AMANECE , QUE NO ES POCO ( At least, it’s dawning , 1989 ) and › surruralism ‹ in Spanish cinema through music

Over the years, the Spanish film AMANECE , QUE NO ES POCO [At Least, It’s Dawning] (E 1989, José Luis Cuerda) has emerged as the paradigm of surreal (or preferably ›surrural‹ 1 ) film in Spain. Although recognition of this production is growing as we move away from its release date, there are no studies addressing its music and the role it plays within the general plan of the film. Usually, theoretical approaches have focused on meaningless dialogues and rural scenes, omitting the value of the musical aspect. Therefore, we propose an analysis of this film, with forays into other similar productions, to inquire about how the music played by actors contributes decisively to the surreal pattern that surrounds the whole atmosphere. Also, we will try to identify the strategies that are used to make music essential, aimed at achieving a global understanding of the ›surruralism‹ that is present as the philosophy of the film. Methodologically, we will extract the most relevant scenes that serve to illustrate our thesis and, in addition to this, the study will include mentions to interviews with privileged informants who participated in the realization of these films and other audiovisual documents, in order to provide a thorough picture of the phenomenon described.


Introduction. ›Surrural‹ music?
The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth examination of AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO [At Least, It's Dawning] (E 1989, José Luis Cuerda) 2 , a prototype of surrealist cinema (it seems that the term ›surruralist‹ would better fit what the authors had set out to achieve) with a growing number of followers that has recently become a benchmark in Spanish cinema.
The release in an international publication of a study on musical performance in its narrative context in this film is a challenge, considering that it has taken several years for the movie to achieve due recognition, its prestige building over time. Likewise, and of the utmost importance to this reflection, is the fact that foreign readers are not always quick in grasping the criteria that lead to the growing value of this production in the Spanishspeaking world 3 .
Thus, the interest in pursuing musical research based on this film rests mainly on two aspects. On the one hand, the merely analytical element that lies in the attempt to understand the score as a whole within such an atypical 2 Director: José Luís Cuerda; director's assistant: Emiliano Otegui; screenplay: José Luís Cuerda; original music: José Nieto. I would like to thank the composer, José Nieto, and the soprano, Elisa Belmonte, for their contribution by providing very relevant data for the understanding of the film's music. Likewise, the input provided by the pianist, Marisa González -an extra -and by the members of the group of followers, known as amanecistas, who kindly shared their views with me, was extremely interesting. 3 Let us consider, for example, that, in some of the interviews with the film's director, the issue of the difficulties foreigners have in initially understanding the codes that make it so paradigmatic in the eyes of Spanish viewers is addressed. See, for example, the interview conducted by the left-wing politician Pablo Iglesias in his programme La Petaka, where such a circumstance is corroborated.
context as that pictured in the film, with its nonsensical and hilarious dialogues and, on the other hand, a musical approach to the explanatory keys to the phenomenon of such an intense reinvigoration of the film over the years, taking into account the fact that its collateral impact (fans, interviews and documentaries) keeps growing over the years since its release in 1989.
Regardless, despite the fact that our purpose will be to focus our attention on the music of the film, we recognize that this aspect cannot be dissociated from the totality of the film. In fact, the music is but one part of the mechanism which enables the common thread: the demonstration of a different model of film making by way of subversion and outlandish situations in the late eighties and early nineties. In the process, they nod to earlier cinematographic tradition which embodies a new critical and resolved look at social, religious, and sexual elements, which can be understood as components of a dynamic Spanish context which begins to glance towards the end of the transition.
The storyline, which can hardly be explained in a linear way, is set in a village of unknown name. Thus, Teodoro, a teacher of engineering at the University of Oklahoma, who is enjoying a sabbatical year, arrives at the place driving a sidecar where his father also travels. While they seek lodgings, they come across some of the most unbelievable situations, which they, nevertheless, deal with in a perfectly natural way. Throughout their adventure, these two characters face the most unlikely circumstances, such as hanged people who provide reasoned arguments for their refusal to be taken down; two agents of the Spanish Civil Guard that arrange turns to get the villagers drunk in an orderly fashion; a priest who delivers mass amidst the cheers of those attending; a villager who has befriended a pumpkin; a teacher who elaborates extensively on irrelevant topics such as the relationship between the groin and the world; a physician who enjoys watching how well a patient dies; a woman from the north of Spain that speaks with a broad Andalusian accent; a group of Latin America people whose main characteristic is that, on alternate days, they either smell good or levitate; a woman who gives birth a few minutes after becoming pregnant; and an endless string of situations among which we will focus on the musical performances such as that starred by the teacher who teaches to the beat of gospel, field labourers who sing madrigals on their way to work or the pub's entertainer who, accompanied on the piano, regales her audience with opera arias.
With such a winding storyline, the difficulties in turning the film into a successful production lied in its very context of creation. In the words of the Americans continue to hold a predominant role in the world, but from one film to the next they begin to practice a distinct model of colonialism, almost touristic; the mayor continues to carry out his role, based, in both cases, not only on the power that his position entails, but also on the authority conferred upon him by his fellow countrymen, in spite of which Cuerda trivializes this figure; religion, which, among many other aspects, had to be presented through a censored filter, is portrayed as a revered power, legacy of an ultra-catholic tradition, mass itself is elevated to a spectacle which only takes on meaning within a ridiculous paraphernalia... Accordingly, it is not surprising that the musical contributions that are scattered throughout the scenes in the temple so blatantly disobey the rules of rationality to embed themselves in this ludicrous and critical ideology.
The set described serves to shape the film's ultimate identity. In any case, among the influences received, one of the most remarkable is the wellknown reference to Buñuel, since his experimentalism with music can be understood as a key starting point. As Cooke (2008)  The combination of the above serves to build the ultimate identity of the film, developed in an indefinite time and place (Ríos Carratalá 2008, 55).
Everything, including the score, of course, is required to establish the intended atmosphere and be able to develop the play of contrasts. Regarding the music's influence on the achievement of such purpose, it is enough to look at the opening lines of the project of the series from which the film is born: At least, it dawns. A rooster crows, as usual, and is answered back or hindered by a saxophone enveloped in the fog. A clown's saxophone that leads us to the streets of a village after dawn. A clumsy saxophone that is engulfed by the sound of a trumpet, to proceed along the village streets while evening falls, telling us that there has been a change. Of more world. Cosmopolitan, even… (Cuerda 2014, 55) It might be said that the musical development that takes place draws from a set of more or less prototypical conventions, such as the use of a main topic that is presented during the starting and final credits and how it is approached to generate tender, tense or funny moments through the use of different timbres, sound additions or tempi. Therefore, the film's background music does not include any peculiarity that makes it more special than any other that might be adapted to other types of feature film.
Thus, for example, there are certain instances where there is a tendency to clichés (rhythms associated to the character of Ngé Ndomo, whose main defining feature is that he is the only black person in the village).
However, everything becomes more complex when focusing on music in its own context. Consequently, before approaching the musical analysis of the scenes, and to conclude this introduction, special attention should be drawn to the crucial role played by this music, a role that is at least as important as passionately sing, at a frenzied pace and building to an unstoppable crescendo. They sweat and get excited. 9 Thus, when music whose origin is clear is performed, the musical treatment conveys transgression and incoherence, while also being wholly at odds with the images. It is curious to see, for example, that alongside the introduction of the opera after the first drafting of the script, the opposite has also happened, namely, the elimination of certain scenes accompanied by music when they are too crude and identify with the characters and their uncouthness. Since this is not the message intended, they are removed. Such is the case of a scene that is not in the film where a group of young troublemakers serenade the mayor banging on pots and pans and bottles while they sing. 10

Methodology
Despite the above, there is a clear lack of studies on the role of music within the film 11 . This is rather surprising, since the particular nature of this creation rests not only on the dialogues or staging, but the score unquestionably plays a crucial role. However, as mentioned, the study of incidental and diegetic music, which is the focus of this study, is rarely considered.

11
While it is true that there are studies on the film itself, there are not as many devoted exclusively to its music.
To this end, as presented in the diagram below, we suggest a broad approach that goes beyond the merely analytic: An approach focused only on analysing the different parts where musicians or people playing instruments are involved would make no sense in global terms; it should be taken as a whole, which requires addressing other essentials. We have chosen to use a variety of sources in the attempt to overcome the difficulties that may arise from the understanding of the phenomenon from a global perspective. They are as follows: -Analysis of the main scenes where diegetic music is included, paying particular attention to the musical performance itself and its role in each of them. -

Music Analysis: Analysis of the main scenes
In the light of the above, this paper pays special attention to how the score develops within the film's narrative context and its contribution to creating the mentioned ›surrural‹ atmosphere 12 . The first step to achieve this purpose is to identify the most relevant instances of music: The music seeks to illustrate the suicide suspense. The issue of credits appears distorted. Indeed, Monteverdi's music, as mentioned before, is reserved for the field labourers' return. In any case, the sublime nature of the music, conflicting with the farming tools and rural clothing is a fact from their first appearance.
On this occasion, the reference made in the screenplay is to their singing, emphasising the need for it to be »in perfect tune« 17 . We thus highlight the specific guidelines »in various voices«, »with great gusto« and »in perfect tune«, since they set the bases for successfully achieving the planned transposition.
The other highpoints where music takes centre stage are the appearances of the soprano in the pub. The first of them is the one that most clearly reflects what is intended. Handel's music visibly pleases the pub owner, implying that he understands the potential of such type of music. Shortly after, this character is able to produce a highly complex discourse on literature, which is doubtlessly one more instance of the pub owner's abilities, even if his job would imply otherwise.
In other words, 16 In the script it is in Scene 13 although a handwritten note redirects it to Scene 35. 17 Script. Scene 31.
the distortion is twofold: not only is the singer's style completely foreign to a business of such characteristics, but the aria's lyrics are absolutely incongruous if compared with the ludicrous dialogue between the pub owner, the Civil Guard agent and the first drunkard. To further exaggerate the distortion, the soprano and the pianist are dressed as if they were going to perform at a concert hall (Galbis 2009, 238).
The expression »cómo canta la jodía« (she can damn well sing), a catchphrase repeated ad nauseam by the staunchest followers of the film that is blurted out by a young drunkard at the pub's doors, substantiates how somebody can boast about his own inexperience in musical matters while at the same time acknowledging the singer's merit. Indeed, the other two appearances of the soprano and her pianist are by far less splendid, since they provide a background to particularly relevant dialogues. In any case, they serve to support the feeling that such music is appropriate for a place where the clientele gets drunk one minute, and discuss novels or elaborate on philosophical aspects the next.
The fandango that accompanies the mayor and Ngé's hanging is another of the noteworthy moments. The singing of this fandango seems to stem from the interest of the amateur actor himself, a local, in appearing in the film in such manner. Within the general context of craziness, it is simply accepted.
To conclude this approach to the sequences with live music (either totally or partially), it is obligatory to mention the songs sung at the school. In a time when theories on making learning playful to improve students' motivation were being proposed, teacher Roberto manages to reach his students quite successfully through live musical performances. Beyond the old-fashioned environment conveyed by the classroom's furniture and the clothing of one or two of the students, the musical styles, so far away from rural reality (gospel and a certain derivation of pop music), come as a great surprise that ensures the perfect success of the absurd.

Connections among the TOTAL -AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO -ASÍ EN EL CIELO COMO EN LA TIERRA trilogy
When speaking about AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO, it is common to ask its director to relate it to TOTAL, a TV production lasting less than an hour, which most obviously precedes it. Even before, but especially following the publication of the book Amanece, que no es poco (La Serie), José Cuerda (2014) shows us how the film addressed in this study stems from TOTAL, after being commissioned by the Monte-Carlo Film Festival to produce an approximately one-hour long comedy. Once it had been broadcast on Spanish Television and after the odd negative review 18 , it was awarded the Special Jury Prize and the Critics Award, resulting in the opportunity to use its ideas to produce a TV series (the unsuccessful AD URBE CONDITA), which ended up becoming AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO (a film drawn from the five-hour storyline that had been prepared for the series). The plot of TOTAL is also difficult to understand, since it brings us to the year 2598, shortly after the end of the world, and describes some of the uncanny events 18 Especially the one by Ángel Fernández-Santos »Total, nada« in the newspaper El país (28/12/1983), which ends with a completely negative opinion on what was to follow: »Original dialogues, since they couldn't be worse«. Online: http://elpais.com/diario/1983/12/28/radiotv/441414002_850215.html (Last accessed: 01.09.2018). that take place (the appearance of a woman, children that age surprisingly fast, collapses, cows that want to learn at school…).
The first thing that stands out in the musical treatment of TOTAL is the nearabsence of diegetic music and the huge variety of music introduced in the transitions between scenes, mostly used to emphasize implausible situations through music that conveys a touch of mockery. When compared to AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO, the former does not reveal the great importance of the role that musical performances will later play.
Speculations could be here made on the possibility that the higher impact of the film as compared to this shorter product mainly lies in its bringing together all the tools of the audiovisual product to create the ›surrural‹ atmosphere, which in TOTAL is still rather blurred as far as the soundtrack is concerned, since the clichés used are still very repetitive and even predictable, which is in complete contradiction with the need to contrast disparate elements that can be appreciated in AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO and, of course, in the film that completes the trilogy.
In this regard, ASÍ EN EL CIELO COMO EN LA TIERRA is assumed to be the last film of this sort of trilogy whose author presents a ludicrous picture that portrays elements that are inherent, although obviously distorted in these productions, to the particularity of rural environments. A certain degree of evolution in the musical aspect can also be observed, since the plot of this last film is more open to displays of music developed in the images themselves. In this motion picture, the death of one of the characters serves as the excuse to present heaven, its inhabitants and its landscapes, which turns out to closely resemble a mid-twentieth century Spanish village. Not happy with the world's course, God decides to send a second son to Earth but, persuaded by Jesus, they end up planning an apocalypse to regenerate the human condition, which is not easy, since their possibilities are rather basic and humans, perhaps, too rebellious.
As already mentioned, while in TOTAL the treatment of the musical aspect is very clear and in AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO the score is an integral part of the desired atmosphere, the stronger plot of ASÍ EN EL CIELO COMO EN LA TIERRA allows for even greater musical presence following the trend suggested above. Thus, the standardization of surrealism under clearly defined premises (rural environment, crazy situations, contradictory dialogues in specific contexts…) is supported more efficiently by music when the plot gives cause for it. Below is a summary of the distribution of the musical display in ASÍ EN EL CIELO COMO EN LA TIERRA.
In this sense, musical appearances have a number of aspects that make certain continuity with the previous film. In ASÍ EN EL CIELO COMO EN LA TIERRA the first diegetic sounds remind us of the Spanish National Anthem, often interpreted crudely, trying to illustrate a past time, supported by the large number of flags in the country, does not refer us to progress or frantic industrial activity, but to a rural environment. Frequent are also intentionally farcical performances and the songs of San Isidoro, who acts as a teacher in a similar way as master Roberto in AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO. In the first case, the procession marches, so common in towns across the Spanish geography, are parodied mercilessly while, between the walls of the classrooms of the school, children's choirs reappear. Also noteworthy are other musical performances as saetas or singing a capella of San Isidoro, since both moments are heirs, unfailingly, the fandango that is sung by the mayor and Ngé Ndomo while they are hanged in AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO. However, there is a clear evolution in the 1995 film: since, in this case, the dialogues are not as absurd, and the music presents a component of coherence not always apparent in the previous production. The described music intermingles on the scene when necessary, it is modeled to appear non-diegetically or tailored specifically to the diegesis if or when the situation requires it (as in the case of joyful fanfares signifying the progress of the entourage of the apocalypse which suddenly become disjointed when they return defeated). The use, therefore, can be defined as more prototypical and, as noted above, ›surrural‹.

Testimonies
There are many testimonies, recorded and accessible from the web, on the issue of the keys to interpreting AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO, especially based on the director's own words. However, not as much attention, if any, has been paid to reflecting on its music, which is why we have chosen to bring together relevant data from the available audiovisual documents and our interviews with José Nieto (the music composer of TOTAL and AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO), Elisa Belmonte (a soprano playing the role of »pub entertainer« in the film) and Marisa González (a pianist that appears as an extra), with the purpose of finally approaching the former analysis in the most appropriate way, providing data that could maybe add to the ideas already introduced.
Some of the noteworthy aspects are the relevance attached by the production department of the film to the musical quality of performances. It has already been mentioned that to be able to enhance the contrast between rural environments and the clichés that are supposedly far from them in musical terms, it was essential that music displays be of top quality, since a questionable performance would not achieve the intended effect. José Nieto himself stressed the importance of ensuring that the recordings made prior to the film's play-back were clear and that they involved first-class performers. In the case of the schoolchildren, the voices belonged to the Choir School of the Valle de los Caídos, while the Elisa Belmonte's singing was accompanied, as she told us, by Manuel Gas, one of the greatest pianists of the moment. The soprano herself, whose musical quality, supported by a well-established career, is unquestionable, remarked that she was amazed by the pianist's almost intuitive coordination skills during the recordings in the Madrid studios.
Another extremely interesting issue derived from the interview concerns the repertoire, in particular the one used by Elisa Belmonte in her role as the pub entertainer. According to her, when José Luis Cuerda asked her to sing and act she prepared the pieces that she considered most appropriate for her role (mainly lively fragments of zarzuela, such as those taken from »La corte del faraón« or the well-known »Anda jaleo«) and was surprised to learn that he wanted opera arias. It seemed that composer and time were irrelevant; the idea was that the soprano herself was to select from her repertoire and share the works that were considered the most elitist, the closer to art music, the better. This was no doubt a good way to contrast the tastes and interests expected from the pub's clientele with their complete opposite. Another of the requirements to achieve this was that the soprano be made up to look older, to be able to intensify the nuances described.

Conclusions
It is always interesting to study the music in films whose prestige has increased over the years. To begin with, the mere fact of observing whether the score has the same connotations as the rest of parameters that make up the audiovisual product (costumes, dialogue…), or if it is used to enhance them and stimulate this revival phenomenon is encouragement enough to justify music-oriented research on the film addressed. Considering that, as we have pointed out in the main part of the study, the film has always been approached from the perspectives of the traditionalism of its plot or its hilarious dialogues, apart from rare exceptions such as the case of Galbis, we believe that this study might fill in a gap in the analysis of the Spanish filmography, since the significance of this film in Spanish cinema and its influence on either side of the screen are well-established facts.
In an attempt to avoid labels that do not refer to the specificity of the topic, the director breaks away from the term surrealist to frame the film as what he terms ›surruralist‹, so that the identifying features are a series of elements that can be traced to before and after the production at issue. In this regard, it should be noted that the film is not born from scratch and that, as stated above, there is logical continuity from TOTAL and AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO to ASÍ EN EL CIELO COMO EN LA TIERRA. The very chronology of the productions and their plots (more incoherent in the TV production and much easier to grasp in the last film) are a reflection of how music has been involved in the scenes. As stated by the score composer of the first two, the nature of TOTAL rendered diegetic music almost unnecessary, while in The analysis conducted proves that the creation of a cult film like the one discussed cannot be achieved without the concurrence of the musical aspect which, in this case, is of utmost relevance. The pub scenes, where arias by Handel and Puccini are performed before a motley audience that includes intellectual farmers or drunken physicians, is a maximum point of attraction within the extreme distortion that leads to the film: the naturalness of the surprising. In such cases, what is truly significant from the perspective of the musical performance is not so much the message conveyed by the specific arias that are sung, but the fact that the interviews conducted have made clear that the aim was to introduce a completely unexpected type of music in such context. The other noteworthy moment when the pre-existing music raises as the protagonist (the madrigal by Giovanni Gastoldi) fits perfectly into the concept of ›surruralism‹, which is enhanced, as mentioned, not only by the musical performance, but also by the gestures of complicity, idleness and timing of the field labourers, identified as such by the tools they carry, since by their expressions and behaviour they could well pass for skilled musicians. On their part, the school performances (the other two scenes where music takes a central place) further contribute to the display of distortions and, in line with it and thanks to perfectly tuned voices, a type of music-based learning is conducted that would be difficult to achieve at a school in postwar Spain.
Thus, it is interesting to underline that music has a decisive effect on the distortion of reality, forcing us to face what we might become in a very particular, even grotesque, way, but a way that can be, nevertheless, framed within a geographical context that would seem uninteresting in terms of what it really is: a complex knot of multiple relationships and contradictions. Let us remember that one of the productions addressed in this study provides evidence of how one of the villages where the filming took place (Liétor) organizes a successful series of organ recitals that attracts many music lovers. In AMANECE, QUE NO ES POCO we can observe how musical transgressions are taken to an extreme, although they do not cease to be grotesquely exaggerated parts of concerns or aspects that might arise at a smaller scale, however much the location used is a remote place in La Mancha.
As a final conclusion, we could raise a question about the extent to which the musical performances in the film contribute to set up the surrealist or ›surruralist‹ atmosphere. As previously set forth, it addresses yet another way of subverting the image of modernity presented by the state by resorting to diverse sources. The absurd and irreverent is understood as the source of a new society, Spanish society, which does not necessarily need to move towards the models drawn up by film-makers more tightly bound to new trends. In this sense, the film-and the director's own filmographyconstantly remind us to what extent Spanish society draws upon outdated traditions, yet does so with a curious symbolic efficacy.
If, as we have noted, the costumes and dialogues run in opposite direction to the music, contributing to the contradictions in such a peculiar society, the musical pieces are doubtlessly essential to intensify such contradictions and asymmetries. While it is highly unlikely for villagers in an undetermined place of the deepest Spain to become irritated because someone has plagiarized Faulkner, it is far more bizarre and difficult to find people who Kieler Beiträge zur Filmmusikforschung, 14, 2019 // 117 know Gastoldi's madrigals, or even the arias sung by the soprano Elisa Belmonte who, as already stated, had the feeling that they came to be better known, though not famous, as a result of their enactment in the film. In this regard, the phenomenon of cult worshiping of the film is decisively underpinned by the musical performances, since their contribution to the socalled ›surrural‹ or absolutely genuine style is as important as the dialogues themselves or the rest of comical situations.