Music & Rituals
Brazilian culture has many different types of music and many different rituals. However, there is one ritual and music that goes with it that stands out from the rest. Just last year it was estimated there would be 46 million people in Brazil for the festivities of Carnival.
Carnival is more than merely a parade to the residents of Brazil. It is an integral part of their culture and a source of fierce national pride. Samba schools spend all year preparing all the aspects of their performance in their move down the Sambรณdromo in Rio de Janeiro. This lengthy prep is in part due to creating the floats and intricate costumes, but also writing and rehearsing the music.
The ritual of Carnival can be traced back to parades celebrating the crowning of John IV of Portugal in 1641. "These celebrations were known as Prestitos and were similar to modern carnival in that there was music and processions in the streets (Carnival in Brazil)." The amazing floats are definitely the first things that catch your eye. These are some of the floats from the 2022 parade.
Although a lot of attention is placed on the dancers and floats of the Carnival, there can be anywhere from 200 to 300 percussion players, or as they are known in Brazil, the bateria. In the parade, the bateria plays the batucada which is a style of drumming that stems from samba. In the video below, you will notice that there is a leader that plays all of the "solo" parts. This is because batucada is heavily based on call-and-response.
The leader is called the repique or repinique, which is also the name of the instrument that they are playing. Other instruments in the bateria include: surdos (largest drum and responsible for keeping the beat going), tamborim (small and shallow drum struck with a stick), caixa (or snare drum), chocalho (shaker), agogo bells (essentially two cowbells connected together to make a U-shape), tanta (hand drum), pandeiro (similar to a tamborine), and my personal favourite, the cuica (or monkey drum).
Link for instrument descriptions.
Bonus: CUICA!
The cuica has to be one of my favourite percussion instruments. In Portuguese cuica is not only the name of a friction drum but also the animal it is named after: grey four-eyed possum (it doesn't actually have four eyes. Disappointing, I know). The cuica is named after this animal because it makes a similar sound. The cuica, being a friction drum, creates its signature sound from the stick attached to the inside of the drum head and by bending the drum head with the other hand, changing the pitch.
I've attended and performed in many parades, but I've never seen one as stunning as this! I'm also rather disappointed that the grey four-eyed possum does not have four eyes :(
ReplyDeleteAs someone who loves Brazilian music, I was so glad that you chose to speak on Carnival. This celebration has always fascinated me and it is just amazing to see the artistry that is put into the festivities of Carnival. I loved the information that you shared about the bateria. 200 to 300 percussionists playing together is CRAZY! Also, the Cuica is very cool!!!
ReplyDeleteThat has got to be one of the most instruments I have ever seen. And by that I mean it looks and sounds very ๐๐๐๐๐. The short clip of the guy playing the cuica made my night.
ReplyDeleteI liked reading about the ritual of Carnival because it was something different I don't know much about. I very much enjoyed the video of the cuica being played. We had one at my high school but no one could play it like this guy.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about Carnival. I have never really listened to Brazilian music and I have only ever heard of Carnival. It was interesting to read and learn more about .. thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletecarnival is so cool, I have loved the cuica since middle school when the jazz band got to play play the song soul bossa nova as it was played in austin powers.
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