Samba History - musical styles of Brazil

S A M B A

Samba History.

Samba is the national dance of Brazil. It is also one of the best known forms of Afro-Brazilian dances. The Afro-Brazilian culture developed as a result of the Portuguese colonisation of Brazil - a lively dance in 2/4 time. There are three steps to every bar, making the Samba feel like a 3/4 timed dance.

Samba’s roots come from the Bahia province in eastern Brazil. In the early 1800s, the beginnings of samba formulated through a blending of the traditional Bantu music and religious ceremonies brought to Brazil by West African slaves, the European music of the Portuguese colonists, and to a lesser extent, the music of the Indians native to Brazil.

After the abolition of slavery in 1888, many freed slaves migrated from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro.

Samba History continues: Once In the urban setting of Rio do Janeiro, samba flourished in the surrounding Afro-Brazilian hillside settlements ~ and grew into the basis for the samba that became immensely popular the world over during the 1950s.

Samba History reveals that two main branches of samba exist today--samba de enredo, or "samba of the street," which is characterized by a strong percussive style that propels carnaval; and samba cancao, which blends the percussive style of samba de enredo with traditional song structures. The first widely recognized samba recording was Dongas "Pelo Telefone " ("On the Telephone"), which was recorded in 1917 and made Samba history.

I'm a sucker for samba!

Other Dances and Brazilian Music Genres

C H O R O

Translated from Portuguese, choro literally means "to cry"-a reference to the music’s melancholy melodies. During the mid-to-late 1800s, traditional European waltzes and polkas brought to Brazil by Portuguese colonists were combined with African and native Indian influences - creating what some consider an early Brazilian acoustic jazz style of music.

Improvisation sections were added to the traditional European song forms and Afro-Brazilian syncopation from the rhythm section gave choro a completely unique sound. Choro was a key contributor to the development of samba at the beginning of the 20th century.

BOSSA NOVA

Created in the 1950s, bossa nova is the culmination and cross-pollination of the traditional, again samba history intervenes - percussive samba de enredo of the working and lower classes; the down-t6mpo, balladic, and melodic samba cancao of the middle-class; and American jazz.

Samba History: Combining these elements resulted in a generally acoustic, mid-tempo samba rhythm with the harmonic complexities and controlled dissonance of American jazz, Bossa nova became the new mucis of the Brazilian rniddle class in the 1960s and its lyrics generally touched upon middle class values creating a controlled sound that eliminated the raw energy of the carnaval samba.

FORRO

Originally from northeastern Brazil, forro emerged in the 1940s as a rural music brought to the southern cities due to a migration caused by drought and famine in the Bahia province, The melody is played by an accordion, which is accompanied by a large bass drum and a triangle.

Forro resembles the Cajun music of Louisiana in instrumentation and tempo. Thought of as unsophisticated and passe during the rise and popularity of bossa nova, forro enjoyed a resurgence during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

TROPICALIA

By the late 1960s, bossa nova had become pop culture in Brazil. Brazilian popular music was revolutionized in 1968 when tropicalia, complete with its electric and amplified instruments and satirical lyrics, emerged. The antithesis of the conservative middle class music that ruled the airwaves, tropicalia appealed to the more radical youth of Brazil with its incorporation of elements of late 1960s rock-and-roll. It was in truth a mixture of a variety of Brazilian styles, and besides rock and roll it included jazz and R&B and injected it with a dose of political discourse.

One of the leading lights of this movement was Caetano Veloso. He is today a legend in his own time. He continues to record. Considered a cultural hero his creativity seems to know no bounds. He has more than two dozen albums to his credit. Now an elder statesman he is regarded as one of Brazil's great musical exports.

The lyrics were often critical of the conservative Brazilian society, and it eventually drew the wrath of Brazil's military dictatorship. Tropicalia only lasted for a year or so, but its electric influence continues to shape Brazil’s popular music scene to this day,

CAPOEIRA

Developed from a martial art brought to Brazil by Bantu slaves from West Africa, capoeira was disguised as a dance to fool the slave masters.

Accompanied musically by a berimbau, capoeira developed into an entire dance and music style that is still popular today.

PAGODE

Originally, pagode referred to a backyard samba jam session. In the 1970s, samba was not a popular music, as the airwaves only carried the sounds of Musica Popular Brasileira (IRPS).

Pagodes, were popular in the suburbs as a way for samba lovers to play and hear new music that wasn't played by radio stations. During the late '70s and throughout the '80s, pagode became known as a form of modern samba that developed out of the backyard jam sessions into a popular music once again. Pagode became a commercial success as a revitalized samba movement for a new generation.

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