“The African Influences of Brazilian Music”

The art music of Brazil is incomprehensible without the contributions of the traditional music of the indigenous populations and, most importantly, the African groups that were brought to the country as slaves during the colonial and monarchical periods. The beginnings of Brazilian nationalism in the late 19th century owed much to the incorporation of traditional melodies, rhythms, instruments, and sonorities from African music, which by then had been assimilated into all levels of Brazilian culture. The musical forms that were cultivated by the first nationalist Brazilian composers made direct and indirect references to African traditions, sometimes through verbatim quotations of rhythms and melodies but, more often, through a reinterpretation of these elements in the context of European models.

The Festival

This concert showcases the richness and variety of the compositional procedures and techniques that Brazilian composers employed in order to project the rich African heritage of the country. These include dance forms, syncopated rhythms, unusual interval patterns, sonorities that emulate African instruments and, perhaps more significantly, a general vitality that expresses the kinetic nature of much of African music. Some of the most representative Brazilian composers, both from the older and younger generations, are featured with works that bring into focus their individual response to the African tradition and, in doing so, placed this rich heritage within a more universal and cosmopolitan context.

The Musicians 

Some of the musicians participating in the Second International Festival of Brazilian Classical Music by BMF are, the pianists Clélia Iruzun, Max Barros, Mauricy Martin, Sylvia Thereza, Christina Margotto, Renato Figueiredo, Ronaldo Rolim, Susanne Hess, Durval Cesetti, tenor Kaio Morais, baritone Angelo Fernandez, violinist Ronedilk Dantas, harmonica José Staneck playing works by Villa-Lobos, Camargo Guarnieri, Francisco Mignone, Osvaldo Lacerda, Marlos Nobre, Fábio Neves among others, in countries like England, Portugal, Belgium, USA and Brazil.