Brazilian Contemporary Arts
Background notes to Samba and the Reunion
Brazil comes from the Celtic word 'bress' , the blessed land. Indeed it is a blessed
Samba culture had its beginnings in Bahia, Brazil's first capital.. It was brought there by
From then on samba became the Brazilian musical genre par excellence. From slum
Following the traditional samba composers, Brazil went on to give the world the
These artists, whose musical work was seen as a threat to the military, were exiled by
Gal Costa. with her incomparable voice, carried the message of these singers-
Brazilian Contemporary Arts is proud to promote, for the first time ever, a unique
This will be the first time that these artists will perform together on the same stage,
"Quem nao gosta de samba bom sujeito nao e,
BCA feels particularly honoured to have been granted £150,000 by the National Lottery,
The artists will sing compositions from the beginning of the century to today, and also
Georgie Fame who in the 1980's recorded his version of Gil's "Toda Menina Bahiana,"
"Since Samba has been Samba" aims at raising funds for
'TASK BRASIL TRUST'
a charity organisation that works on behalf of street children in Rio de Janeiro.
BCA is proud to be able to bring to Londoners this unprecedented reunion. It is of
Venue: Royal Albert Hall , Kensington Gore, London SW7 ,England.
Back to The Biggest Samba Reunion of the Century
land whose people are known to br the most musical in the world, and where anything
and everything makes samba. This has been so since the XVIth century, although up to
the late 1800's blacks and mulattoes, the progenitors of the genre, were still being
persecuted by the police for playing it. Samba was confined to th backyards then, and
only enjoyed by the lower classes.
the hordes of African slaves that the Portuguese colonisers mercilessly exported to their
newly found land. It developed in Rio de Janeiro following the abolition of slavery in
1888. But it was only in 1917, that "Pelo Telefone" ("By Phone") a carnival hit of huge
success was first registered under a copyright by its author, Donga.
kids producing its rhythms on tins and match boxes, to the sophistication of the clubs
of Rio where in the forties Carmen Miranda enthralled the crowds with her Banda da
Lua(Bunch from the Moon) band, samba crossed all frontiers. It went to Hollywood and,
on its developing path, produced the most ingenious composers from all backgrounds.
Bossa-Nova of Tom Jobim in the late 1950's. During the hardest times of the military
dictatorship in the 1960's, some of the most illustrious representatives of Brazilian
music lent their contribution to a country that had lost its freedom of speech, but not
their unique ability to deal with its misfortunes. They included Chico Buarque, Gilberto
Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Gal Costa.
the hardliners. They had to compose under pseudonyms and were of paramount
importance as conveyors of messages to a whole nation - protest songs, words of
command. Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil became the ever political
speakers of the masses. Gil and Veloso, the founders of 'Tropicalismo' , shocked
conventional audiences by mingling Anglo-American rock to samba.
songwriters to millions of Brazilians. Over thirty years later, they continue to hold
the respect and devotion of Brazilians and Latin-Americans alike. Their unbeatable
musicality and powerful lyrics have yet to find a match.
one-off event at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday 5th November 1999, to celebrate
samba culture and the New Millennium. It will bring together the four 'sacred monsters'
of our music- Chico Buarque, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa who will
introduce two talents from the new generation: Marisa Monte and Carlinhos Brown.
paying homage to samba, performing in pairs, in trios and altogether. As Dorival
Caymmi, Bahian composer has said,
"Who does not like samba you'd rather not meet.
He's sick in the head or just lame in the feet."
e ruim de cabeca ao doente do pe........"
- 'Samba da Minha Terra'
through the Arts for Everyone Scheme of the Arts Council for this project.
some of their most loved hits, part and parcel of the development of samba music
naming it "Samba" , is the special guest for the event. Georgie Fame will join an all
star cast of Brazilian artists performing with Gil, all the "Samba" that the 'Brits' can take!
AS "Since Samba has been Samba" would not be complete without the carnival element
- London based "Folia Band" will be opening the evening with the favourite sambas
from the past carnivals, the London School of Samba will be displaying their percussion
expertise and
QUILOMBO DO SAMBAwill put on a display of
carnival dance and costumes to round off the evening with a flavour of the Rio Carnival.
historical significance for it has never happened anywhere else in the world.
Performance Time: 8.00pm , Friday 5th November 1999.
Box Office : Tel 0044 (0) 171 589 8212
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