Like many other countries, Brazil has undergone a great variety of governance methods since its independence in 1822. It is obvious that a culture with such a powerful musical language would create very specific musical forms in response to the social and political environment of the times. What is not obvious is the fact that censorship, instead of achieving its goal of diminishing the censored music and making it disappear, became a strong factor in the development of new lyrical and musical forms.
In this series we will see the how creative musicians have found clever ways to express ideas, using censorship like an Olympic jumper uses the bar – as a challenge to be overcome, not by force, but by creating inspired combinations of musical and poetic meaning.
We’ll see how drumming became a pathway for enslaved humans to communicate in the most abject circumstances, not only among themselves, but also with their orixás – the spiritual nature deities they left behind in Africa.
We’ll see how capoeira evolved as both a dance and a deadly martial art, when it was heavily prohibited in Rio and Bahia.
The 1964 U.S. backed military coup of 1964 in Brazil brought with it an increasingly restrictive set of prohibitions, including music – not only lyrics, but even song titles. That in turn sparked the creating and development of composers like Chico Buarque de Holanda, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Edu Lobo who not only protested the political climate of the 25 years of military rule, but who also found clever ways to ridicule the status quo while giving people the intended message.
As we start to see banning of books and music even in countries that call themselves democratic, it is enlightening to see how music can be a subversive power at different stages of human evolution on Earth. Being invisible, it breaks down barriers, gates and boundaries.
Join me for a series of 4 lectures as we discuss the subversive power of music and listen to the songs that jumped over obstacles, while being inspired by them to jump higher.
In this series we will see the how creative musicians have found clever ways to express ideas, using censorship like an Olympic jumper uses the bar – as a challenge to be overcome, not by force, but by creating inspired combinations of musical and poetic meaning.
We’ll see how drumming became a pathway for enslaved humans to communicate in the most abject circumstances, not only among themselves, but also with their orixás – the spiritual nature deities they left behind in Africa.
We’ll see how capoeira evolved as both a dance and a deadly martial art, when it was heavily prohibited in Rio and Bahia.
The 1964 U.S. backed military coup of 1964 in Brazil brought with it an increasingly restrictive set of prohibitions, including music – not only lyrics, but even song titles. That in turn sparked the creating and development of composers like Chico Buarque de Holanda, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Edu Lobo who not only protested the political climate of the 25 years of military rule, but who also found clever ways to ridicule the status quo while giving people the intended message.
As we start to see banning of books and music even in countries that call themselves democratic, it is enlightening to see how music can be a subversive power at different stages of human evolution on Earth. Being invisible, it breaks down barriers, gates and boundaries.
Join me for a series of 4 lectures as we discuss the subversive power of music and listen to the songs that jumped over obstacles, while being inspired by them to jump higher.
To purchase access to the archived class or individual sessions of your choice, choose below:
Option 1 - to purchase an access pass to all 4 sessions (8 hours) for $150 US, click below:
Option 2 - to purchase an access pass to individual sessions (2 hours each) for $50 US each, click below:
@Jovino Santos Neto / Real Angle Music