Cucurrucucu Paloma

• Cucurrucucu Paloma, Lola Beltran, 1932-1996
• Instrumentation: Vocals, acoustic guitar, harp or electric guitar(? I can't figure out one of the instruments that is playing what I think are triplets at around minute 2:00) guitar, violins, trumpets, bass. It sounds like a mariachi band.
• Texture: There seems to be pretty much one line of music, which primarily features the vocals, although there are some sections where the instruments are featured, especially the trumpets, while Lola is not singing. I would not describe this song as rich. Lola's voice is certainly full and loud, but it does not feel rich, and while there is a full accompaniment, it primarily is there to support Lola, and does not enrich the sound so much as fill it out.
• Range: The range does not actually vary greatly. Lola remains in a mid to high range the whole time. The instruments certainly vary their range throughout the piece, but it is not extremely noticeable, because the primary sound is certainly the vocals.
• Tempo: The tempo is moderate to fast. Although Lola is holding long notes for a lot of the piece, if you listen to the instruments, which are keeping the beat in the background, you can hear a faster beat.
• Meter: I think it is in a 4 beat meter, and remains in such the entire way through.
• Volume: Lola remains at a pretty high volume throughout the entire song, which really puts the emphasis on her voice as opposed to the instrumentation.
• Lyrics: She is singing of a dove (or swallow, depending on how it's translated) who died of his passionate suffering for his love. I like that the chorus of this song is onomatopoeia, especially this specific bird call because it sounds very lovely in spanish, where the Rs are rolled. The dramatic story is certainly dramatized by Lola's dramatic sining of the song- she draws out the last note of each phrase, and sings at a very high volume throughout.