Samba
Samba is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or prefix used for several rhythmic variants, such as samba urbano carioca, samba de roda, among many other forms of samba, mostly originated in the Rio de Janeiro and Bahia states. Having its roots in West African musical traditions, especially those linked to the primitive rural samba of the colonial and imperial periods, is considered one of the most important cultural phenomena in Brazil and one of the country symbols. Present in the Portuguese language at least since the 19th century, the word "samba" was originally used to designate a "popular dance". Over time, its meaning has been extended to a "batuque-like circle dance", a dance style, and also to a "music genre". This process of establishing itself as a musical genre began in the 1910s and it had its inaugural landmark in the song "Pelo Telefone", launched in 1917. Despite being identified by its creators, the public, and the Brazilian music industry as "samba", this pioneering style was much more connected from the rhythmic and instrumental point of view to maxixe than to samba itself.
Samba was modernly structured as a musical genre only in the late 1920s from the neighborhood of Estácio and soon extended to Oswaldo Cruz and other parts of Rio through its commuter rail. Today synonymous with the rhythm of samba, this new samba brought innovations in rhythm, melody and also in thematic aspects. Its rhythmic change based on a new percussive instrumental pattern resulted in a more drummed and syncopated style – as opposed to the inaugural "samba–maxixe" – notably characterized by a faster tempo, longer notes and a characterized cadence far beyond the simple ones used till then. Also the "Estácio paradigm" innovated in the formatting of samba as a song, with its musical organization in first and second parts in both melody and lyrics. In this way, the sambistas of Estácio created, structured and redefined the urban Carioca samba as a genre in a modern and finished way. In this process of establishment as an urban and modern musical expression, the Carioca samba had the decisive role of samba schools, responsible for defining and legitimizing definitively the aesthetic bases of rhythm, and radio broadcasting, which greatly contributed to the diffusion and popularization of the genre and its song singers. Thus, samba has achieved major projection throughout Brazil and has become one of the main symbols of Brazilian national identity. Once criminalized and rejected for its Brazilian origins, and definitely working-class music in its mythic origins, the genre has also received support from members of the upper classes and the country's cultural elite.
At the same time that it established itself as the genesis of samba, the "Estácio paradigm" paved the way for its fragmentation into new sub-genres and styles of composition and interpretation throughout the 20th century. Mainly from the so-called "golden age" of Brazilian music, samba received abundant categorizations, some of which denote solid and well-accepted derivative strands, such as bossa nova, pagode, partido alto, samba de breque, samba-canção, samba de enredo and samba de terreiro, while other nomenclatures were somewhat more imprecise, such as samba do barulho, samba epistolar ou samba fonético – and some merely derogatory – such as sambalada, sambolero or sambão joia.
The modern samba that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century is predominantly in a time signature varied with the conscious use of a sung chorus to a batucada rhythm, with various stanzas of declaratory verses. Its traditional instrumentation is composed of percussion instruments such as the pandeiro, cuíca, tamborim, ganzá and surdo accompaniment – whose inspiration is choro – such as classical guitar and cavaquinho. In 2005 UNESCO declared Samba de Roda part of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and in 2007, the Brazilian National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage declared Carioca samba and three of its matrices – samba de terreiro, partido-alto and samba de enredo – as cultural heritage in Brazil.
Etymology and definition
There is no consensus among experts on the etymology of the term "samba". A traditionalist view that defends that the etymon comes from the Bantu was in the Diário de Pernambuco in 1830. The term was documented in the publication in a note opposing the sending of soldiers to the countryside of Pernambuco State as a disciplinary measure, as there they could be idle and entertained with "fishing of corrals , and climbing coconut trees, in whose hobbies viola and samba will be welcomed ". Another old appearance was recorded in the humorous Recife newspaper O Carapuceiro, dated February 1838, when Father Miguel Lopes Gama of Sacramento wrote against what he called "the samba d'almocreve" – not referring to the future musical genre, but a kind of merriment popular for black people of that time. According to Hiram Araújo da Costa, over the centuries, the festival of dances of enslaved people in Bahia were called samba. In Rio de Janeiro, the word only became known at the end of the 19th century, when it was linked to rural festivities, to the area of Black people and to the "north" of the country, that is, the Brazilian Northeast.For many years of the Brazilian colonial and imperial history, the terms "batuque" or "samba" were used in any manifestation of African origins that brought together dances, songs and uses of Black people instruments. At the end of the 19th century, "samba" was present in the Portuguese language, designating different types of popular dances performed by African slaves that assumed its own characteristics in each Brazilian state, not only by the diversity of the ethnic groups of the African diaspora, but also the peculiarity of each region in which they were settlers. In the twentieth century, the term was gaining new meanings, as for a "circle dance similar to batuque" and a "genre of popular song".
The use of the word in a musical context was documented as early as 1913 in the song Em casa de baiana, registered as a "samba de partido-alto"; then in the following year, for the works A viola está magoada and Moleque vagabundo; finally, in 1916, for the famous song Pelo Telefone, released as "samba carnavalesco" and regarded as the founding landmark of modern Carioca samba.
Roots
Rural tradition
During a folkloric research mission in the Northeast Region of 1938, the writer Mário de Andrade noticed that, in rural areas, the term "samba" was associated with the event where the dance was performed, the way of dancing the samba and the music performed for the dance. Urban Carioca samba was influenced by several traditions associated with the universe of rural communities throughout Brazil. The folklorist Oneida Alvarenga was the first expert to list primitive popular dances of the type: coco, tambor de crioula, Lundu, Chula or fandango, baiano, cateretê, quimbere, mbeque, caxambu and xiba. To this list, Jorge Sabino and Raul Lody added samba de coco, sambada, samba de matuto, samba de caboclo, and jongo.One of the most important forms of dance in the constitution of Carioca samba choreography, the, practiced in Bahia's Recôncavo, was typically danced outdoors by a soloist, while other participants of the circle would take charge of the singing – alternating between solo and chorus parts – and of accompanying instrumental performance. The three basic dance-steps of Bahian circle samba were named corta-a-jaca, separa-o-visgo, and apanha-o-bago, in addition to one intended to be danced by women only. In their research on Bahian samba, Roberto Mendes and Waldomiro Junior examined that some elements from other cultures, such as the Arab pandeiro and the Portuguese viola, were gradually incorporated into the singing and rhythm of African batuques, whose best-known variants were samba corrido and samba chulado.
In the São Paulo state, another primitive modality of known rural samba developed, practiced basically in cities along the Tietê River – from São Paulo city to the river's middle course – and traditionally divided into samba de bumbo, characterized by instrumental percussion with a bass drum, and batuque, with tambu, quinjengue and guaiá for the instrumentation.
Essentially made up of two parts usually performed on the fly, the partido alto was – and still is – the most traditional sung variant of rural samba in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Originating in Greater Rio de Janeiro, it is the combination, according to Lopes and Simas, of Bahian circle-samba, calango singing, and a kind of transition from rural samba to what would come to be urban 20th century Rio samba.
Criminalization
In its beginnings, samba was heavily criminalized by the Brazilian government. Born in the favelas, it was a distinctly Afro Brazilian musical genre that brought people together in community and celebration, which was not well-seen or -received by the Brazilian elite, who deemed it tasteless, immoral and inferior. Such attitude was grounded in racism and classism, besides religious intolerance: samba's incorporation of African drumming was commonly associated with Afro Brazilian religions, which have long been demonized and discriminated against in Brazil, especially so in the early 20th century, when samba was gaining traction.Many early composers were thought to be leaders of cults of African origin, therefore samba faced policed persecution. Any samba gathering would be swiftly shut down, with musicians arrested and their instruments destroyed. As a result, samba had to go underground, relying on community members to assume the risk of persecution to have samba parties out of their homes. Ultimately, the genre became a hallmark of Brazilian culture and a highlight of Carnival, but it was not ever thus, as in its origins practicing samba was defiance against the government.