![]() ![]() These so-called ‘variations’ on La Folia – especially popular during the Baroque period – are some of the grandest achievements in music. The melody is basic enough that musicians can easily explore it in different ways, adding harmony or fiddling with the speed while always letting the original, haunting theme shimmer through. Perhaps all this has something to do with La Folia’s adaptability. In the decade to 1710, around 20 composers tried taming La Folia, from Antonio Vivaldi to Arcangelo Corelli. Musicians themselves were just as enthusiastic. By 1760, it had reached Mexico and Bolivia. Between 16 alone, pieces borrowing La Folia were printed everywhere from Zaragoza to Berlin to Oxford. One hint is its vast geographical spread. Still, there are clues that the theme was a genuine phenomenon. Its story tells us much about the history of music, and maybe even something about ourselves. Yet for centuries, La Folia has dazzled hundreds of composers and musicians, up to the present day. One of the strongest candidates is a tune few will recognise. But rather the most enduring melody, a simple theme that has been shaped by countless hands. What, for example, is the most popular tune ever? Not the most covered song: that would be Yesterday by The Beatles. Why The White Album is The Beatles’ greatestīut for all that, the internet can’t tell you everything. Back to Black: The millennial I Will Survive Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Despacito has over 6.3 billion views on YouTube. The numbers elsewhere are even more astounding. Sheeran’s Shape Of You was the first track to be streamed a bewildering two billion times. What about the most popular song? The scruffy ginger-haired heartthrob strikes again. Want to know the most popular artist on Spotify? Just a few clicks will take you to Ed Sheeran and his 72 million monthly listeners. ![]()
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