Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music

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Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music Page 46

by George Torres


  Foula, Sanba-yo, and RAM. Boukman Experyans, formed out of a collective of

  early samba , or roots groups in Haiti, in 1985, is credited with being the first

  group to successfully meld electric guitar, bass, and synthesizer with traditional

  262 | Modinha

  Afro-Haitian percussion. True to the pro-peasant ideals, as well as an honoring of

  indigenous Haitian culture, Boukman Experyans had a successful hit in Haiti with

  the song “Se Kreyòl, nou ye,” a song that pushes the pride of an African cultural

  heritage, as well as indigenous Haitian mentality. Foulah, formed from Group Sa,

  played a mixture of avant garde and Vodou- Jazz. RAM, a group popular since

  the early 1990s, makes use of current events to provide social commentary on po-

  litical situations, often through poetic allusion and metaphor. Their Carnival rara

  song, “Anbago,” provides a commentary on the then current OAS/U.S. embargo

  in Haiti.

  Misik rasin was the first urban middle class genre of Haitian popular music to

  embrace the Afro-centric roots of Haiti’s music and successfully integrate it into

  popular music in a convincing and significant way, not just as a cultural accent,

  but also as a basis for a spiritual understanding that would lead to practical appli-

  cations in everyday life.

  Further Reading

  Averill, Gage. A Day for the Hunter, a Day for the Prey: Popular Music and Power in

  Haiti. Chicago studies in ethnomusicology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.

  Bilby, Kenneth M., Michael D. Largey, and Peter Manuel. Caribbean Currents: Carib-

  bean Music from Rumba to Reggae. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2006.

  Fleurent, Gerdès. “ The Song of Freedom: Vodou, Conscientization, and Popular Cul-

  ture in Haiti.” In Vodou in Haitian Life and Culture: Invisible Powers, edited by Michel,

  Claudine, and Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, 51–64. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.

  George Torres

  Modinha

  The Brazilian modinha is a sentimental and romantic style of song, derived from

  the Portuguese modas, arias, and cantigas, that emerged from late colonial-era

  Brazil (1700–1822) and became one of the first internationally recognized musical

  styles of Latin America. The Portuguese word moda, meaning fashion or a generic

  song, together with the suffix inha (a diminutive) means endearing song. The de-

  velopment and popularization of the modinha was achieved through a process of

  social and cultural exchange between Brazil, West Africa, and Europe along the

  Portuguese Atlantic slave trade routes. The frequent use of West African influ-

  enced pattern-based syncopation in the melody and accompaniment, and Brazil-

  ian vernacular in the text, distinguish it from the Portuguese modinha and similar

  European song styles. The Brazilian modinha was initially popular in the court

  and aristocratic salons of Portugal during the late 18th century and subsequently

  throughout Brazil until the early 20th century.

  Modinha

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  263

  A typical modinha has a lyrical melody that conveys a melancholy mood, is

  slowly paced, emotionally expressive, and generally utilizes a poetic style that

  maintains a perspective of distance between the subject and narrative voice.

  Modinhas have undulating melodies with wide intervallic leaps, are often in minor

  keys with shifts to major, and are usually written in two-part strophic form. His-

  torically, they were composed for single voice or two harmonized voices often

  with figured bass accompaniment and were frequently accompanied by the viola

  (five-course steel-string, guitar) and other instruments such as the flute, although

  the piano or harpsichord were favored in salon performances and in printed music.

  Two types of modinha developed over time: the salon modinha, a composed work

  influenced by the Italian opera and popular among the elite class; and the modinha

  da rua, or street modinha, an improvised work orally transmitted and popular with

  the middle and poor classes.

  The Brazilian modinha was brought to Portugal in the late 1700s by the Bra-

  zilian mulatto priest and poet-musician Domingos Caldas Barbosa (1740–1800)

  and it was during this time that the use of the term modinha became common.

  The European obsession with exoticism and the prevalence of African culture

  throughout Brazil led to the gradual integration of these elements into Brazilian

  music. The rise of the middle class population in Brazil beginning in the 1700s

  facilitated the proliferation of popular music styles; chief among them was the

  modinha. The move of the Portuguese royal court to Brazil in 1808 to avoid the

  invasion of Napoleon, in concert with the established popularity of the modinha

  in Portugal, then further amplified the popularity of this musical style throughout

  Brazil and by the mid-1800s it was one of the most commonly published styles

  of music in Brazil.

  During the middle to late 1800s, the modinha became more sophisticated due

  to the incorporation of aria influences as Italian opera grew in popularity and per-

  formances at this time often included improvised ornamentation of the melody, a

  trait of the bel canto style. Modinhas were usually written in 2/4 meter, but pieces

  in 3/4, 4/4, and 6/8 were increasingly common during this period as a result of the

  influence of the aria and waltz. Once the modinha was adopted by the poorer classes

  throughout Brazil it began to decline in popularity eventually falling out of fash-

  ion in the elite salons. It was replaced by the lundu , which had more pronounced

  African influences.

  Since the early 20th century, the modinha has been referenced by composers of

  all genres of Brazilian music to evoke a traditional and national identity in their

  works. Brazilian classical composers such as Villa-Lobos, Gnattali, and Ovalle fre-

  quently incorporated the modinha, seresta, cantiga, and canção, all closely related

  song styles, into their compositions and cited them in texts. Two prominent pieces

  that utilize the modinha song form are the “Modinha” by Villa-Lobos and Manuel

  Bandeira from the cycle of 14 Serestas (1925); and the “Modinha” from the play

  264 | Moña

  Orfeo da Conceição (1956) by bossa nova innovators Jobim and Moraes. Since

  its inception, the modinha has influenced the entire lineage of popular Brazilian

  sentimental song styles including: lundu-canção, choro-canção, samba- canção ,

  bolero , ballad, bossa nova, música popular brasileira or MPB, and more recently the genre musica romántica as popularized by Roberto Carlos.

  Further Reading

  Araújo, M. de. A Modinha e o Lundu no Século XVIII. São Paulo: Ricordi Brasileira,

  1963.

  Behague. G. “Biblioteca da Ajuda MSS 1595/1596: Two Eighteenth Century Anony-

  mous Collections of Modinhas.” Yearbook. IV. Inter-American Institute for Musical Re-

  search, 1968.

  Fryer, P. Rhythms of Resistance. Hanover: University Press of New England, 2000.

  Livingston-Isenhour, T. and Garcia, T. Choro: A Social History of a Brazilian Popular

  Music. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005.

  Thomas Rohde

  Moña

  Moña is a type of instrumental interlude often found in salsa ,
customarily appearing after the mambo (the primary instrumental interlude) has been already stated,

  and like the mambo, the moña is typically inserted between two montuno sections.

  Irrespective of subtle differences over the years in implementation, the functional

  constant of the moña has been to increase the rhythmic and contrapuntal intricacy

  for dancing pleasure. Originally consisting of short improvised figures over the

  harmonic-rhythmic ostinato of the montuno, since the 1970s many arrangers have

  taken to formally devising greater harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic complexity in

  the moña —often achieved by splitting horn choirs (e.g., trumpets or trombones)

  into multiple parts (divisi).

  The writing team of Eddie Palmieri and Barry Rogers (in Palmieri’s band, La

  Perfecta) effectively propelled this device into the language of 1960s salsa, though

  the technique was established as early as the post-1946, three-trumpet conjunto of

  Arsenio Rodríguez. Cuban trumpeter, Felix Chapottín, was famous for the im-

  provised lines he played against the set parts of the other two trumpets, a feature

  of Rodriguez’ diablo sections (García 2006). Today, the technique of writing or

  improvising a first trumpet line above the arranged horn parts, called a champola,

  is commonly found in Cuban timba .

  Further Reading

  Carp, David. “Salsa Symbiosis: Barry Rogers, Eddie Palmieri’s Chief Collaborator in

  the Making of La Perfecta.” Centro Journal 16, no. 2 (2004): 42–61.

  Montuno

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  265

  García, David. Arsenio Rodríguez and the Transnational Flows of Latin Popular Music .

  Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2006.

  Michael D. Marcuzzi

  Montuno

  The musical term montuno is applied to Cuban music in a variety of ways. Loosely

  translated as “ from the mountains,” montuno refers to the rustic, mountainous re-

  gion of Oriente, the eastern province of Cuba and birthplace of son . Hence, son

  montuno would literally denote the traditional ( típico ) son style associated with the eastern region of Cuba.

  On its own, however, montuno is most commonly used as a structural marker,

  namely the repeating call-and-response sections delivered by the lead voice

  ( sonero ) and the chorus ( coro ) that are found in son, salsa , guaracha , and other related genres. The sonero ideally renders improvised melodies with text (called

  guías, inspiraciónes, or pregónes ) that relate to the subject of the set text of the

  coro, which is usually harmonized. Though the montuno is typically a repeating

  alternation between the lead singer and the chorus, in some cases the role of the

  lead singer can be substituted with improvised horn solos or spontaneous horn riffs

  (short melodic-rhythmic figures; see moña ).

  The normative structure of a son or salsa is comprised of two parts. The song-

  like first part, referred to as canto, tema, or largo (somewhat archaic), was origi-

  nally a melodic setting of Iberian poetic forms (e.g., décima , coplas ), though today the song is usually a strophic form (i.e., several verses set to the same melody) or

  standard Euro-American song form (e.g., AABA). The second part is characterized

  by the montuno, which is typically set to a simple two- or four-measure harmonic

  progression and repeated like a loop. This second section of the son-salsa structure

  marks the beginning of a more forceful rhythmic drive in the ensemble arrange-

  ment (conspicuously heard in the cowbells taken up by both the timbals and bongó ) and also comprises various instrumental interludes (e.g., mambo , moña, instrumental solos), each inserted between two montuno sections. Experienced listeners and

  dancers are well attuned to this fundamental partition in the son-salsa form. The

  rhythmic upsurge of the second section, marked by the cowbells that accompany

  the montuno and various instrumental interludes, make it the most compelling in

  terms of activity on the dance floor.

  So important is the montuno to these Cuban and Cuban-derived dance forms

  that many songs effectively endure as memorable choruses or are remembered for

  a single innovative improvisation by the sonero, rather than as songs per se. The

  best of these short phrases—quips, puns, cutting observations—are readily adopted

  by listeners as part of colloquial speech, a type of vernacular reproduction that is

  266 | Mozambique

  not without clear historical precedent. Montunos have historically been popular

  vehicles for competitions between singers wishing to demonstrate their musical

  and linguistic prowess, often at the expense of another. These informal contests,

  or controversias, had much in common with the cutting session among jazz mu-

  sicians insofar as they helped to hone musical skills, to establish a pecking order

  among musicians, and provide engaging entertainment for the listening public. The

  widespread imitation or quotation of the rhythmic, melodic, or verbal savvy of a

  sonero or a coro is built into the internal structure of the montuno itself: the need for a chorus to perform the montuno always ensures the soneros of an audience,

  and an attentive one at that since many soneros learned their art form singing in the

  chorus behind great performers. Furthermore, the repetitive nature of the montuno

  makes it a superlative mnemonic device for a receptive audience.

  Finally, montuno can also refer to the syncopated harmonic outline played on

  the piano that has become so emblematic of Latin dance music. This piano tech-

  nique, also called a guajeo , is invariably played during the montuno sections of an arrangement, making the rhythmic drive all the more compelling.

  Further Reading

  Orovio, Helio. Cuban Music from A to Z. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004.

  Robbins, James. “The Cuban son as Form, Genre, and Symbol.” Latin American Music

  Review 11, no. 2 (1990): 182–210.

  Michael D. Marcuzzi

  Mozambique

  The mozambique was arguably the most popular rhythm of 1960s in Cuba, part of

  a series of dance trends that swept the island nation beginning with the pachanga

  (1959) and including the dengue, pacá, simale, guachipupa, upa-upa, and pilon,

  among others. The mozambique, which refers to both the music and the attendant

  dance style, is near synonymous with its creator, the legendary Cuban percussion-

  ist, Pedro Izquierdo Padrón (1933–2000), more popularly known by the stage name

  Pello el Afrokán. The mozambique, like many of the music-and-dance innovations

  of 1960s Cuba, was part of a surge in musical creativity that seemed to distill the

  social excitement and enthusiasm of the first decade after the Cuban Revolution

  (1959). The mozambique conveyed the carefree, celebratory nature of its times, and

  Pello’s band was undoubtedly one of the most dynamic in Cuba’s musical history.

  There are numerous musical influences in the composition of the mozambique —

  before his rise to public prominence with the mozambique, Izquierdo was well es-

  tablished as a drummer of folkloric and popular dance musics (particularly rumba ),

  as was his father before him. At its core, however, the mozambique is a rhythm

  Mozambique

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  267

  derived from the comparsa, Cuba’s Carnival rhythm. Izquierdo later went on to

  record an
LP in 1988 of Carnival songs and performance styles of comparsas from

  the most famous neighborhoods in Havana, Cuba (historically, each neighborhood

  would mount their own musical repertory, ensemble, dancers, and entourage as part

  of the annual street parades).

  Pello’s mozambique in the 1960s was almost always performed with a large

  band, which included sections of trumpets, trombones, vocalists, coiffured female

  dancers (“Las Afrokanas”), and numerous percussionists—at times Pello insisted

  on as many as twelve tumbadoras . (He would later add electric bass and piano to

  the mix.) Nonetheless, Cuban percussionist Ángel Chang, who performed with

  Pello’s band in the 1960s, insists that the core rhythm of the mozambique is de-

  rived from six percussion parts: clave , two cowbells, two bombos (bass drums), and tumbadoras (two conga drums played by one player). The additional people, a signature feature of Pello’s ensemble, were simply part of the musical extravaganza

  that was the mozambique.

  The song repertory of the mozambique was largely composed of short phrases or

  couplets that were ideal for a music made for dancing. Pello’s compositions, such

  as “Maria Caracoles,” “Ileana quiere chocolate,” and “Digan lo que digan,” were

  easily remembered by listeners for their short, incessant, call-and-response cho-

  ruses: the tune was the chorus. Pello also constructed some explicit connections be-

  tween the mozambique and Afro-Cuban sacred music: the floor show productions

  “Senseribó” and “Baroko” were overt references to Afro-Cuban Abakuá rites (not

  well received by all of its membership), and many of the melodies on Pello’s LP,

  Un Sabor Que Canta, are borrowed from Afro-Cuban religious chants, to which

  Pello added his own lyrics.

  The mozambique was first catapulted into the limelight on July 6, 1963, on the

  Cuban television program, Ritmos de Juventud. (Pello would appear regularly on

  the show in the 1970s.) After the television spot, the ensemble went on to perform

  as part of Carnival festivities in February 1964, helping to extend the ensemble’s

  popularity throughout the island (Moore 2006, 182). And, Pello’s ensemble was

  one of the first, and very few, to travel abroad in the years soon after 1959: a 1965

 

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