Music of Brazil
Strong influences on the
music of Brazil come from all parts of the world but there's a regional music very popular with influence from
Africa,
Europe, the natives of the
Amazon rainforest and of other parts of the country.
Samba is undoubtedly the most internationally famous form of Brazilian music, though
bossa nova and other genres have also received international attention.
Colonial music
The earliest known descriptions of music in Brazil date from
1578, when
Jean De Léry, a
French Calvinist pastor, published
Viagem à Terra do Brasil (
Journey to the Land of Brazil). He described the
dances and transcribed the music of the
Tupi people. In
1587,
Gabriel Soares de Sousa wrote
Tratado Descritivo do Brasil about the music of several native Brazilian ethnic groups, including the
Tamoios and
Tupinambás.
King
João VI of Portugal was a noted lover of music, and spent a period of time in Brazil. He sent for prominent European musicians to join him, including Austrian
pianist Sigismund von Neukomm and composer
Marcos Portugal. A local Brazilian musician,
José Maurício Nunes Garcia, an
organist and
clavichordist, was appointed Inspector to the
Royal Chapel.
In
1739,
Domingos Caldas Barbosa wrote a series of
modinhas that were extremely popular. Modinhas are a kind of sentimental love song of uncertain origin, as it may have evolved either in Brazil or Portugal.
Lundu was the first kind of African music to flourish in Brazil. Lundu, a style of comedic song and dance, was extremely popular and was even performed in the Portuguese court.
Independent Brazil
Brazil became independent in
1822, following the
Brazilian War of Independence. Soon after, the African comic song lundu spread from poor blacks to broader, middle-class and white audiences.
Towards the end of the
18th century a form of comedic dance called
bumba-meu-boi became very popular. It was a musical retelling of the story of a resurrected
ox. These dances are led by a
chamador, who introduces the various characters. Instruments used include the
pandeiro, the
tamborim, the
accordion and the
acoustic guitar.
Classical music
During the
18th century and the first half of the
19th century, the classical music in Brazil was strongly influenced by the music style practiced in Europe, particularly the
Viennese classical style. The first major Brazilian composer was
José Maurício Nunes Garcia, a priest who composed several sacred pieces and some secular music. He wrote the
opera Le Due Gemelle ("The two twins"), the first opera written in Brazil, but the music is nowadays lost. About 250 works written by him are known in the present days.
Elias Álvares Lobo composed the first brazilian opera with a
libretto in portuguese: "A Noite de São João" (Saint John's Party Night).
Near the end of the
19th century,
Carlos Gomes (from
Campinas) produced in a number of
Italian-style operas, such as
Il Guarany (based on a
novel by
José de Alencar).
Brasílio Itiberê was another prominent classical composer, the first to use elements of Brazilian music in
Western classical music, in his
Sertaneja (
1869).
In
1922, the
Week of Modern Art revolutionized Brazilian
literature,
painting and music.
Heitor Villa-Lobos led a new vanguard of composers who used Brazilian folk music in their compositions.
By the end of the
1930s, there were two schools of Brazilian composition.
Camargo Guarnieri was the head of the Nationalist school, inspired by the writer
Mário de Andrade. Other composers including
Guerra Peixe,
Oscar Lorenzo Fernandez,
Francisco Mignone,
Luciano Gallet and
Radamés Gnatalli. Beginning in
1939,
Hans Joachim Koellreutter, creator of the
Live Music Group, founded another school, characterized by the use of
dodecaphonism and
atonalism. Other composers in this school included
Edino Krieger,
Cláudio Santoro and
Eunice Catunda.
|
Drum known as Ilú used in Xambá religion in Pernambuco |
The earliest music in what is now Brazil must have been that of the native peoples of the area. Little is known about their music, since no written records exist of this era. With the arrival of Europeans, Brazilian culture began to take shape as a synthesis of native musical styles with European elements (especially
Portuguese music) and
African music.
Indigenous music
Main article: Indigenous Brazilian music
The native peoples of the Brazilian
rainforest play instruments including
whistles,
flutes,
horns,
drums and
rattles. Much of the area's folk music imitates the sound of the
Amazon Rainforest. When the Portuguese arrived in Brazil, the first natives they met played an array of reed
flutes and other
wind and
percussion instruments. The
Jesuit missionaries introduced songs which used the
Tupi language with Christian lyrics, in an attempt to convert the people to Christianity [
1], and also introduced
Gregorian chant and the flute,
bow, and the
clavichord.
Eastern Amazônia
Main articles: carimbó and lambadaEastern Amazônia has long been dominated by
carimbó music, which is centered around
Belém. In the
1960s, carimbo was electrified and, in the next decade, DJs added elements from
reggae,
salsa and
merengue. This new form became known as
lambada and soon moved to
Bahia,
Salvador by the mid-
1980s. Bahian lambada was synthesizer-based and light pop music. French record producers discovered the music there, and brought it back with them to
France, where a
Bolivian group called
Los K'jarkas saw their own composition launch an international dance craze. Soon, lambada had spread throughout the world and the term soon became meaninglessly attached to multiple varieties of unrelated Brazilian music, leading to purist scorn from Belém and also Bahia.
Another form of regional
folk music,
bumba-meu-boi, was popularized by the Carnival celebrations of
Parintins and is now a major part of the Brazilian national scene.
The field of Brazilian popular music can be traced back to the 1930s, when radio spread songs across the country. Popular music included instruments like
cuicas,
tambourines,
frying pans,
flutes,
guitars and the
piano. The most famous singer,
Carmen Miranda, eventually became an internationally-renowned
Hollywood film star. Her songwriter was
Ary Barroso, one of the most successful songwriters in early Brazil, along with
Lamartine Babo and
Noel Rosa.
Música Popular Brasileira
Main article: Música Popular Brasileira
Tropicalia eventually morphed into a more popular form,
MPB (
música popular Brasileira), which now refers to any Brazilian pop music. Well-known MPB artists include chanteuses
Gal Costa,
Maria Bethânia and
Elis Regina and singer/songwriters
Chico Buarque,
Milton Nascimento,
Gilberto Gil,
Caetano Veloso,
Ivan Lins,
Djavan and others.
Choro
Main article: Choro
In
Rio de Janeiro in the
1870s a type of reserved and private music called
choro developed out of
fado and European
salon music. Choro was usually instrumental and improvised, frequently including
solos by
virtuosos. Originally, a choro band used two
guitars and
cavaquinho, later picking up the
bandolim, the
clarinet and the
flute. Famous choro musicians include
Joaquim Antonio da Silva Calado Júnior,
Valdir Azevedo,
Jacob do Bandolim,
Pixinguinha and
Chiquinha Gonzaga; Pixinguinha's "Lamentos" is one of the most influential choro recordings. In addition to composing choros, another composer,
Ernesto Nazareth composed tangos, waltzes and polkas. Nazareth was influenced by Chopin but his music had a distinctly Brazilian flavor. Nazareth has also been compared to his contemporary Scott Joplin. The late
1960s saw a revival of the
choro, beginning in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, and culminating with artists like
Paulinho da Viola. Modern-day choro groups include
Os Ingênuos.
Bossa nova
Main article: Bossa nova
Antonio Carlos Jobim and other
1950s composers helped develop a
jazzy popular sound mixed with a smooth samba beat called
bossa nova, which developed at the beach neighborhoods of
Ipanema and, later, the
Copacabana nightclubs. The first bossa nova records by
João Gilberto quickly became huge hits in Brazil. Bossa nova was introduced to the rest of the world by American jazz musicians in the early
1960s, and songs like "
The Girl from Ipanema", which remains the biggest Brazilian international hit, eventually became standards.
Tropicalia
Main article: Tropicalia
By the end of the decade, artists like
Caetano Veloso and
Gilberto Gil combined American and European styles with electric guitars and different kinds of genuine Brazilian music, beginning a
genre called
Tropicalia. These songs, not unlike the music coming out of Britain and America at the same time, was often very politicized and was perceived as threatening by the establishment. The military government of the time went as far as to exile Veloso and Gil to England.
Música nordestina
Main article: Música nordestina
Música nordestina is a generic term for any popular music from the large region of Northeastern Brazil, including both coastal and inland areas. Rhythms are slow and plodding, and are derived from
accordions and
guitars instead of
percussion instruments like in the rest of Brazil - In this region, African rhythms and Portuguese melodies combined to form
maracatu and dance music called
baião has become popular. Most influentially, however, the area around
Recife, the home of
forró.
Repentismo
Northeastern Brazil is known for a distinctive form of literature called
literatura de cordel, which are a type of
ballads that include elements incorporated into music as
repentismo, an improvised lyrical contest on themes suggested by the audience.
Frevo
Main article: Frevo
Frevo is a style of music from Olinda. In the
1950s, it spread south, to cities like Salvador. In Salvador, frevo bands began playing during Carnaval, originally in trios called
trios elétricos. Overtime, the bands moved from playing on pickup trucks to fully amplified bands and stages.
Trios eléctricos remain a primary feature of the Salvadoran Carnaval today.
Forró
''Main article:
ForróForró is played by a trio consisting of a
drum and a
triangle and led by an
accordion. Forró is rapid and eminently danceable, and became one of the foundations for
lambada in the
1980s.
Luiz Gonzaga was the preeminent early forró musician who popularized the genre in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in the
1940s with songs like "Asa Branca".
Rock
The Brazilian
rock n' roll exists since the "first rock song", "
Rock Around the Clock", was covered (and also recorded in Portuguese), in
1954. The 1960's had, inspired by
the Beatles, many young singers like
Roberto Carlos and his
Jovem Guarda. The real "boom" of Brazilian rock was in the 1980's, with many bands and artists like
Barão Vermelho,
Legião Urbana,
Lulu Santos,
Paralamas do Sucesso and festivals like
Rock in Rio.
Heavy Metal
Brazil has also some internationally famous Heavy Metal bands, like
Sepultura,
Krisiun,
Angra (band) and
Shaaman.
Hardcore/Punk
Brazil has also been home to many bands of Hardcore/Punk, like
Cólera,
Ratos de Porão,
Inocentes,
Olho Seco ,
Garotos Podres,
Blind Pigs, etc.
Raggamuffin Dancehall
Music original from Jamaica, but in Brazil have the
Raggademente, represents of raggamuffin dancehall from South America. He is one of the pioneer raggaman in Brazil and is the principal dancehall artist in the country.
Samba
Main article: Samba
By the beginning of the
20th century,
samba had begun to evolve out of choro in Rio de Janeiro's neighborhood, inhabited mostly by poor blacks descended from slaves. Samba's popularity grew through the 20th century, especially internationally, as awareness of
samba de enredo (a type of samba played during
Carnival) has grown. Other types of samba include:
*
Samba de breque -
reggaeish and choppy
*
Samba-canção - typical variety of nightclubs.
*
Samba pagode - modern popular variety.
Capoeira music
Main article: Capoeira music
The
Afro-Brazilian sport of
capoeira is never played without its own music, which is usually considered to be a call-and-response type of folk music. The main instruments of capoeira music include the
berimbau and the
pandeiro.
Capoeira songs may be improvised on the spot, or they may be popular songs written by older
mestres (teachers), and often include accounts of the history of capoeira, or the doings of great mestres.
Maracatu
''Main article:
MaracatuThis type of music is played primarily in the
Recife and
Olinda regions during Carnaval. It is an
Afro-Brazilian tradition. The music serves as the backdrop for parade groups that evolved out of ceremonies conducted during colonial times in honour of the Kings of Congo, who were African slaves occupying symbolic leadership positions among the slave population. The music is played on large alfaia drums, large metal gonguê bells, snare drums and shakers.
Afoxé
Main article: Afoxé
Afoxê is a kind of religious music, part of the Candomblé tradition. In 1949, a group called Filhos de Gandhi began playing afoxé during Carnaval parades in Salvador; their name translates as
Sons of Gandhi'', associating black Brazilian activism with
Mahatma Gandhi's Indian independence movement. The Filhos de Gandhi's 1949 appearance was also revolutionary because, up until then, the Carnaval parades in Salvador were meant only for light-skinned people.
Samba-reggae
Main article: Samba-reggae
The band
Olodum, from
Pelourinho, are generally credited with the mid-
1980s invention of samba-reggae, a fusion of
Jamaican
reggae with samba. Olodum retained the politically-charged lyrics of bands like Ilê Aiyê.
Music of Salvador: Late 60s to mid-70s
In the latter part of the
1960s, a group of black Bahians began dressing as
Native Americans during the Salvadoran Carnaval, identifying with their shared struggles through history. These groups included
Comanches do Pelô and
Apaches de Tororó and were known for a forceful and powerful style of percussion, and frequent violent encounters with the police. Starting in
1974, a group of black Bahians called
Ilê Aiyê became prominent, identifying with the
Yoruba people of
West Africa. Along with a policy of loosening restrictions by the Brazilian government, Ilê Aiyê's sound and message spread to groups like
Grupo Cultural do Olodum, who established community centers and other philanthropic efforts.
Other Afro-Brazilian music genres
Afro-Brazilian music also include:
*
lundu *
Axé music*
Pagode*
Brazilian funk*
Afoxê*
Carimbo*
Maxixe*
xote *
Baião*
Lambada*
Merengue*
Baile funk*Cleary, David. "Meu Brasil Brasileiro". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.),
World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 332-349. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
*
List of Brazilians in music*
List of Brazilian songs*Castro, Ruy. "Bossa Nova: The Story Of The Brazilian Music That Seduced The World." 2000. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-55652-409-9
*McGowan, Chris and Pessanha, Ricardo. "The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil." 1998. 2nd edition. Temple University Press. ISBN 1-56639-545-3
*Veloso, Caetano "Tropical Truth: A Story Of Music & Revolution In Brazil." 1997, 2002. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40788-X
*
Slipcue.com Guide to Brazilian Music*
Brazilian Instrumental Music Guide
