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2002–2011
Daniella Thompson
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Daniella Thompson on Brazil
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Musical legends on DVD
Three new discs from Tropical Music
Claus Schreiner of Tropical Music in Germany just released the DVD series Legends of..., with material never before available on video. Each DVD is 2.5-hours long and comes with a 56-page booklet packed with original artwork and texts.
The excerpts above were extracted from DVD 1, which includes Gypsy flamenco, Argentine folkloric music, and MPB.
The Brazilian part consists of 45 minutes shot in Germany during the festival Cançoes Macumba, Samba e Bossa Nova do Brasil 1966. Among the artists are Edu Lobo, Sylvia Telles, Rosinha de Valença, Dom Salvador, Sérgio Barroso, Chico Batera, J.T. Meireles, and the percussionists Marly Tavares, Rubens Bassini, and Jorge Arena.
Tracks: 01. Macumba Rhythms – Jorginho & Rubens 02. Macumba Rhythms – Marly Tavares 03. O Barquinho – Meirelles Trio 04. Reza – Edu Lobo 05. Upa Neguinho – Edu Lobo 06. Não Tenho Lágrimas – Meirelles Trio 07. O Orvalho Vem Caindo – Meirelles Trio & percussion 08. Acalanto – Rosinha de Valença 09. Consolação – Rosinha de Valença 10. Samba Torto – Sylvia Telles 11. Samba de Uma Nota Só – Sylvia Telles 12. Finale – Marly, Jorge, Chico & Rosinha 13. Tristeza – Meireilles with band & soloists
“Cantáteis: Cantos elegíacos de amozade” (1993) by Chico César is a poem consisting of 144 strophes and dedicated to Tata Fernandes, for whom Chico harbored this hybrid emotion between amor and amizade.
So says the text on Chico César’s official website. Chico gave a reading performance of “Cantáteis” on 17 September 2008 at Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in São Paulo. Accompanying him was singer and songwriter Lica Cecato, who didn’t sing. Instead, she played the theremin.
Ten days ago, guitarist Fábio Zanon sent an e-mail to announce that his Rádio Cultura FM de São Paulo series, O Violão Brasileiro, had its last broadcast on 28 January. It was the 148th weekly program in the series, which began airing in April 2006.
In his message, Zanon wrote:
According to plans, the series O Violão Brasileiro would have ended at the 150-program mark, and we would have begun a new series with another theme. However, the administration of Rádio Cultura decided to shut down the program.
I am greatly saddened to see the guitar lose this radio space. We have here the bizarre situation of a classical music, public radio station in Brazil that won’t consider giving the most played instrument in the land even a weekly hour.
It’s milk, it’s bread, It’s the stuff on your list It’s the strange little snacks You end up buying instead
It’s booze, it’s nuts, it’s pills, it’s peas It’s the peanut butter made of sunflower seeds It’s a box of soup, it’s the bell from a boat It’s yogurt made from the milk of a goat
A bottle of juice with a crazy name Ten kinds of soy milk that all taste the same A two-dollar wine that tastes like four All your favorite stuff they don’t have anymore
It’s the cashews flavored with chili and lime It’s the bunch of bananas you buy one at a time It’s the stuff that’s organic and the stuff that’s not It’s the cars that won’t fit in the parking lot It’s the bottled water they keep by the door It’s the ginger soy dressing they don’t have anymore
A snort, a sniff, a gourd, a snack It’s the apple juice that’s addictive as crack It’s cilantro pizza, it’s organic lox Four fuji apples in a plastic box It’s all the new products that come and go The exact same sample five days in a row It’s mint-flavored dog food, it’s an ear from a pig It’s your morning coffee in a cup this big
A handle that rips on a paper sack That checker you liked who’ll never be back It’s the plastic grapes hanging over the wine It’s the guy with twelve items in the ten-item line
The electronic field that stops your cart The blackboards covered with employee art It’s a ball of ice cream that’s covered with flour It’s the shelves that are empty by the dinner hour It’s the beautiful moms in their yoga clothes It’s our favorite place, it’s that store, Trader Joe’s
It’s the cage-free eggs that aren’t free range It’s the canned corn label that they never change It’s the cereal shaped like a little man It’s those great tomatoes for just a dollar a can
It’s five different flavors of lemonade It’s dried bull penises done up in a braid It’s the organic sugar that just won’t pour It’s the aged gouda cheese they don’t have any more
It’s cylindrical salmon, it’s pills that fizz It’s aloe chunk juice, whatever that is It’s the information that nobody reads It’s a small watermelon without any seeds
It’s the oldies music they always play It’s that guy who says, “put that camera away” It’s the workers who smoke in the back of the store It’s that guy Trader Joe who’s not there anymore It’s the manager who asks you to go It’s our favorite place, it’s that store, Trader Joe’s
Paul Claudel, Darius Milhaud & Henri Hoppenot in Brazil (from Paul Collaer: “Darius Milhaud”)
Mills College is reopening and renaming its restored and renovated historic concert hall with a music festival that will run from 21 February to 5 April. The fascinating program, most of it sold out, includes a gala event at which Mills faculty, alumnae, students, and guest artists will perform music by Darius Milhaud, conducted by Nicole Paiement and featuring piano soloists Robert Schwartz and Julie Steinberg, and percussion virtuoso William Winant.
Program
Cantate pour l’Inauguration du Musée de l’Homme, Op. 164 (1937) Patrice Maginnis, soprano Wendy Hillhouse, mezzo Brian Staufenbiel, tenor Robert Stafford, baritone Chorus directed by Elizabeth Eshleman and Kristin Pankonin
Cinq Études, Op. 63 (1920) Robert Schwartz, piano Concerto pour percussion, Op. 109 (1929–30) William Winant, percussion
Intermission
Carnaval d’Aix, Op. 83b (1926) Julie Steinberg, piano
Doni Sacramento posted this historic clip, the only remnant from the Sonofilmes production Banana da Terra, in which Carmen Miranda appeared for the first time in baiana costume.
This was also the first time that Carmen recorded a Dorival Caymmi song. In fact, it was the 24-year-old songwriter’s first composition to be recorded and also the first time his own voice was heard on record.
Directed by João de Barrro (Braguinha), the film went into production in 1938. Carmen had just recorded Ary Barroso’s “Na Baixa do Sapateiro,” and this instantly popular samba-jongo was to be included in the movie. The set had already been built and Carmen’s baiana costume was ready, but the composer refused to cooperate, demanding an astronomical fee for the right to use this song in the film.
A substitute had to be found, and in a hurry. Carmen’s friend Henrique Foréis Domingues—better known as Almirante, a former bandmate of Braguinha’s from their Bando de Tangarás days—had heard the young Caymmi on the radio and believed his baiana song would do the trick.
But first he had to record a demo with Dorival for Carmen to hear. The neophite was ready to perform one of his sea songs, but Almirante insisted on the baiana. Carmen approved the samba on first audition, and the rest is history.
Dorival was so green at that point that he didn’t even discuss his fee. The payment he received was far, far lower than the one Ary had demanded. The solo male voice you hear in the clip is his.
