Mauro Refosco is a percussionist musician born on October 16, 1966 in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Being of italian descent, he developed a unique sensitivity for Italian rhythms in southern music which ultimately lead to him taking interest in the brazilian tambourine, the pandeiro, and the haunting berimbao. As his name became more prominent amongst percussionists, so did his instruments. In fact, according to Google’s statistics, the prominence of the word, pandeiro, has grown about 12 times as popular since the 1980’s, and for the berimbao, it has almost doubled. Ergo, it is reasonable to credit him for the popularization of the prominence of these instruments in today’s society. Furthermore, Refosco would form a band, the Hot Chili Peppers.
Then there was “Torito,” with its careening interscalar soloing and riffs, which Quintero described as a “tribute to nature and animals,” and possessed some of her most inventi...
Between the 1940’s and 50’s Latin America began to have a tremendous effect on culture, popular music, and dance around the world, especially the United States. Music from Latin America first began to spread to the United States in 1925 when a Cuban named Mario Bauzá moved to New York and introduced a brand new style of music. Senior Bauzá moved to New York because he was not able to express his music the way he wanted to in Cuba due to his black skin color. When he moved to New York, he found a lot of musical freedom in Harlem. While in Harlem, he switched form Clarinet to Trumpet, which is what he is known for today.
early ridicule and resistance from the more popular and prosperous styles of music such as Salsa and Merengue. Bachateros, or the male dancer or singer, continued to captivate small audiences through underground performances, celebrations, cassette recordings and the rare airtime that were reluctantly offered by local radio stations. Bachata would eventually evolve – breaking through to reach the popularity of mainstream media and becoming deeply embedded into the bodies, blood, breath and bones of dancers, artists and audiences all across the globe.
Undoubtedly, music is one of the most powerful forms of expression human beings have at their disposal. While composers and musicians often use music to communicate emotions, thoughts and feelings, music can also reflect the traditions, history and beliefs of a culture. Historically, some composers have used music to protest the actions of their country, but many nationalist composers have used music to reflect pride in their country. Music and folk songs are a large part of every culture’s identity. During the twentieth century, Heitor Villa-Lobos impacted the cultural identity of Brazil through the creation of compositions that reflect his upbringing and cultural heritage. Not only were his works considered historic moments in the establishment of a truly Latin American identity, his compositions also blazed a new path for a new generation of innovative Latin American artists. The music of Heitor Villa-Lobos reflects the history of his culture and his identity as an individual. Villa-Lobos respected his heritage and culture while continuing innovate and inspire his peers. The works of Heitor Villa-Lobos are an integral part of Latin American culture, yet he is often overlooked in the repertoire of Western classical music. This composer used his heritage, background and individuality to create classical music that reflects his experiences and the society in which he lived. Villa-Lobos captured the spirit of the nineteenth century nationalist movement and transcended the established rules and expectations of Western classical music in order to create music that was a true expression of his identity and culture.
After Christopher Bruce received a letter from a widow of a Chilean folk singer who had been murdered the very inspirational and symbolic ‘Ghost Dances’ work came about. In 1981 Bruce obtained Rambert’s trust and knowledge that he can create dance movements of a high quality and very symbolic to scenarios. Rambert asked Bruce to compile a work for the Chilean Human Rights Committee; who gave him South American styled music which he immediately adored. The tragic place in South America where dreadful situations affect the poor: father figures being pulled away from their loving families and tortured to death, friends murdered and the children taken away. Knowing of all these horrid acts stirred Bruce to be overwhelmingly sympathetic towards the causes and people who faced these unnecessary killings among their homes and neighborhood. Bruce incorporates many dance techniques and elements to portray and recognize the difference between good and evil, heaven and hell. A major aspect of this work is the characters involved and what they do to rule power and domination.
Oct. 29: Puerto Rican Music Between Rafael Hernandez and Rafael Cortijo. Guest Lecture by Prof. Lise Waxer, Music Dept., Trinity College
“product of a musical tradition that has been evolved through the process of oral transmission. The factors that shape the transition are: (I) continuity which links the present with the past; (ii) variation which springs from the creative impulse of the individual or the group; and (iii) selection by the community...
In essence, the corrido genre is legendary for its hard-bitten lyrics of drug traffickers plus gunfights, and moreover functions as a genus of musical tabloid, singing of regime dishonesty, the lives of émigrés in the United States, in addition to the scuffles of the Zapatista insurgency in Chiapas. Although principally anonymous to English speakers, narco corridos top the leading Latin charts and govern radio playlists equally in the United States as well as points south. Examining diverse recent studies, the authors present in-depth examinations at the songwriters who have changed groups like the trendy Tigres del Norte into permanent celebrities, as well as the upcoming artists who are hauling the narco corrido into the 21st. In proving for the poetry as well as social demonstration at the back the ornate lyrics of in...
The recording I chose on Youtube to write my paper about is entitled, “The Rhythm of the Saints,” by Paul Simon. Paul Simon is an American musician, actor and singer-songwriter. He has received many awards throughout his musical career including a Lifetime Achievement award which is an extremely prestigious award. He has also released many albums to date but his most interesting album, The Rhythm of the Saints is sure to grab the attention of people everywhere, even though there were a majority of bad reviews on this album. Something that makes this song as well as this album interesting is the fact that he recorded this album’s featured percussion tracks in Brazil. By listening to this song, there are no hints given away that says he is a
Cumbia originated in the coastal region of Colombia in the early 1800’s. There were three predominant cultures in Colombia at that time: the indigenous peoples, the Spaniards, and the African slaves. The cumbia began with the essential instrumentation of the tambor drums and the gaita flutes, which derive from both indigenous and Congo-based African roots. The genre was entertainment for the slaves, beginning as a courtship dance. It later became an outlet for national resistance and protest as Colombia was contesting for its independence. The music was able to diffuse throughout the nation, spreading from the coast, primarily for the reason that many African populations were scattered in various regions. Barranquilla, a port city in Colombia, was the core of where the music became established and played for the masses, and where instruments such as horns and bass began to be incorporated into cumbia, giving it a more Latin feel. As cumbia evolved and spread to Mexico around the 1930’s, it changed from the influence o...
“How Musical is Man?” was published in 1974. This book was written by John Blacking, a musician turned social anthropologist. His goal in writing this ethnography, and several other papers during this same time period, was to compare the experience of music-making that takes place within different cultures and societies throughout the world. In this book, he discusses and describes the musicology of the Venda people in South Africa. Though he does go to Africa to research and learn about the Venda people and their music, he specifically states that his book is “not a scholarly study of human musicality” (ix), but rather it is a summary (written from his point of view), which is both expressive and entertaining, of several different issues and ideas that he has seemingly been contemplating for some time.
Thomas Turino, Moving Away from Silence: Music of the Peruvian Altiplano and the Experience of Urban Migration. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1993.
To better understand why samba represents the Brazilian’s national identity, one has to understand the history of Brazil and samba. Samba can be heard all throughout Brazil. It is a musical genre complemented by song and dance that includes a group of percussion instruments and guitar. The puxador (lead singer) starts the samba, occasionally singing the same song for hours at a time. The obligation of maintaining thousands of voices in time with the drum rests on his shoulders. Bit by bit, the other members of the escola (samba group) come in, and with a whistle from the mestre de bateria (percussion conductor) - the most exciting moment of the parade occurs as the percussion section crashes in. The surdos (bass drums) keep the 2 / 4 meter, while caixas (snare drums) and tamborins accent the second beat. This percussion ensemble, speak of as the 'bateria', frequently includes instruments such as the agogo (double bell) and reco-reco (scraper), as well as the prato, repique, pandeiro, tamborim, and ganzathe. The only stringed instrument is the great pitched cavaquinho (ukulele). Together these instruments combine to create polyrhythms that cross and align, contrast and reinforce with each other in an animated style less formal than marcha or maxixe. Couples often dance to samba in physically tight, close movements similar to the lambada and l...
Bachata is a form of music and danceable rhythm that originated in the countrysides of the Dominican Republic. It is now known for it’s catchy danceable rhythm making it a music genre that is known internationally. It all started may 31st 1962. A group of musicians whose lead singer was Jose Manuel Calderon recorded the first “Bachata album” during the decades of the 1940s and 1950s DR was influenced by Merengue,
...s Sub-Sahara African music that intermixed with slaves in Spain. The cante Gitano has combined with the original dances of Andalusia. Performers who have searched for the origins have found are pervasive Arab influences, touching everything from the style of performance to the very rhythms and scales of the songs themselves (Greg Noakes). Flamenco has also been influenced by Indian and Middle East dances.