![]() ![]() But this one is more traditional than the last it's sung by the roda at the opening of a fight, and it uses all of the genre's typical instruments.Ī series of slightly different rhythms are controlled by the singing of Mestre Moraes, an important master of capoeira who lives in Bahia. “Brincando na Roda” is another capoeira song. “ Brincando na Roda” performed by Grupo de Capoeira Angola Pelourinho You have to be really light on your feet while dancing to it.” This particular song was recorded in the 1950s, says Seeger, and “is a good example of a straight-on fast samba. There are many types of samba, but all share a defining characteristic-a syncopated rhythm that stems from candomble, the prayer music used in Afro-Brazilian religious practices. ![]() A blend of Brazilian and West African musical traditions, the genre originated in urban Rio de Janeiro between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The samba is celebrated as one of Brazil’s greatest cultural traditions. "Samba" from "The Dances of the World's Peoples, Vol. “Yes, you show the other person that you could knock their hat off, but you don’t. Is capoeira a game, or a test of strength against one’s enemy? “You can fight with capoeira, an art form,” says Seeger. Most capoeira music has no guitar. It’s an attempt to extend. “This is an experimental piece in which the musicians added a guitar to it. But this song is not an example of traditional capoeira music, says Seeger. The song is sung by Mestre Acordeon, a famous capoeira master who’s credited with bringing the fighting style to the United States in the early 1980s. Sometimes a senior member of the group provides the lead vocals other times, the group engages in a call-and-response pattern. A berimbau-a one-string musical bow-guides the rhythm tambourines, cowbells, drums and a serrated wooden scraper merge in the background. ![]() Their motions are dictated by background music, provided by the roda. " Capoeira is an art, a dance, a music and a fight…It is a cry of liberty,’ are some of the opening lyrics of the song "Grito de Liberdade, Un," meaning "A Cry For Freedom." Capoeira is a graceful Brazilian martial art form with African roots, in which combatants stand in the middle of a circle of fighters, called a roda, and employ a mixture of dance and acrobatics to attack their opponent. "Grito de Liberdade, Un (A Cry for Freedom)" performed by Mestre Acordeon with his students “It’s a folk genre of the northeast of Brazil,” he says. “It’s set to all kinds of things it often has singing in it, but not always.” According to Seeger, the recording was made around 1942, and most likely originated in the Brazilian state of Bahia. “The côco baiano is a very popular dance rhythm,” says Seeger. ![]() "Côco baiano" performed by Hermano Caetano For more insight into Brazil’s variegated soundscape, spoke with Seeger to discover the story behind each song. For the World Cup’s purposes, however, they might be best listened to at the end of an exhilarating game, intermingled with cheers, whistles and victory chants. Sampled from a longer catalog, the five tracks below range from early rural folk rhythms to popular urban beats to capoeira music in Brazil, they’ve served as backdrops for everything from fetes to fighting. “But some of them are very significant and well documented.” “The recordings span a large amount of time,” says Anthony Seeger, the label's former director. In honor of the World Cup, we invited Smithsonian Folkways to compile a playlist of the varied tunes and cadences that have shaped the nation’s proud musical tradition. The country’s music teems with African, European and Amerindian influences, and regional genres like the samba and bossa nova pulse through the air at festive occasions, allowing partygoers to prove they’re as fleet-footed on the dance floor as they are on the soccer field. Full of dense rainforests, bustling cities and golden beaches, Brazil is an endless feast for the eyes-and also for the ears. ![]()
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