The Berimbau

Contents

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pp. v-vi

Acknowledgments

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pp. vii-x

I dedicate this work to my grandfather, Kenneth J. Galm, and my father, John K. Galm. My father brought my family to Brazil in 1972, and again in 1977, and this planted the seeds for my continued interest in Brazilian music and culture. My grandfather’s support of my studies in Brazil in the late 1980s and early 1990s enabled me to explore and build upon ...

A Note Regarding Musical Transcriptions

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pp. xi-xii

Introduction

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pp. 3-18

A young woman was on her way to her first trip to Brazil. She had developed a fascination for Brazilian music and culture in her hometown in the United States, and wanted to learn more. It started when she was in a city park, and saw two dancers engaged in a conversation of free-flowing movement. She later learned that this was called capoeira, and it was set ...

1. Historical Connections and the Emergence of a National Symbol

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pp. 19-33

Descriptions of the berimbau de barriga in colonial Brazilian life were a favorite subject of foreign travelers to Brazil, beginning in the early 1800s.¹ Musical bows appeared in marketplaces and were played exclusively by black street vendors and beggars until the 1888 abolition of slavery. Unique African-derived musical instruments were employed ...

2. Theme and Variations: Tracing a Musical Motif from Bossa Nova to the 1990s

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pp. 34-64

Brazilian popular music composers began to search for a national voice drawing from traditional genres during two distinct periods. (See related discussion in chapter 5 regarding the search for a national voice prior to the 1950s.) The first phase took place with the rise of bossa nova music in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when composers started incorporating ...

3. Afrocentric Themes of Resistance

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pp. 65-92

Following the transformation of the berimbau’s role in Brazilian popular music from the mid-1990s to the present, new musical ensembles have emerged that are based on ideas of resistance. The musical examples in this chapter demonstrate a shift in emphasis from a Brazilian national identity toward an articulation of an empowered Afrocentric identity ...

4. The “One Note Samba” Starts to Jam

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pp. 93-115

The berimbau emerged as a solo instrument in several genres of Brazilian popular music from the early 1970s to the present through the work of three berimbau artists: Nan� Vasconcelos, Dinho Nascimento, and Ramiro Musotto. Each of these musicians relates to Brazilian national identity and the berimbau in a manner different from Baden Powell and ...

5. Creation Myths

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pp. 116-145

An exploration of the berimbau’s presence in Brazilian art music reveals connections that have affected elements of capoeira scholarship. For the purposes of this chapter, I define Brazilian art music as a genre in which music is produced specifically for performances in concert halls. An analysis of the berimbau’s use in Brazilian art music highlights interpretations ...

6. Visual and Literary Images of the Berimbau

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pp. 146-159

As an extension of its associations with capoeira, the berimbau has come to represent “Afro-Brazilianness” in recent decades, appearing on capoeira academy logos, jewelry, and tattoos.¹ Walls of academies become sacred altars that prominently display berimbaus and photographs of “ancestors” (capoeira masters), most of whom are playing or holding a ...

Conclusions

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pp. 160-169

The berimbau is representative of a tradition that has been continually modified and incorporated into many musical genres throughout Brazil and the rest of the world. Through many years as an observer and performing musician, I have been able to reconstruct the history of the berimbau by drawing upon a synthesis of historical and ethnographic ...

Glossary

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pp. 170-173

Appendix: Musical Examples

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pp. 174-184

Notes

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pp. 185-206

Bibliography

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pp. 207-216

Discography

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pp. 217-218

Videography

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pp. 219-

Interviews

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pp. 220-221

Index

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pp. 222-229