Cry of Brazil

winna — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 10:01:21 -0800

Choro (the Portuguese for 'crying', pronounced "shoh-roh") is a style of Brazilian music that originated in Rio de Janeiro in the nineteenth century. Choro combines Afro-Brazilian rhythms with conventions of European dance music. It is primarily instrumental music with great scope for improvisation and is traditionally played by flute or clarinet, guitar and/or cavaquinho (page includes English translation), although banjo or bandolim are also commonly heard. Some names to know in choro are Pixinguinha (1897-1973), Jacob do Bandolim (1918-1969), and Paulinho da Viola, (born 1942). In 1930 Getúlio Vargas was made President of Brazil by the military in a (relatively) bloodless coup. As part of the Estado Nôvo Vargas' government attempted to assert the significance of Brazilian culture and celebrate 'truly Brazilian' art forms, of which choro was considered a part, with samba taking the central role as the exemplar of Brazilian music. This constrained the development of innovative choro due to nationalistic rhetoric rejecting foreign influences. In the 1970s choro was revived but limited itself largely to recreating classics of the genre. In the late 1990s choro returned and innovative new players began working within the form to develop the art. Some names to know are the Orquestra de Cordas Brasileiras, and one of my personal favorites, the Trio Madeira Brasil. There is also a movie by Mika Kaurismäki about choro. This is my first FPP.

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Cry of Brazil