Music of Brazil

A brief history

History

Little is known of the music of Brazil before the area's first encounter with Portuguese explorers on 22 April 1500. During the colonial period, documents detail the musical activities of the major Roman Catholic cathedrals and the parlors of the upper classes, but data about musical life outside these domains are sparse. Some information is available in writings left by such travellers as Jean de Léry, who lived in Brazil from 1557 to 1558 and produced the first known transcriptions of native American music: two chants of the Tupinambá, near Rio de Janeiro.

Further registration of musical activity in Brazil came from the activities of two Jesuit priests in 1549. Ten years later, they had already founded settlements for indigenous people (the Reduções), with a musical-educational structure. One century later, the Reduções of the southern Brazil, which were founded by Spaniard Jesuits, had a strong cultural development, where some music schools were founded. Some of the reports of that time show the fascination of the indigenous people for European music.

Popular music

Popular music

Choro (literally "cry" in Portuguese, but in context a more appropriate translation would be "lament"), traditionally called chorinho ("little cry" or "little lament"). Instrumental, its origins are in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. Choro was the first Brazilian national musical style to develop in Rio de Janeiro around 1870 and spread to the country with the invention of disco in 1888. Before choro, the most popular rhythms were modinha and lundu, but modinha was a rhythm originally from Portugal and lundu was a rhythm originating from Angola. It emerged from the fusion of popular European dance music, such as polka, waltz, mazurka, xote and quadrilhas, with Afro-Brazilian music, for example, lundu. After the proclamation of the Republic of Brazil in 1889, military and metal bands included choros in their repertoire. It was played and danced mainly by the lower middle class. It had its peak between 1870 and 1920. Originally choro was played by a trio of flute, guitar and cavaquinho (a small chordophone with four strings).