Viola Caipira--Roberto Correa--Brazil by Roberto Correa; Tiago de Oliveira Pinto; Max PeterBaumannReview by: Martha de Ulhõa CarvalhoEthnomusicology, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Autumn, 1991), pp. 462-464Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of Society for EthnomusicologyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/851989 .

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462 Ethnomusicology, Fall 1991 462 Ethnomusicology, Fall 1991

jojk reinforces the contention that the modem interpretations are a parallel manifestation, and do not necessarily signal an irreversible trend. Admittedly the other performers on the record are young, so a trend does appear to surface with age group as a determinant, but this is only superficial: one of the more experimental artists, I. A. A. Gaup, has a brother who records exclusively in the traditional a capella style (Gaup 1987); and as Edstrom

points out, Mattis Haetta released an LP in 1980 consisting entirely of traditional jojks, the same year as his recording of "Samiid Aednan."

The only flaw in this project is the lack of song texts in English. This is

particularly noticable given the excellent English translation of the original Swedish notes in the accompanying booklet. Since one of the most distinctive (and often highly significant) features of this new genre of Sami

song is the addition of text, it is a shame that this component remains unavailable to an audience lacking sufficient knowledge of Sami or Swedish. Less problematic, but frustrating nevertheless, is a similar oversight in

translating the photo captions. This recording is an excellent example of the variety of Sami musical

responses which have occurred as a result of increased culture contact and acrimonious territorial disputes. The selections grant insight into the process of negotiation which the Sami are undergoing as they seek to find their cultural equilibrium within the dominant Scandinavian milieu. As such it makes a valuable contribution to the growing body of information regarding indigenous music and popular culture.

Richard Jones-Bamman Seattle, Washington

References

Edstrom, Olle 1989 VuolleJojk Luohti. Ajtte AJLP-1.

Gaup, Ante Mihkkala 1987 Luohterdmit. Davvi Media O/S DMLP 87-1.

Viola Caipira-Roberto Correa-Brazil. (Traditional Music of the World 1). One compact disc with 55 pp. booklet (in English) and transcriptions by ROBERTO CORREA and TIAGO DE OLIVEIRA PINTO, recordings by MAX PETER

BAUMANN. Musicaphon BM 505 801 DDD.

This CD and accompanying booklet fills a gap in Brazilian ethnomusicological discography and literature in English on the Brazilian folk guitar (viola or viola caipira). Even compared to the literature in Portuguese, this publication adds to the meager bibliography on the viola caipira tradition. Until the early 1980s, most organological studies in Brazil

jojk reinforces the contention that the modem interpretations are a parallel manifestation, and do not necessarily signal an irreversible trend. Admittedly the other performers on the record are young, so a trend does appear to surface with age group as a determinant, but this is only superficial: one of the more experimental artists, I. A. A. Gaup, has a brother who records exclusively in the traditional a capella style (Gaup 1987); and as Edstrom

points out, Mattis Haetta released an LP in 1980 consisting entirely of traditional jojks, the same year as his recording of "Samiid Aednan."

The only flaw in this project is the lack of song texts in English. This is

particularly noticable given the excellent English translation of the original Swedish notes in the accompanying booklet. Since one of the most distinctive (and often highly significant) features of this new genre of Sami

song is the addition of text, it is a shame that this component remains unavailable to an audience lacking sufficient knowledge of Sami or Swedish. Less problematic, but frustrating nevertheless, is a similar oversight in

translating the photo captions. This recording is an excellent example of the variety of Sami musical

responses which have occurred as a result of increased culture contact and acrimonious territorial disputes. The selections grant insight into the process of negotiation which the Sami are undergoing as they seek to find their cultural equilibrium within the dominant Scandinavian milieu. As such it makes a valuable contribution to the growing body of information regarding indigenous music and popular culture.

Richard Jones-Bamman Seattle, Washington

References

Edstrom, Olle 1989 VuolleJojk Luohti. Ajtte AJLP-1.

Gaup, Ante Mihkkala 1987 Luohterdmit. Davvi Media O/S DMLP 87-1.

Viola Caipira-Roberto Correa-Brazil. (Traditional Music of the World 1). One compact disc with 55 pp. booklet (in English) and transcriptions by ROBERTO CORREA and TIAGO DE OLIVEIRA PINTO, recordings by MAX PETER

BAUMANN. Musicaphon BM 505 801 DDD.

This CD and accompanying booklet fills a gap in Brazilian ethnomusicological discography and literature in English on the Brazilian folk guitar (viola or viola caipira). Even compared to the literature in Portuguese, this publication adds to the meager bibliography on the viola caipira tradition. Until the early 1980s, most organological studies in Brazil

This content downloaded from 200.130.19.167 on Sun, 6 Oct 2013 16:33:06 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Recordings Reviews 463

were mainly descriptions of instruments derived from Africa, even though the Portuguese-derived viola caipira is the single instrument most often used in Brazil (Behague 1982). Both ethnomusicologists and music educators interested in world music will find this CD and booklet most enlightening. In addition to being exposed to the wide variety of sounds of the viola, they will be provided with excellent and detailed notes in English which explain the origins of the instrument, its playing techniques, and violeiro (viola player) Roberto Correa's repertoire.

The viola was introduced into Brazil during the sixteenth century by the Portuguese, and today in Portugal and Brazil violas come in several formats, names, and tunings. Most use double strings, some tuned in octaves and others in unison. The Brazilian violas usually have ten frets. In the booklet Baumann describes one peculiar kind of viola, the viola de cocho, its construction techniques, the materials used in its construction, and its variants (with two or three frets). Cocho is the name for the trunk of wood from which this viola is carved. In the disc, the viola de cocho is used to perform the composition "Siriema," inspired by the song of a bird from the Brazilian hinterland.

The viola caipira, however, is the main instrument heard on this CD. It is an instrument connected with rural traditions in the northeastern and central-southern regions of Brazil. The term caipira, in fact, refers specifi- cally to the inhabitant of the rural areas of central-southern Brazil. Most of Roberto Correa's compositions and versions of traditional melodies are in the caipira regional style, meaning they are prominently tonal, while the northeastern viola musical tradition is frequently modal. Correa includes an arrangement of the famous northeastern baiao "Asa Branca," by Luiz Gonzaga, which uses the lowered seventh of the scale (mixolydian mode).

The viola is generally used as an accompaniment for different regional genres and styles, and the typical viola player usually performs only within a small, rural-oriented community. This is not the case with Roberto Correa, however, who studies and researches several types of instrument making, interviews and learns music from viola players throughout the central- southern region of Brazil (especially in the states of Minas Gerais, Goias, and Mato Grosso), and performs, lectures, and writes on the viola throughout Brazil. Because of his exposure to a wide variety of instruments, rhythms, and personal playing styles, Correa composes not only in the traditional viola styles, but also expands the viola's harmonic possibilities and playing techniques. While introducing the viola to an urban public, he reinterprets the musical tradition and adapts it to an urban taste which emphasizes variety of creation. Thus, a public unfamiliar to the instrument's natural constituency is exposed to one of rural Brazil's most important musical traditions.

The only drawback to Correa's performance is when he decides to sing. Although he tries to emulate the nasal and cracking vocal styles of caipira

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464 Ethnomusicology, Fall 1991

singing, his performance shows his polished urban education. His viola playing, however, is comparable to virtuoso folk violeiros like Ze Coco do Riachao, and this is what makes the recording worthwhile.

Martha de Ulhoa Carvalho Brasilia, Brazil

Reference

Behague, Gerard 1982 "Ecuadorian, Peruvian, and Brazilian Ethnomusicology." Latin American Music

Review 82:23-26.

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