene 1 opens at the stream where a chorus line of washerwomen sing as they wash clothes, Act 3, Scene 2 is full of music, song and dance, but the atmosphere changes from ritual to festival.

Question 5

Sound Elements

Answer 5

Cicadas (crickets)
Guitar
Cante jondo (singing originating from Andalusia)
Castanets

Question 6

Define Diegetic Sound

Answer 6

Sound which comes from the word of the play. This includes voices, music which is created at the scene, or sound effects such as a gunshot. It can happen on or offstage.

Question 7

Define Non-diegetic Sound

Answer 7

Sound which is created outside the world of the play. This can include narration, voice-overs, or sounds/music which are used to create atmosphere.

Question 8

Sound fundamentals

Answer 8

Use of microphones, amplifiers, direction/location, surround; live and recorded sound.

Question 9

Other sound features

Answer 9

Sound levels, reverb, echo, recorded sound effects, fades, soundscapes; pitch volume, and rhythm.

Question 10

Lorca Sound Quotation

Answer 10

Jose Caballero, who collaborated with Lorca on the design of Yerma, said that Lorca ‘wanted (the play) to be a single poem read by several voices, without losing the rhythm and the inflections in any one of them, so that they form a controlled and matching whole.’ In other words, he wanted the dialogue of the play to be a kind of a song. He wanted his dialogue to retain a certain rhythm and musicality (importance).